RSS

This week's lessons in RSS news feeds has been very enlightening-so that's how they do it! Seems if you stream it in you can stream it out.Not that I'm that likely to read all these. I can see having to be very selective. Keeps the lists to a minimum in email tho.

Happy Holidays, one and all!

195 pixels x 335 pixels:

"Technology"

A young student came to our reference desk looking for information about the technology used by the Ancient Egyptians. I noticed I paused in my answer, thinking to myself, wonder what he will think when we find a book discussing the wheel as a technological advance?... Will automobiles ever advance to being wheel-less? Does anyone except myself remember the car on the "cushion of air" idea?

So many pieces of technology are such an accepted part of everyday life, and with their lack of "movable parts", I am reminded of how difficult it is to find out which came first with a group: the inclined plane or the wheel? does it matter? is one an advance over the other? Is technology always an "advancement"? For whom? For everyone in the society or are there some losers, too? Will a cushion of air someday be an advance over the wheel?

For today, I congratulated the student on his choice of topics and helped him find our books on life in Ancient Egypt, using, of course, the computerized catalog which is one of the biggest advances in our field, and one of the best adaptive technologies I can imagine. I hope there's a good read in the works on this subject. I'll put it right next to a favorite book on my shelves, The Book on the Book Shelf by Henry Petroski, a good read about technology, engineering, and architecture.

Exploring Flicker

This is the rug in our children's room. It is a Magic Carpet.

I have seen small children, come into the library and stand transfixed, unable to walk any further, looking at the colors and objects on this rug. The adults are anxious to come into the room and the child simply stands and begins to name the objects at his/her feet.

A little older and they name the colors, the letters, the numbers. For some, walking across the rug and naming favorite objects is a ritual for the adult and child before they come any further into the room. Foir others, it is a ritual of naming when they leave for the day.

Then, poof!!, another day it is over and the rug is simply underfoot and the child anxious to get to the books, computers, puzzles, etc. The magic is elsewhere.

November

After a while, time spent doing other non-social networking things, I am going to try to push through this training course.

Next week extended

Now that Summer Reading is over and summer itself draws to a close, I have had more time to explore social sites like Facebook which is so much in the news lately. After "joining" I noticed that my friends' photos were a big draw and I sign on just to see what was up on the site in these photos.
This pointed out to me that although the web has been a big stimulus to writing, it also very much has the "look-see" effect that draws us into television watching. Makes me want the library's website to have an upgrade visually although I love all the information packed in there---I want first time users to say, "Wow that's great! I want to see more of this..." while they hear my brief "how to use the catalog" spiel while we use it.

Week Three has Become Week Four

This course is awkward in finding one's place again. This points out the changeable nature of the web (constant change) but makes the lessons hard to follow. I think a little hierarchy might help and Kate's responsibility for us in MCPL needs to be at the top of of Participants recap or with flashing lights please so I can find her. Thanks. Just talking through my blog :)

Week Two

Like the website says, "It's easy to set up an account"...it's the ideas and thoughts you want to blog that take time and effort; this is probably not news to anyone but a good reminder to myself to plan ahead and watch for thoughts or interactions during the week that might be worth commenting on.

Today I learned how to open the "wall" that separates Meeting Room A from B, making one very large meeting room here at our library. Now that wasn't easy; the wall is huge, and hung from the celing on tracks. In comparison, this blogging thoughts is. The wall has been handled very adroitly over the years; it still works perfectly, without a glitch. Lots of TLC from this staff.

A good reminder of how much thought goes into keeping a library going. I hope to handle this blog very adroitly as well.

Week One

On line learning has begun.