#35...Books 2.0
Wow, I could spend hours on this "Thing". Lots of good sites to look at. I do not think that the actual book will ever disappear. There is nothing like holding a book in your hands and reading it ! I certainly do not want to be reading a book on my phone! I am a member of shelfari - In the 1st round I set up a bookshelf on my blog with recently read books and books I plan to read. Of course I need to update it on a regular basis. Have received messages in my mailbox, requesting a response on the rating of the book and if it is a book that I would suggest as a "must - read". I looked at the Library organization sites, and registered at trackmine.com. This looks like a fun site. I like the reviews section, not only for books, but for movies, wine, software and a variety of items.
I thought "twitterlit" was cool, and "kidderlit". Twittering the first line of books would be a good way to get kids more involved in a "fun way". Reader's advisory was good to look at. Will spend more time on "What's next" books in series and "What should I read next" as patrons are always asking these 2 questions. Podiobooks.com will be a popular site amongst patrons. I do not have an Ipod, but if there was a site that you could download books for a minimum $$ I know it would be well used. So if their is a site for this, let us all know. I played around with the visual bookshelf on facebook. Did not even know this existed... There are so many ways to read, so no one should have an excuse, but you will always see me with the book in my hand!!!

#34...Is it a Competetion? Online answer Sites
I loved the : 100 Places to Go for Good Answers online. I bookmarked it in my "Delicious" site and will also run it off for my staff - good training sites for them.
I also read the "future of the reference desk". As our library never had a "reference desk" there will be no changes in staff. One librarian "jack of all trades". But I can definitely see the difference in "help" that is needed by students doing reports, papers etc. There is definitely more use of research on their own, on the computers. I like it when their research has to include more resources than the internet. We still find that in our small community and schools. I like the name change suggested in one of the interviews "research help desk".
I also read Librarian 2.0 - Interviews of the future of libraries. The interview by Laura Solomon was very interesting. "Holds being delivered to your front door"?? Are people really getting that "lazy"? I do see that we need a better way to "market our libraries". And I don't think it should be locally, but state wide..
I took a look at "answer bag"..some pretty ridiculous questions. It looks like a waste of valuable time taken to answer some of these questions.
So I see this hurting libraries? Yes, but there is so much more available in libraries than just the "reference desk". That's why marketing is so important!!!!

I attended the "Teen Services" workshop in Marshall sponsored by Sammie on Monday April 20. The speaker covered items such as "staffing and time", 'teen support", "community support" and "$$money$$". She also covered what worked in her library and what did not work. The best advice was: "Don't be afraid to start small and dream big"... "be realistic"... and "don't expect overnight results". Involve the teens. Every library should have a "teen advisory board". This will be one of my main goals!!!
Thanks Sammie for sponsoring this workshop...

#33....Travel 2.0
This was a very fun "Thing". Now I understand google maps a little more, as the sites that I looked at
"showed google maps". What is travel 2.0? To make it simple it is "travel information sites".
I know if I ever go on a fantastic out of the country trip...I will set up a travel blog-My Life of Travel- what a great way to keep your family informed of your travels without having to make phone calls. I did follow Eric Perkins (Kare 11) blog when he was at the winter Olympics. Very interesting!!
I also looked at gusto.com. This is also a good site..I looked at the Las Vegas travel guide on this site as we spent a week in Las Vegas in January. You could look at people ratings of restaurants, attractions, night life, landmarks, shopping etc.
Take a look at "notes from the road" if only to see the beautiful pictures. "Green routes" is easy to use..all you need to do is fill in the city you are interested in visiting. Of course I had to look at ..fastfoodmaps.com.
You can pinpoint where the fast food restaurants such as Mcdonalds, Burger King, Hardees etc. by city and state.This site also has.. caffeinemaps.com. Did you know there are 10,709 Starbucks locations in the U.S as of July 2008? Everyone should look at these sites before venturing out on their travels...good info!

#32....Google Maps
I must admit that I do not like working with Google maps...I tried for at least 2 hours to add a map to my blog and it would not work for me. I have had an experience with google maps, as a friend of mine sent me a google map of a marina that he has his sailboat in, not far from the San Diego airport. We were flying out to visit him, so he gave us the directions on google earth from the airport to the marina, where we were to meet him.
When I have the time I will take a look at it again and see what I am doing wrong... But need to get onto the next "Thing".

Hi all,
Irritating "worm" torments Twitter....this program, known as a "worm" targeted Twitter's network with four different attacks starting early Saturday and ending Monday, April 11 - 13. So..be aware!!!