Final Project - YouTube link

I made my very first YouTube video this weekend. It hits the key points of our final project research paper. My group focused on open source software in libraries- the reasons some libraries choose OSS and the pros and cons of OSS versus other types of software.

Technical difficulties and slow internet were my main obstacles. I ended up using Photo Story 3 for Windows, thanks to my teammate Jamie's helpful suggestion. With it, I uploaded my Powerpoint presentation (which I had saved in JPEG format) and added audio.

Here is my YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KWW-zSAk20

This class was truly a challenge for me, as I suspect it was for many of us. I'm so glad to have gotten through it and I have learned so much. And there is still so much more to learn... Good luck, everyone!

Assignment 3- CMS and library websites

I interviewed Carolyn Leavitt, a volunteer for the North Plains Public Library in North Plains, Oregon. I chose North Plains after reading a blog from Meredith Farkas where she asked readers to submit good examples of libraries using WordPress. I wanted to interview someone who used CMS in a public library setting specifically because public libraries are my focus.

Mrs. Leavitt created the Web site and maintains it for the library. She chose WordPress because as a first-timer using CMS, WordPress seemed like the easiest to learn and use. Below is our discussion:

How and where did you hear about content management systems?
From the internet. We looked at many other programs before choosing WordPress.

What was your motivation for adopting a CMS for your library website?
Ease of use.

What was your decision making criteria?
Usability, versatility, low cost.

Why did you choose WordPress?
It was the best I found.

What are the important benefits or advantages of WordPress over the old system or another CMS system you've used in the past?
No experience with an older system.

How was the learning curve?
Moderate.

Have you encountered any drawbacks to WordPress?
None so far.

Have you had any feedback from the community since beginning the useof WordPress?
They love our new website.

WordPress- assignment 2- not so bad!

This week our assignment was to collaborate on a weblog using WordPress. My teammates were Erin McKinney and Marti Minor. Between the three of us, we managed to:

• create blogs
• import photos
• install widgets
• create individual bio pages
• implement categories for blogs
• install themes
• create tags
• incorporate a blogroll
• create a site map with a nested page heirarchy

WordPress was not difficult to use. There were a few times when it took me a bit of fumbling around before I learned the way to do it, such as when I first tried to nest my bio page under the parent About Us page. However, after either taking more time to poke around the site or by communicating with my teammates using the blog, I figured it out.

The most difficulty I had was in trying to install a plug in. I browsed the WordPress plugins page and found one that sounded interesting. It enabled you to have twitter updates from an organization on the home page. My teammates and I thought that having tweets from the ALA or the Library of Congress would be neat. However, the problem was that we weren't set up to use those particular widgets.

I would definitely use WordPress in the future. Of the two content management systems we've discussed so far, it seems to be the easier one. It was intuitive enough for a tech novice like me to use.

Fun with WordPress

Well, it's so far, so good with WordPress. It's been easy to use. Really, I've just kind of bumbled around and done some simple things like create posts, comment on posts and create a bio page. I am confused about why there only are 5 themes to choose from, though. There must be some other way to customize that I haven't noticed yet.

I am even considering creating a site for my running group. That, of course, will be something I can do in my spare time...one day...AFTER Maymester! :)

Content management systems

So I spent most of the day Sunday reading articles and listening to presentations for assignment 2. I must admit that most of the material was over my head. What really gets me is all of the abbreviations the presenters used! It literally was me trying to follow another language. But, I'm hanging in there and hoping that some of this knowledge will seep in!

At least the Drupal music video provided some comic relief.

Wikis and feeds and blogs, oh my!

I was particularly interested in this assignment because my library doesn't have a very interactive Web presence. I had already talked with our information specialist about creating a wiki, and she had already envisioned one with a detailed library history page. I want one that creates a sense of community, where staff and users collaborate and create together. I'd like to see book clubs, book reviews, suggestions for the library, and group projects pages.

The Moultrie Library is a public library in Colquitt County, Georgia, which serves a population of about 45,000. We have two branches and a Bookmobile, and we log about 100,000 patron visits per year.

I went to wikimatrix.org and, because of the huge list of wikis to look through, I used the wizard to help me narrow down my choices based on our needs. I chose Wikispaces because it seemed easy to use and, best of all, it's free! It needs to be easy to use since no one on our staff has any experience with a wiki, and the patrons need to be able to create content as well.

I hope to implement this technology into our Web page soon. I'll be sure to update my blog and RSS feed when that time comes!

Google reader

Also, just wanted to put this out there: I'm digging Google reader! It's a great way to keep up with everything I like to keep up with! I've got several classmates' blogs and RSS feeds, as well as some other blogs I check regularly on there. This is going to be a big help, and something I'll continue to manage after this class is over.

Lingering confusion

Well, I had to take last night off (from schoolwork, anyway) to work on my husband's monthly sales tax. If you think RSS feeds cause excessive furrowing of the brows, you should try decipering grease-covered automotive invoices! :)

Anyway, I got back to the grind this afternoon and found the class discussion board full of messages. It seems many of us are still confused over RSS feeds and where to post certain assignments. I have to admit that I was relieved (selfish, I know!) to find that I was not the only one feeling a little lost. But, I managed to update my standalone RSS feed, so something must be sinking in.

Hang in there, everyone! As we go along this is all going to become more intuitive. We'll all be pros in no time. It'll be worth it- the world is going electronic and libraries need to be leading the pack.

RSS Feeds cause brain bleeds....

Okay, so hopefully you can tell by the title of this one that I had a wee bit of trouble following this whole RSS feed thing. But, thankfully, I understood a lot better after our meeting in Live Classroom tonight. I finally got my RSS feed set up. So now I have a spiffy new blog for this class, and people can subscribe to an RSS feed for that, and I also have a separate RSS feed concerning events at my library. I hope I've got all this right!

Here's my RSS feed URL if anyone is interested: http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/36664

A little bit about me

Welcome to my blog! I hope my fellow classmates in MLIS 7505 are enjoying this immersion in new technologies as much as I am.

I work at the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library, and I'm lucky enough to have the awesomely cool job of driving the Bookmobile. When we're not out on a route, and not in the Bookmobile area doing Bookmobile stuff, I also help out at the front desk. I do a little bit of everything up there since my co-workers seem to think I am technologically gifted. If only they knew! I know a little bit about a lot of things, but I know I'm going to learn so much from this class.

I look forward to getting to know you all!