Out of order

I now I'm weird for doing the wiki Things last, but for some reason I just couldn't get into them. But hey, once I did everything else I couldn't put them off any longer.

#17 Creating the LPLS Staff Wiki

I added Checking out Without Card / With Someone Else’s Card and Renewing Materials to the wiki. I found out that our wiki doesn't like "/" in the address so the section that should be called "Checking out Without Card / With Someone Else’s Card" got the address and name "Checking Out Without Card". But the article itself is still named correctly when you go to it.

I think this thing is pretty useful. You don't have to worry about not having someone around who knows all the rules better than you do. If there's ever a question about what you can or can't do, you just go to the wiki. Simple as that.

As for other uses... I can't really think of anything at the moment, except this, for staff to use it for. I'm sure there's something thogh. But as for patrons, my usual idea of book recommendations. They could go in and give a description of the book and recommomd similar authors or series.

#16 What's in a Wiki?

I looked at the BookLoversWiki. It kinda reminds me of Amazon's review system. Only instead of having everyone leave their own comments about the book, they all just edit the one.

One of the main uses for a Wiki I can think of, as with so many of the other Things we've covered, is for book recommendations. Patrons can go in and add their comments on a book or edit existing comments/reviews, they could also suggest similar authors. We could too, of course.

#24 The End? Or Just The Beginning?

Probably my favorite Thing we did would have to be either the RSS feeds or YouTube. The RSS feeds are just so useful. They make it so much easier to keep track of all my favorite comics and news sites. I wasn't really sure I'd like using them as much as I do. And YouTube reacquainted me with Conan the Librarian. I'm definitely going to continue using Bloglines, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, and listen to a couple of the podcast I came across. I'd definitely participate in another program. As long as there is a prize, that is.

#23 Podcasts, Smodcasts!

With this Thing I found far more amusing podcasts than stuff that was actually useful. I finally managed to find one that didn't seem idiotic or possibly obscene.

The podcast I settled on is Collected Comics Library. It's described as "The premiere podcast for news and information for DC Archive Editions, Marvel Masterworks, Marvel Essentials, other high-end comic books and trade paperbacks!" He talks about new items coming out and reviews new releases. This could be helpful in my ordering.

#22 Downloading Audiobooks & Videos

The last time I tried looking up I Am America (And So Can You) on R.E.A.D.S it wasn't available. I'm quite happy to see it's there now. I think I'll listen to it over winter break while I clean. As far as MyLibraryDV goes, there were only one or two movies listed that I'd want to watch. I might watch some of the cooking shows though. And maybe a couple of the book shows.

R.E.A.D.S would be a very good application for those patrons who just can't wait for the actual item to come in. Some of them can get quite upset over stuff taking too long. MyLibrayDV would be better if it had a more up to date selection. Yeah it's got Boohbah *shudders*, but what about the Puzzle Place? Or just more recent movies. They don't even have to be big movies, the most recent documentaries and/or independent films would be fine.

Also, I thought it was kinda weird that the guided tour talked out how to burn stuff. Uhh... I thought we were against that.

#21 You Too Can YouTube

I kinda got sidetracked on this one. I'd completely forgotten about "Conan the Librarian".



I love YouTube. I actually use it to watch anime, among other things. YouTube has the potential to be helpful to a library. We could post videos of some of your events to try to build interest in future events or post some how-to videos linked from our site. "How to use the Express Checkout" or "How to Cancel a Reservation". Or hey, patrons could make purchase requests through videos, saying why they think we should add the item. We could also have our staff picks done by video, with us explaining why we like the book.