Are You Talking to Me?

I've really enjoyed the podcasts I've listened to, but as with everything else in the wide, wide world of the web, there are just too many of them. I find myself weeks behind in listening to the ones that interest me and then just skip them. I've enjoyed All About Books from NET Radio (an NPR station) and the Atlantic Free Press always has something interesting to say, but... Where do I find the time? In theory I like the idea of using my Ipod, but in practice that takes too much time too. So...

For libraries I have thought it useful to have a podcast that walks a patron through a process. Think of museums and the walkmans they give you to listen to as you walk through an exhibition. That would be helpful for larger libraries in a physical sense. But also helpful would be online podcasts to help a patron search for job sites or walk them through setting up a Yahoo email account. Would they solve everything? Probably not, but they could certainly become a tool in our arsenal.

My Space or Yours?

I used to be more of a proponent for libraries creating a presence in these social realms but in thinking about how much libraries should participate, I kept coming back to a comment I read somewhere. Could have been on a blog or in an email or something a project player said. I don't remember that, but the comment stuck.

Their analogy went something like this: Having a library presence on MySpace and Facebook or other mostly social networks was like being a librarian walking into a bar and giving a presentation about library services. Certainly you may find customers who've never used the library or don't know about your services, but are they people who want to be found? Do they want to hear all about your library while they're socializing?

I'm not arguing against all efforts to network in these social settings. We do visit groups to tell them all about the library when we're asked - the key is being asked. But I don't expect much from them either. What I do argue is that there are networking places that may be a better fit for libraries. If you want to catch people socially, how about meeting them through books on GoodReads?

Am I off the mark here?

Keeping a List and Checking it Twice

I'll admit that while I think Jott and Remember the Milk are cool online gadgets, they don't do much for me. The issue is probably in how many things they do rather then in how few. Both have lots of fun aspects and with a little more exploring I'd probably find even more, but when I need to list something, I really just want the list - on the back of a bank envelope or a scrap of paper usually. In the past I have played around with Ta-Da Lists but even that - which is a little more basic in its service - is one of the online tools that I've left behind.

I will keep these sites in mind and will perhaps come up with a use for them in the future. But for now I think I'll stick to the scraps of paper I can stick in a pocket.