Week 12 - Final Reflections

It is hard to believe that the 2.0 Challenge is over. It has been so much a part of my life for the last 5 months that it will be hard to let it go. And yet, all things must come to an end, so I also find that I am ready to move on.

What was the most important thing that you learned? Why?
Do I have to limit myself to one thing? First, I learned that this staff is an incredibly creative and insightful group (see my previous post) Professionally, I learned that there is an unbelievably rich and varied number of 2.0 tools out in there in cyberspace and that we have barely scratched the surface. I need to be much more involved on a daily basis, because it is easy to fall very far behind very quickly. Personally, I found out that I could be less resistant to change (at least some change) and more willing to just throw myself into a tool or site and play. Play is a great way to learn.

What was the most challenging exercise? Why?
None of the exercises was particularly difficult, though many were time consuming (and a few outright addictive.) Multimedia was challenging because there was so much to do, so I am glad we decided to extend the time frame by an extra week. MySpace was probably the worst. I just hated the site, found it annoying and confusing to use, and needed a bit of help to get through it.

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises?
RSS was a revelation to me. Now I cannot live without my Bloglines account. I am also using Google Reader as well for professional feeds. I was already addicted to YouTube, so I enjoyed that exploration tremendously. After at first dismissing GoogleDocs, I just may have found a personal use for it. Now I just have to find the time. And actually, I enjoyed and/or learned something from almost everything we did.

How can the Arcadia Public Library use these technologies to deliver or improve library services?
I feel strongly that there are many web 2.0 tools we could use for both public and staff benefit. Our catalog and website can both be improved by adding a variety of content. Some apps are easily implemented, however others require monetary outlay and staff time. In some cases a lot of staff time. With both money and staff already tightly stretched, priorities need to be determined and some current projects, services, etc. let go in favor of new and potentially better ones. And, we need to recognize that just because we can do something, it doesn't mean we should.

Here are some of my previous suggestions:

Blogging: We could have a Director's blog that would give the public the big picture viewpoint. Adult and Children's Services could blog about new acquisitions, databases, websites, story time themes, authors, National Whatever Week, etc. YA services could be another blog. We could have blogs on technology, ESL, gov docs (hey, David's already done this!), local history, the Museum, etc. We could have a volunteer blog highlighting accomplishments of current volunteers, projects, volunteer opportunities. We could have book reviews or a "what the staff is reading" blog. We could have a Friends blog which could include projects, fund-raising opportunities, programs, newsletter. How about a Book Discussion blog to take the experience online and open it up to more people?

Most importantly, we need to open our blogs to comments. The community would feel much more invested in the library if they could participate. In fact, user driven content is the entire basis for web 2.0.

RSS Feeds: Adding RSS feeds is, to my mind, one of the most valuable web 2.0 tools of all. Currently, we cannot achieve this due to problems with our content manager. I'm still not sure if this is money or technology driven, but it should be a #1 priority to solve. It would be invaluable to patrons who would not have to check back again and again to see if there was something new. If our blog (or blogs :-) ) were set up as RSS feeds, patrons could subscribe to those they found most interesting or helpful - new books, what the staff is reading, etc. Perhaps the most valuable might be program/event feeds. Patrons could then subscribe to Kids and Tweens, Teen, or Adult Programming feeds. Or, perhaps Friends or Museum events. The possibilities are almost endless. Staff can also utilize RSS feeds to keep in touch with professional journals, blogs, news, technology information. Again limitless possibilities.

Tagging/Deli.cio.us: Staff members can create their own lists of sites useful in their own work tasks. These can be accessible whether at their own work stations or at the public desks; in effect, all staff working at the Children's Desk, for example, can have access to their own favorites. Public services staff can put their favorite sites on del.icio.us and make them available for the public to take advantage of the research expertise of information professionals.

Wikis: The Library policy manual and section procedure manuals could be utilized as wikis.

Images: Jackie is already doing a fabulous job creating and maintaining the Library's Flickr account. Perhaps there is a way to get our teens involved in posting photos to a Teen Flicker account. Maybe we could organize a photo project in which patrons could post photos of the library, their favorite books (including the photos taken at the upcoming Library Week photo shoot), favorite places to read, etc.

Online Productivity Tools: Internal uses - Monthly Statistical Report, Volunteer Database, Incident Report, Section Documents (i.e. SRP documents) For the public, recommending GoogleDocs as an alternative to Word.

YouTube: We could have vids of concerts, Friends' programs, events, story times, etc. Perhaps even a video tour of the Library. Using YouTube, they could be embedded on our website, in blogs, etc.

Podcasts: Some possibilities for podcasts include: Book Discussion groups for anyone who was unable to attend, staff and teen book reviews, Friends' programs.

LibraryThing: LibraryThing (or other third party products such as Aquabrowser) would offer added dimension, information, and functionality to our catalog and provide an experience similar to many websites with which patrons are very familiar, including IMDB, Amazon, etc. It might be fun to have a staff LibraryThing group. Just like the favorites wiki, it is another way to learn a bit more about your fellow staff members and might be a bit of a morale booster to share interests with each other.

Social Networking Sites: Remember what I said about just because we could do something, it doesn't mean that we should?

How successful was the “self-directed” learning model? Is this a useful way of encouraging staff development?

From my perspective it was hugely successful. Setting aside time for meetings and workshops is very difficult considering our schedules. A "self-directed" learning program allows staff to work at their own pace and at the times that fir their schedules. This is definitely something we should continue.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?

I think this program was the very best we could make it. However, if we decide to do something similar in the future, I would like to try a 4-week program and explore just two types of tools, using 2 weeks for each. Then, I would take 2 months off and do another 4-week program. I think everyone was tired by the end of 12 weeks. Although it may be possible to streamline the support materials or exercises, I strongly believe it is important to really get a feel for the tool, not just stop in, look around quickly, and move on. I also think it is important to reflect on what you discovered and experienced. Although I sometimes wanted to never write another reflection again, the process helps to reinforce what you learned and gives the opportunity for suggestions for use (or not) of the tool in a library setting.

If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you again choose to participate?

Are you kidding? Shiny! Sign me up.

There. That's it. Done. Last post.

Well, maybe not.........