The Life and Times of Library Lass

Tonight I bid a fond farewell to Learning 2.0 and big HEYA to Princeton!  I'm heading there tomorrow with Heather and Reuben for the Capstone Retreat.  This weekend event happens before the Forums on Youth Ministry to allow those who have completed three (or are attending their third) forums to receive their Certificate of Youth & Theology.  I'm not gonna lie here, I'm not bragging or boasting...I'm just really proud of myself.  Who would have thought that little ol' me would receive anything from Princeton's Theological Seminary?  Certainty not I.  I thought Waterloo was grand, but now that I'm ivy league who knows what I'll do next ;)

See you in a week!!  I'll have some pictures to add from my new camera ( I saved like a good girl and did get the camera I mentioned a couple months ago). If I get a handle on how to use it that is.  I never knew how interesting manuels were until this very moment.  

This week we were instructed to explore the world of online gaming; whether it be virtual worlds like Second Life (my first life is confusing enough, so I skipped the chance to create another one) or checking out some of the various sites online.  At every branch I've worked, there are always hoards of children coming in after school to play games for as long as they can.  Sometimes I would see it as a waste of time, but as soon as I got onto www.popcap.com I was hooked and felt like a child myself, full of wonder and awe. Over my break I played games like Zuma, Bookworm (which is fitting if you ask me) and Bejeweled.  They suck you in and you just can't stop yourself from going level to level.  It was as if time stood still and nothing existed beyond the games.  The fifteen minutes just wasn't enough and I wanted to sit there and play for hours.  I haven't played any games since I experimented with them last Thursday, but I can now see how the kids are fighting for computer time.  If I end up missing at some point I'm most likely holed up in my apartment trying to beat my last score...this could be dangerous, fun but dangerous nonetheless.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhnc9x7s_0n4pmn7fb is the link to the simple Google Doc that I wrote for my library training.  I thought I'd spice it up with an image and highlighted the different areas that I felt could use an open document format like this one.  Enjoy!

I was rather psyched to see the podcast week in our training since I have been meaning to get on that band wagon for a while now.  I have a soft spot for CBC Radio and not enough time or forethought to hear my favourite shows, but ah ha!  They have selective podcasts now...and now that I'm well versed in the art of podcast retrieval I will finally get myself in gear!

I explored YouTube like many a time before, but did the suggested Hamilon Ontario search...some people have some extra time to burn let me tell you.  I saw videos of Hulk 2 filming, friends shopping together at Fortinos, people driving around Hamilton and let us not forget the random concert footage from the Hammer.

I used the google podcast directory and found this: http://www.geeknewscentral.com/podcasts/ a podcast that would be helpful as I continue my techy learnings beyond Library 2.0.  I think Stuart MacLean is one of the all-time best storytellers.  His vinyl cafe stories are the only audiobooks I can handle listening to...refer to my last post about my dislike for audiobooks.  The link to that podcast is http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/index.html?arts#vinylcafe.

I enjoy being consumed by the written word and letting it take me to place and situations unfamiliar to my own.  To have my mind enlightened and spirit lifted and I just don't find that in e-audiobooks.  I'll give the two I downloaded a try by playing them on my drive to work and we'll see if my opinion changes.

From OverDrive I downloaded "Miracles" by C.S. Lewis who I fell in love with while at university.  I found this program easy to navigate and liked that it is directly linked to my library account.  On NetLibrary I downloaded "Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent" by Anthony Rapp.  Rent is my favourite musical and with  Mark being my favourite character I thought it would be another good choice.  I wasn't too pleased that I had to create another online account, but that's what happens when you are an internet junkie...or web 2.0 savvy that is...

In other words I found OverDrive user friendly and NetLibrary more difficult in terms of both ease of use and searching.

Week 11 is finished!  Library 2.0 training has flown by as most aspects of life seem to do these days.  For part one I searched nutrition on the Health Source database and put the feed into my Bloglines account with no problems.  I searched Library 2.0 for part two and also had no issues adding it to my growing list of feeds.

I think students doing a large research paper would really benefit from this service.  The alerts pretty much do the research for you and what stress ridden academic wouldn't appreciate that?  I think information on database feeds should be added to the homework help area and the teen page of hpl.ca.  We all know that the younger folk know far more than we do and would love the extra help with school work.  I have some friends working on their thesis and would have ADORED a service like this during the many months of research.

As information folk I'm sure we can find numerous uses for these feeds - regular searches made easier, curriculum based searches and so much more I'm sure!

I created my page on our HPL network and thought it was an interesting and simple site to use.  I had never heard of it before and enjoyed putting together my brief profile.  I can see this as a great way to keep staff connected on a social level as we work away at our unique branches. 

I am a "facebooker" and love how it has kept me in contact with various friends from various parts of my life.  The campies, PYPSers, University friends, High school peeps, Judge folks and the current circle I have the pleasure of seeing regularly.  On "our" profile I added the Aristotle Quotes application since we are a thinking institution and who doesn't like something a little brainy to keep you going each day?

I use Firefox when I browse at home and found myself reallying enjoying the "Stumble Upon" add-on last winter.  To remember some of the links I found I opened up a del.ic.ous account to keep track of everything and then left it...somewhat like my RSS feeds...but that's just between you and I ;)  I went through delicious today and weeded out the "dead domains" and ones that I have no idea I liked in the first place.  You can find me there @ http://del.icio.us/jessi_page.  I hope to keep up with it so that I can keep my church, library and home bookmarks all in one spot.

LibraryThing is such a great tool!!  I can't believe I haven't used it before!  I think I'm going to actually use it to keep track of what I'm reading so I don't have those "and who wrote that book about the girl again?"  I had to use Horizon and Amazon to find some of the titles I wanted to add so that just made my needs even more obvious.  You may notice that I have a love for girly inspirational chick lit (pretty much books about women like me), books on youth ministry (my other vocation), Mo Willems (some of the funniest pictures books EVER) and the Nerds series (the BA ladies all read them last year and had a hoot).  There I'm http://www.librarything.com/catalog/jessi_page.

I already have pictures posted on my blog and with Vox it is VERY simple to add them, but I'm "just not that into" Flicker, Picasa or other online photo sharing communities.  I have slipped out of photography since my camera has become dated and my rechargeable batteries are become less charged with each use.  I do post photos for friends on Facebook and enjoy checking out what they have; but feel that I don't have many "worthy" of the perusal by complete strangers.  Below is another photo for your enjoyment of a film I saw in late January and really enjoyed.  I rarely say this, but I hope I enjoy the book as much as the movie when I get around to reading it.  I just may have shed a tear or two ;)

You may see some of my own work if I keep saving like I am for a Canon I saw at an excellent price (at Costco nonethelesss) with the capabilities I'd like to have...one day I tell ya and hopefully before my Princeton trip in April too!

Simply Beautiful

I had a good time playing with the new web stuff introduced though week 6's activities, but my ultimate fav is the "geek test."  I took it years ago and scored as a total geek or someting along those lines.  You may want to try it out for yourself and see just how nerdy you really are...  http://www.innergeek.us/geek.html