I have found the 19 Things programme very interesting indeed. It has introduced me to 'Things' which I will definitely make use of in the future, both at work and at home.
Being a part-timer, it has been quite difficult to keep up with the Things, but having the catch-up weeks really helped. The necessity to blog about the Things made me consider in detail what my reactions had been to them, and the ease or otherwise of use. It has also made me think about the use we could make of them in the library setting.
I think that the Thing which I most enjoyed was CiteULike, because it has opened my eyes to reference management software and how useful it can be. And it's free! Library Thing is a terrific resource, and we can make good use of it in the library by creating reading lists, lists of new book purchases, lists of 'likes', all with a very user-friendly and attractive interface.
I felt that some of the Things of necessity (ie in order to conform to NHS IT considerations) used a product which perhaps was not the most efficient or easy to use in its class. ProtoPage was one of these, which I consider is not a patch on Netvibes, but that is a very personal opinion, and I am sure that if I persevered with ProtoPage I would appreciate its qualities in the end!
I also prefer Doodle to MeetOMatic, but again, I appreciate the reasons why this was used for the 19Things programme.
We are looking at Netvibes for current awareness, but may not be able to continue with it as it needs Firefox or Chrome to be effective. Other Things already in use in our library are Library Thing and we have created a QR code on our library door which links to our intranet site.
I feel that it has been a really good experience to complete this training. As I have said previously, it has given me time to look at Things in more depth than usual, and with the always helpful instructions on how to use these applications, it has made the whole programme really well worth while. Thank you to the team too for the occasional comments on blog posts, which have been very welcome.
I had previously made a start on the 23 Things programme, but failed to persevere with it, mainly because some of the Things did not seem very applicable to my post. But the 19 Things were always relevant, always well explained, and will be useful in the future. I hope the other participants have enjoyed it as much as I have.
Thursday 5 December 2013
Thursday 28 November 2013
Catching up
It's been good to have a week to catch up. Last week was very busy, so I was unable to post to my blog, but I have caught up this week, and now feel that I am fairly up to date.
I have been thinking of how all these activities have been very relevant to what we do in the library. Today at our team meeting we were talking about increasing our use of QR codes, and I feel so much more familiar with them now.
I have really appreciated the emphasis on practical applications which we can use to improve what we do in the library, and the course has made me spend more time exploring the ways in which these technologies can be put into use, rather than just having a pretty superficial knowledge of what they can do.
I have been thinking of how all these activities have been very relevant to what we do in the library. Today at our team meeting we were talking about increasing our use of QR codes, and I feel so much more familiar with them now.
I have really appreciated the emphasis on practical applications which we can use to improve what we do in the library, and the course has made me spend more time exploring the ways in which these technologies can be put into use, rather than just having a pretty superficial knowledge of what they can do.
CiteULike
How I wish I had know about reference management software when I was doing my research degree. It's a few years ago now, so possibly none was available in those far-off days.
When I think of the struggles involved in compiling a bibliography, making sure that every entry conformed to the standard required by the University, how much easier it would have been having a tool like this.
It was very simple to register with CiteULike, and with the bookmarklet on my toolbar it is incredibly easy to add citations to my library.
Ways in which we could use this in the Library keep occurring to me. For example, when students have problems with referencing, we could point them to this type of software, which will automatically format the references in the appropriate style.
It would also be useful in compiling lists of references when we want to use evidence-based practice to inform our library activities.
I can see that I shall be making a lot of use of this in the future.
When I think of the struggles involved in compiling a bibliography, making sure that every entry conformed to the standard required by the University, how much easier it would have been having a tool like this.
It was very simple to register with CiteULike, and with the bookmarklet on my toolbar it is incredibly easy to add citations to my library.
Ways in which we could use this in the Library keep occurring to me. For example, when students have problems with referencing, we could point them to this type of software, which will automatically format the references in the appropriate style.
It would also be useful in compiling lists of references when we want to use evidence-based practice to inform our library activities.
I can see that I shall be making a lot of use of this in the future.
Thursday 14 November 2013
LibraryThing
I have really enjoyed getting acquainted with LibraryThing and finding out how to use it. Although we already use this within the Library, currently mainly to promote our new book purchases, I have not been particularly involved with this task and so therefore I was a relative 'newbie'.
How nice to use something which is not only simple to operate but which produces such a good-looking result. I set about selecting some of the books which I have been reading with my Book Club, and it was simplicity itself to add the books and display them. I particularly like the 'covers' view.
