Thing 8: Curation Tools

Tools to appeal to Visual Learners.

These are three very interesting, and in the case of Flipboard and Pinterest, very visually striking tools.

Pinterest, I had used a little bit but had always dismissed it as little more than a glorified picture scrapbook.  Pretty to look at if you wanted ideas on how to organise your closet or get a steer on what colour jacket would go with what dress.  Delving a little deeper into what it has to offer though, I think I might have been a little harsh.  There are far more useful pins in it than I had realised and it could be a really useful way to engage with students, especially those who find it easier to learn in a visual way.

Of course, it is also a great resource when looking for new and interesting ways of displaying and promoting library material.

Flipboard is a tool that I had looked at a few years ago and enjoyed using it for a while but just gradually got out of the habit of looking at it frequently.

It is a lovely, visually appealing tool to look at with slick typography and glossy photographs.  There are topics for everyone to get aggregated news on. If finding “news” items on Kate Middleton is your wish, well you can. Of course, it follows that quantity of sources does not equal quality but I suppose it all depends on what you are looking for.

It is great way of following topics or particular news sources.  Building up your own magazine of stories that you can read later when you have the time is so easy.

I also like the Daily Edition feature where you can check out the top news stories of the day.

Of course, it can be very easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer amount of articles that are being aggregated for you but I suppose you either have to narrowly focus your topics or become adept at being able to filter the useful news items from the not so useful.

When I was checking it out, I also felt that the news stories were mainly coming from American publications and that could leave a very one sided take on what is going on in the world.

I definitely think that this could be a really useful tool to use with students in information training sessions.  It’s a great way for them to start thinking about how to pull sources together when working on assignments in certain areas.  The immediacy of the information could be really useful to them.

 The concept behind Storify is really interesting and I look forward to investigating how it works and where it could potentially be useful in a library setting.  

Thing 7: Podcasts

Thing 7: Podcasts

I love, love, love podcasts. I listen to them loads in my own life.

I can honestly say that they have accompanied me on hundreds of kilometres of walking. In fact, sometimes the only thing that has made me go out walking in the evenings is the thought of finishing listening to some podcast that I have started.

 

There are podcasts for any and every subject you are interested in and I love listening to Catch Up podcasts as well. You don’t need to listen to all of a radio programme – just download the segment of the show that interests you.  All the radio stations provide podcasts of their shows and it’s a great way of keeping up to date with what is going on in the world.

 

And no matter what your niche interest is, there is bound to be a podcast to cater to it. Interested in sport, film, music, wine, falling further down the rabbit hole of just what is going on in Game of Thrones, you will find a podcast that is right for you.

 

I had not listened to library podcasts up to this but it’s not surprising that there are ones dedicated to our profession. I listened to some of the Circulating Ideas podcasts and quite enjoyed them. While their experiences might not be exactly the same as ours, it is interesting to learn what is going on in libraries in another country. Also as new technologies seem to break through in the US faster, you never know what new advance you could hear about before it makes it way over here.

  

I can understand the static nature of podcasts mean they are not for everyone and in an academic library where I work, I don’t think the medium is particularly appealing to students. However, I suppose it all depends on the people that you are targeting and the nature of the information being imparted as to how easily it can be incorporated into a library situation. 

 

Strangely, I never got into the Serial podcast. Listened to the first two episodes but just never became too engaged by it.  One I really enjoy is the New Yorker fiction podcast. It is a monthly podcast where authors read a story by another author that was published in the New Yorker magazine and talk about why they picked it and other general musings. Some really great pairings on it - Roddy Doyle being read by Dave Eggers or Roddy Doyle reading Maeve Brennan.

 

Despite my love of podcasts, I think I will hold off on recording one of my own.  Listening to me talking and stuttering through a recording is probably not something the world really needs right now.

Thing 6: Reflective Practice

Thing 6: Reflective Practice.

Rudai 23 has been a really interesting learning experience for me so far. The reason that I started the course was to learn new things and I can definitely say that that has happened.  In fact it has shown me how much more upskilling I need to do to in the area of social media and developing a professional brand but that’s all part of the fun and the challenge.

