Implications of Gaming in Libraries

I am no expert on video games. Although I own a Nintendo Wii, I primarily use it for Netflix streaming. So, as a novice in video game benefits, reading "The Case for Video Games in Libraries" by Suellen Adams was very informative. I agree with Adams that video games help users, particularly children, create alternate realities and exercise their story-telling skills. The multiple levels of intelligence involved with game playing are more complex than most non-gamers realize. Yet I wonder if the repetitive nature of games (going through the same levels and process over and over) causes a game to lose benefits over time. The influence on reading habits associated with video game story lines is also interesting, and it is completely plausible that someone interested in sci-fi or warfare video games would be drawn to books to further explore the topics.

Yet I am wondering about how video games fit into collection development. My library currently does not acquire video games, although other libraries in our network do. If a library chooses to include video games in their collection, how do they evaluate them for selection? And do the educational/developmental benefits of gaming apply to all games, or only specific types of games? Should that be part of the criteria for acquisition? Not all literature is considered educational, but the act of reading generally is, regardless of content. If all video games provide some level of problem solving and skill building, than that would make them beneficial to users. The complexity involved in some video games requires a greater level of user involvement (evaluation, decision making, planning, audio, visual, and physical interaction) than say, reading the newspaper.

Privacy for Libraries on Facebook

I have to say, the articles this week were extremely helpful in framing Facebook's privacy issues in the library context. Traditionally, I only think of how one's own personal Facebook account can reveal private details, but hadn't considered how the implications were applied to libraries as an institution. With so much responsibility over patron privacy, pushing a Facebook page were library users are susceptible to privacy leeks can get you into sticky territory. Also, I hadn't considered how adding something like a search box to your library page could be corrupt and harmful to users (Fernandez, 2009).
I like the idea that Fernandez suggests in "Privacy and Generation Y": "Those libraries already participating within a SNS can do something as simple as mixing in announcements about privacy news alongside their other posts to SNSs" (2010, p. 16). This accomplishes several things. It shows the library is engaged in ethical practices, and intends on trying to safeguard users through the decimation of important privacy information. It also serves as outreach by providing information that not only affects users while on the library page, but in their personal interactions on Facebook as well. Librarians are always engaging in information literacy; responsible sharing and privacy information can be integrated into the instructional courses, as Fernandez suggests in the same article. I think it would be a great idea to incorporate into IL courses, and I believe students would likely respond well to information that could help protect them.

Facebook , MySpace, and Class Divisions

Danah Boyd's article, "Viewing American Class Divisions Through Facebook and MySpace" brings up observations I may have made around the time the article was published (2007). I wonder how the class divisions have played out over the past several years, where Facebook has broadened it's reach to a wider age range and demographic. I question Boyd's comments about the migration to Facebook by "hegemonic" teens while the "subalterns" prefer MySpace, creating a good / bad dichotomy. MySpace, as Boyd mentions is the Las Vegas style networking site, but I think it is/was actually preferred by the "subaltern" teens because it allows more creativity and personalization than Facebook ever has. Most of the people I knew that used MySpace liked it because they could personalize the site with their own artwork or their band's logo. I believe that because Facebook started out as an exclusively college site, that is what set the tone for class division and I think Boyd should have explored that fact more. People who did not have an .edu email at Facebook's introduction, those who did not attend a college or university, were immediately excluded and turned-off by the site. Eventually as Facebook became more accessible, people warmed, and I think a similar examination of the class divisions on social networking sites would produce different results today. According to OCLC's Perceptions of Libraries, 2010   MySpace has nearly flat-lined over the past several years, where Facebook took a sharp turn upward in 2008.

21st Century Catalogs

The assigned readings for this week, particularly the Mercun and Zumer study, were inspiring. I take for granted the OPACs I use, and don't think critically about how they are organized, the particular things I like / dislike about them, or what I would like to see added. The readings this week helped me think like an expert, analyzing the catalogs I use on a regular basis, and thinking about patron responses at my own library to our catalog.

"Toward a Twenty-First Century Library Catalog" by Antelman, Lynema, and Pace discussed browsing capabilities of online catalogs. One of the important components to the catalog is the visual representation of the book jacket, or the cover of the product. To improve the online browsing experience, I think including a visual of the product is important. I think the packaging and presentation of the products in a library (or a store) is a primary motivation in selection.

