Method #6 You too can Youtube

I liked TeacherTube because it has some great ideas that anyone can share. I chose to view the Dewey Decimal Rap, which lasted 4.14 minutes. It think it could have been edited to last no more than 3 minutes. Although the student did a great job, the introduction was just too long. It also would have been helpful to have another student or the librarian to show the student the signage on the end of the stacks so that the viewers could actually see how to locate a nonfiction book. I could envision a middle school librarian using this video as an review of Dewey.

Using either YouTube or TeacherTube would be a great way to publicize special events at the library and to celebrate special library dates such as Teen Read Week, National Library Week, or Banned Books Week. It is also a natural for book talks, story time and instruction.

Method #5 Photos and Images

TSLAC2.0
Originally uploaded by pdsmall

I have had a Flickr account for about a year. I mainly use it for personal pictures although I did upload pictures for an introduction to copyright that I presented to the high school staff.

The attached picture is of the Bandera High School Library sans students so that I did not have to worry about the privacy issue. Our library has a beautiful view of the Texas Hill Country, but unfortunately does not have much storage room. Sorry, I digress.

I think that online photo sharing has a lot of potential in the library world. When librarians compare notes about what they are doing in their libraries, a graphic illustration such as a picture is always beneficial.

Librarians are always gracious about sharing information and saving their colleagues time by not having to "reinvent the wheel." For example, I knew nothing about Animoto, but I saw a demo and realized that the program could take my pictures from Flickr and make those into a short video. I chose the music (no more than 30 second) and was able to make an interesting introduction to my copyright presentation.

I am more than willing to share the pictures to save others time. I think that the is one of the biggest advantages -- saving busy librarians time -- by sharing our resources. Those resources coupled with pictures of "how my library works" could also assist librarians who are new to the field. And it never hurst for us older ones to learn a few tricks. That is what is great great about 12 Things.

Test for #5 Photo & Images.

IMG_0738
Originally uploaded by pdsmall

I am testing this to see if it will work. I already had a Flickr account with some personal pictures in it. I am attempting to use Flickr's blogging tooI to upload one of the six shots that I took today.

*4 Make Life "Really Simple" with RSS and Newsreaders

RSS readers are real time savers. I did not try any of the client software because I access so many different computers at work in addition to the one at home that I knew the Web-based reader was the best choice for me. I used Google Reader as instructed and found it straight forward and user friendly.

Below are three links that I read occasionally and have established a subscription to their blogs:

http://freerangelibrarian.com
http://nancypearlbooks.wordpress.com
http://theshiftedlibrarian.com

Karen Schneider writes about libraries, writing, and her travels in her blog, Free Range Librarian. Nancy Pearl, the librarian's librarian, keeps me informed about great reads in Book Lust. Jenny Levine helps me stay current about Library 2.0 and other library news. I am much more likely to access these blogs through Google Reader rather than access each site individually. I can easily skim the material to see if the information is relevant to me and will be more likely to keep up with the sites.