new challenge

I have just begun Exploration 4- Rss Feeds and Feed Readers information and it's another new challenge. This is a good thing.

I watched the introduction to feeds and found it very helpful. I can see where it would be very beneficial to have the information from the sites you like best just sent right to you without having to search each one daily, or even several times a day, as the feeds send ongoing updates. These feeds will send the news or music or other data right to me after I sign up. Will it take away some of the fun of seeing what else is on the sites I like? Will it keep me updated more easily? Will I feel that I am missing things? As I continue this exploration, I hope to find out.

Flickr

I spent a while on Flickr for the first time this afternoon. I did several searches, one for librarians. I got some surprises and unexpected photos along the way. I did enjoy the photos from the search of Chesapeake Bay. Some were so beautiful. The Library of Congress site is awesome. I clicked on several links to explore those. Interesting that they want the public to comment on photos that have no comments or tags. Do they trust us to have all the facts correct? So often patrons don't even have the name of the book they want to read or the author of a selelction so we have to be mindreaders and good researchers to help them out!

I did the Flickr tour and will think about posting some photos but did not do so today. I did learn a llittle bit more about tags.

Now if a patron comes in and wants to set up a Flickr account, I will know where to send that person and can encourage them to take the tour and learn about posting photos, comments and tags. I hope I will be more more helpful now. I had no idea prior to today. Good day.

Graphic Novels

I decided to explore the No Flying, No Tights graphic novel review website today. Several reasons prompted this. First, the Sunday, August 24 edition of the Washington Post had a lengthy article in their Style & Arts section about graphic novels, or stories published and printed in comic book format. The second thing that prompted me is recently learning that some teens are starting to dress with the style and make up that looks like they just stepped out of a graphic novel. This is happening in middle school, and perhaps earlier.

While everything on the No Flying, No Tights website is not current, many thigs are. I did explore some posts and blogs and found them informative and interesting, giving me more insight into graphic novels and the blogs that exist to share information and ideas about these.

The Washington Post article gave some history about the development of the graphic novel and how the the concept can no longer be ignored by main stream press. Many companies are now publishing these. The question still seems to remain- are these novels real books? Some 'authorities' say yes, some say no. What cannot be ignored is the increase in sales of these novels, and the content and subject matter, which covers any and all subjects. Also, these books are not just for teens anymore. Many are being published for adults and even young children. I think that anything that gets people of all ages reading is great. I just wonder if graphics will become so mainstream that novelists will no longer feel they can publish a prose novel and sell them. Who will buy them? Will libraries continue to increase their purchases of graphic novels for all ages and genres, and will this increase circulation?

rhythm rays

Machine is us/ing us

After viewing the video, I realize that we have now arrived at a place where we teach each other, online, daily, often, and with ease. With Web 2.0 uniting a complete diversity of people, we will all continue to learn instantly and constantly, through the web, even more so than before.

Novice blogger

This is my first posting on a blog. Blogspot made the setup easier than I thought. The idea was scarier than actually doing it. I read some of the other posts first, and learned a great deal from them. I thank those that came before me, and whose posts assisted me. Now I understand what a blog is and how it can be used to share information. I can see where patrons of the library may want to set up their own blog, and this experience will enable me to better help them to do so. I did look at the Washington Post and CNN websites and saw places where someone can respond with a comment. I have read about podcasts in the paper, but the links are right there on the websites.