Often patrons ask for a record of all the books they have checked out, which currently we are unable to produce at my library. A feature that would keep track of title check-outs would be a terrific addition to the users' personal accounts, particularly for our voracious readers and older patrons. It would also increase the personalization that the Mercun and Zumer study showed were essential to user satisfaction. I also envisioned a roulette-like feature, where patrons can randomly call up a title that has high circulation stats, is a new publication, or has bestseller status. This would be an exploratory feature, not one based on the users previous choices or tastes. I think people would like to be introduced to something off their radar every once in a while.

Book Review

You can view my review video below. I apologize for the light text, it appeared much darker when I was creating the video. Malcolm Gladwell is one of my favorite writers, so this book was a natural choice for me. If you haven't read Blink or any of his other books, I highly recommend you do. His topics are very thought provoking and his writing style is captivating. I used Windows Movie Maker to create the video.

Exploring Sites

Over the past week I have been exploring some of the sites suggested by Suellen and sites classmates have mentioned. I have been using goodreads for about a month now. I actually noticed it on someone's blog for LSC597 and thought it looked like fun. I always have scraps of paper with book titles scribbled on them. Goodreads is a great place to organize all of the books I've read and would like to read. I also like the ability to join in on discussions. Seldom someone else is reading the same book I am in my day to day, and the discussion and comment features of the site let you get out all your excited/angry/sad/irritated/delighted comments.

I took the flickr tour, and while I haven't used the site myself, family members often post photos to share and my library has a photo stream for event photos. I didn't realize how many features that the site had available, like editing and annotating photos. I liked that the privacy levels on photos or albums are easy to adjust, based on who you want seeing what. Overall, the interaction between other social media sites like Twitter and Blogger appears to make sharing a quick and easy process.

CiteULike is clearly for serious research sharing and organizing, and outside of higher education, I can't see librarians necessarily recommending this site. As another classmate mentioned, for my own research purposes, I would rather just use the tools the databases provide. However, if you were working on a large, collaborative paper or project, the site would definitely be useful.

Tagging

I possibly have the worst memory of anyone I have ever met. I find myself immediately forgetting things. For example, the sunblock I meant to bring with me to the park on Sunday. As soon as I opened the bathroom door to retrieve it, I was immediately distracted by a stray towel or a speck of dust or a ray of light or...who knows. Let's just say my boyfriend and I are nursing some pretty uncomfortable sunburns (sorry Tyler!)

Although I haven't experimented with social tagging much, I can see how useful it could be for someone like me. It would help me to easily retrieve a site organized by my own specific language, or by reminders from others' tags. (I must confess that when I find a cool site, I often forget to bookmark it!) I see how helpful the bookmarking sites can be for librarians and educators too, who generally work with a variety of sites and sources and need help organizing them for easily access.

As the article posted on Sakai mentioned, social tagging has become popular for introducing people to new sites. When URI changed the HELIN catalog to Encore, the only thing I liked about the new site was the tags and tag clouds that could direct you to more sources that shared similar tags, helping to narrow your search without having to use the subject headings. I see the tags incorporated into the catalog as extremely helpful to students who are typically more familiar with keyword searching as opposed to controlled language.

Learning About Twitter

I have been exploring Twitter of the past couple of weeks. You can follow me by clicking on the link in the left sidebar. So far, I think I'm getting a better graspof its uses. For the most part I have been observing what others are tweeting and not doing much tweeting myself, but I am still trying to feel it out. I have been following a few of our classmates and the organizations listed below:
ALA Connect: @alaconnect
Library Journal: @LibraryJournal
ALA Booklist: @ALA_Booklist
Women's Health: @WomensHealthMag
URI: @URINews

The article posted on Sakai by Kivi Leroux Miller, "Tips for Writing Facebook and Twitter Updates" says organizations should use their updates to get followers do three things: do something, think something or feel something. Libraries have to ability to hit on all three. We can call people to action as advocates, we get them thinking by presenting great resources, and we can make them feel involved by creating a online community that mirrors our physical one. Thinking about these three elements of social media updates helps me think outside of the usual "Library Event Tonight!" post.

