Wikis (thing 16 & 17)

After repreated tries, I was finally able to add my hyperlinked blog name to the Learning 2.0 Sandbox wiki. In spite of Ellen's excellent instructions, I was only able to get my blog name added correctly by viewing the source code for the page and adding the URL address at that point.

Using the "insert link" method left me with the insert link box still on the page (after clicking OK) for up to 45 minutes. At that point I canceled the action. Grr.

However, other libraries are certainly using Wikis in interesting fashions. The Oregon Library Instruction wiki is an interesting example of a collaborative instruction resource for librarians. This place where the Library 2.0 in 15 minutes a day wiki is hosted. Oddly enough I wasn't able to figure out from their main page how to navigate to the Library 2.0 page - until I looked at the recent changes page.

Training page like this one and the collaborative compilaiton of topic specific knowledge seem to be the best use for the model.

Library blogs (thing 9)

Although I'm guilty of being a lazy poster, luckily other librarians seem to love blogging. I've added several very interesting blogs to my Google RSS reader:

• Jill Stover's Library Marketing blog which is pretty clear about the topic covered
• Stephen M. Cohen's Library Stuff, which is a bit more eclectic (and covers both personal and professional concerns)
• Jenny Levine's The Shifted Librarian (of course)

Now I also have to admit that I usually just scan the snippets presented to me in my RSS reader; it takes a heck of a snippet to get me to the full post. (tl;dr)

This could also be due to the number of other feeds I have listed: CNN, BBC, Wired Magazine, Lifehacker (♥ ♥), Freakonomics (♥), The Beat (comics industry) and People.com

IYKWIM

Libraries certainly love our jargon and acronyms (although the one I used for my titles is a text message acronym). But why stop at six letter acronyms? We can do better!

Tune in to the Wheel of Confusion to view the episode on "the longest ALA acronym". (Link takes you to a different web page.) A very cute look at a very bad practice.