I can also see the advantages of being able to comment, recommend and share selections. I am sure that I will think of other ways to use it in the future. It is particularly suitable for Book Clubs to keep a track of what they have read, but there must be all sorts of uses which we as a Library could adopt to promote our stock.
How nice to use something which is not only simple to operate but which produces such a good-looking result. I set about selecting some of the books which I have been reading with my Book Club, and it was simplicity itself to add the books and display them. I particularly like the 'covers' view.
I can also see the advantages of being able to comment, recommend and share selections. I am sure that I will think of other ways to use it in the future. It is particularly suitable for Book Clubs to keep a track of what they have read, but there must be all sorts of uses which we as a Library could adopt to promote our stock.
Wednesday 13 November 2013
Meet-o-matic
In the past I have told lots of people about Doodle, but I'd never heard of the very similar Meet-o-matic. Essentially, they do the same thing, but I have found that Doodle is more intuitive and therefore setting up a meeting is an easier operation using this software than with Meet-o-matic.
However, the people to whom I posted suggested dates of the proposed meeting using Meet-o-matic found it really easy to respond, and the software worked perfectly well in suggesting the date most suitable for all attendees.
This is the sort of software which makes life so much simpler for everyone.
I had a look at the JISC Time Management toolkit. It is probably primarily designed for those involved in project management, but it includes lots of very useful tips on managing and prioritising tasks in an efficient way. Very good advice on how to manage emails, and how to stop your workspace being cluttered with unnecessary paperwork. Also good on the effective management of meetings. A very useful resource to know about.
However, the people to whom I posted suggested dates of the proposed meeting using Meet-o-matic found it really easy to respond, and the software worked perfectly well in suggesting the date most suitable for all attendees.
This is the sort of software which makes life so much simpler for everyone.
I had a look at the JISC Time Management toolkit. It is probably primarily designed for those involved in project management, but it includes lots of very useful tips on managing and prioritising tasks in an efficient way. Very good advice on how to manage emails, and how to stop your workspace being cluttered with unnecessary paperwork. Also good on the effective management of meetings. A very useful resource to know about.
Wednesday 6 November 2013
Reflection - no, really!
The first thing that I did this week was to re-read my own blog - and swiftly noticed how many times I had used the word 'really'. A little bit more proof reading before publishing wouldn't go amiss!
I think that I have tried to do all the tasks prior to this, and have written up my thoughts on them, so I thought that I would take a look at all the other blogs. Lots of them - they are so good, and I especially liked the 'funnies'. It makes it a much more interesting read if a blog is written with a bit of humour, and it shows that this is one way to make your blog stand out from the crowd.
Images, too - I haven't used many, and my own blog looks so much duller than some others who have used some very good images. I particularly liked the 'reflective' image included on one blog for this week's task!
All the weekly tasks have been interesting, and I have learned a great deal from spending time investigating them all. Sometimes I feel swamped by all these things when they come at me in the course of the working day, so it has been very good to be able to set some time aside to look into them in more detail.
I think that I have tried to do all the tasks prior to this, and have written up my thoughts on them, so I thought that I would take a look at all the other blogs. Lots of them - they are so good, and I especially liked the 'funnies'. It makes it a much more interesting read if a blog is written with a bit of humour, and it shows that this is one way to make your blog stand out from the crowd.
Images, too - I haven't used many, and my own blog looks so much duller than some others who have used some very good images. I particularly liked the 'reflective' image included on one blog for this week's task!
All the weekly tasks have been interesting, and I have learned a great deal from spending time investigating them all. Sometimes I feel swamped by all these things when they come at me in the course of the working day, so it has been very good to be able to set some time aside to look into them in more detail.
Thursday 31 October 2013
Adding Feeds to MyLibrary
I found the instructions for these tasks really clear and easy to follow. I had a real problem creating a feed from The Wikiman blog, as I constantly got an error message about the bandwith being exceeded, which I am assuming related to the blog and not to my PC.
However, as an alternative, I found the blog for the Wellcome Library, and was successful with that. I really like the ease with which you can add feeds to MyLibrary - it works really well, and you can edit the title, move feeds up and down in the list, or remove them very simply.
I can see that I shall be using this much more in the future.
However, as an alternative, I found the blog for the Wellcome Library, and was successful with that. I really like the ease with which you can add feeds to MyLibrary - it works really well, and you can edit the title, move feeds up and down in the list, or remove them very simply.
I can see that I shall be using this much more in the future.
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