The blogs by the other participants have been really interesting to read and it is great to see how much we all have in common in regard to our enthusiasm for our profession. Regardless of how we ended up in libraries, everyone seems to really like what they are doing and are inspired and motivated by different  aspects of their job.

I still have loads of work to do to develop my own professional brand and to integrate social media into my professional life which is not something I had really been doing up to now.  I have been a bit of a Luddite when it comes to social media and the Rudai 23 community have really opened my eyes to how much is going on in this area in relation to libraries.  Despite my wariness, I just need to fully get on board with this trend and start tweeting, commenting on blogs, joining groups, lists and communities and embrace the opportunities for learning and networking that they provide.

I have now joined Linkedin and signed up for a new Twitter account to use for professional purposes but still have loads of work to do on them.

Having and maintaining a blog is also a bit of a novelty and I would like to be able to put in the time in learning how to add graphics and photos and make it look a bit nicer and less text heavy.

So loads of work still to do but at least I know what direction I should be going in!

Thing 5: Online Networks

Tweet, Tweet, Tweet

Using my own personal social network accounts in a professional way to network with colleagues is not something I have done up to now.  I never realised quite how much active library discussion, sharing and shaping was been conducted over social media platforms. It is a great way to network and share ideas both nationally and internationally. I had not been aware of the lists on Twitter before now so will have to spend some time looking at them and deciding which ones to join.

Facebook is not a platform I use but I am a big fan of Twitter and really love the immediacy of it, seeing what the trends are on any given day, following the hashtags that are of interest to me and following people and groups that I find interesting.

The great thing about Twitter from a corporate point of view is that it you can really shape your online presence and show a different side to your organisation. Be informative but also fun, friendly and approachable and hopefully followers will respond to that.

Some Irish institutions have really used their Twitter feeds to show their human side. Organisations like An Garda Siochana and Aer Rianta use their accounts to disseminate information but they also have a little fun as well.

I love using Twitter in a personal capacity but I think to use it professionally, I would have to set up a separate account and look at the ramifications of that.  What other library professionals might find interesting would not be so appreciated by family and friends and vice versa. Reading through some of the blogs, that seems to be an issue lots of people have and there are lots of multiple twitter account holders and tweeters out there.

The lists facility on Twitter was not something I was aware of so I will have to spend some time looking at them and deciding which ones to join.

I don’t know too much about Tweetdeck but will look into that as a way of managing multiple twitter accounts.

  

Thing 4

The scope of the Google universe is so far reaching, it is almost scary.

I had been “guided” into setting up a google+ account a while ago but had not really used it too much or spent time exploring the features.

Google+ does what lots of what other social media platforms do and I can see there is huge potential in using the features like Circles and Hangouts but it has just never caught the global imagination in the way other platforms have and it just feels like there is not a critical mass of people using the network.

It does not have the reach and immediate recognition factor that Facebook and Twitter have. I have never heard anyone say I will add you to my Google+ circles or anyone ask me am I on Google+.

In my own contacts on gmail, very few of them have set up the Google+ account so again, I feel that it would be hard to really use it actively.

I did however use the hangout feature and it is pretty straightforward and easy to use. I didn’t try the Video Chat yet.

The scope of what can be done using the features is huge and definitely worth taking the time to really explore how they could best used in a workplace or personal setting.

Google photos  also looks very interesting. I had never looked at that feature before and it seems like a really useful and interesting  way to work with photos.   

Thing 3 Linkedin

I had been aware of Linkedin but had never really delved into the mechanics of what it could do as a social networking tool.

I had seen so many patchy profiles withe the empty grey photo box that it never really caught my attention.

However, now having joined it and created a profile, I can see the massive potential it has for networking with colleagues and keeping up to date with what is going on in your chosen field.

It is a little bit scary the amount of information that you can put out there for the whole world to see and I think that you need to very carefully evaluate exactly how you present yourself.

In common with other social networking tools, I think it is also important to keep updating with relevant information. A lot of the profiles to be started and then abandoned.

Of course, it is also very interesting to see what fellow library professionals are doing and involved in and provides motivation and inspiration for your own career.