Wikis for Collaboration and Training

The article "Blogs, Mashups, & Wikis, Oh My!" by Bruce W. Dearstyne helped me to better understand the diverse uses for wikis and blogs. Sometimes I am so immersed in thinking of how applications work for libraries, I forget to consider how collaborative web 2.0 tools help in other fields. Particularly for corporations and businesses that have branches and satellite offices scattered all over, wikis can connect employees working on projects from different locations, or while they travel. I also think wikis can be great resources for training, whether for new hires, brushing up on policies and procedures, or disseminating new information. A wiki can provide interactive tools like step by step video instruction as well as external links; emails generally are not that dynamic. Wikis are a great way organize policies that can be updated regularly with ease, rather then a printing and reprinting handbooks.
Yet, as the article mentioned, security and maintenance are important considerations. Who will "guard" the wiki? Who will be responsible for updates? How will they be compensated? Who will have access to the wiki? Who will have editing access? Are there legal issues regarding the information shared? Clearly organizations have to carefully consider every angle before proceeding. 

Pros and cons of this revolution

I think I have a have a more finely tuned idea of Library 2.0 really means after reading Tom Kwanya's article where he offers this definition from Scott Walter:

"Library 2.0 is a commitment to assess, improve, integrate and communicate library services using the newest information technology and the tried and true "human technology". It is any service, physical or virtual, that successfully reaches users, is evaluated frequently, and makes use of customer input (Casey and Savastinuk 2007)."

Elsewhere Kwanya refers to Library 2.0 as user-driven service. This appeals to me, as I personally feel services should be guided by users needs and lifestyles. As much of the literature suggests, our flexibility as librarians is our key to survival. Hence me taking this course.

In the Sandra Ordonez piece, a portion of the Matt Hinckley quote really caught my attention: "the increasing proliferation of choices means that news consumers can choose to focus exclusively on 'infotainment,' and thus disengage from serious coverage of critical issues." Its the equivalent of only reading the headlines, and never getting to the details. My boyfriend glances over world and local news sites regularly. When I asked him why he doesn't watch the news or read the paper for something he might have missed, he responded "Why bother. By the time I get to it, its already old news" (read: not valuable). If it's not coming from a website, it doesn't feel current. I'm afraid he is not alone in his sentiment. To echo Hinckley, speed of delivery and access trump range of coverage, accuracy, and source for many. Yet, as Sasha Pasulka argues, are we more informed because of our proximity to information? Although social media may put us closer to news and information, it doesn't help us to critically evaluate it by providing time to digest after consumption. Also, as Kwanya mentioned, it can be very partisan in nature, which can be a problem for those who lack the ability to discern a reliable source from a questionable one.

Social Media Resumes?

I found this article in American Libraries Direct about social media resumes. Some of you may have seen it if you receive the newsletter in your email. The resumes incorporate facebook, video, and other media rather than a traditional paper resume. Job-seekers certainly want to stand out, but a juicebox resume? Some are incredibly creative and no doubt would be eye-catching to recruiters, but do you think social media resumes are professional? They generally have a playful nature that could be discouraging to some conservative employers. Do you think that interactive resumes and artistic representations of qualifications would work for job-seekers outside of the fields of media, technology, and the arts?

My Digital Contribution

As I mentioned on the class forum, my online presence is not very strong (but its growing). However, I overlooked my PFE experience working on the Digital Commons at Rhode Island College . I work on the database for the records to the Smolski collection, slide photographs by Chet Smolski converted to digital format and uploaded to the Digital Commons site. I primarily work with the records, but hope to learn more about converting and scanning the slides. I guess I am making a contribution to the world of virtual information after all! There are some terrific photographs of Providence architecture in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as other images if anyone is interested.

"The Networked Librarian"

I just finished watching "The Networked Librarian" video. I hadn't heard of anyone referring to "FOMO" (fear of missing out) before, as Rainie refers to it. This fear ties into the question Suellen posted on her blog about always being connected as well as the comments about time-suck and internet obsession several of us mentioned in class. I have noticed being disconnected from my cell phone or internet access makes me a little anxious because I don't want to miss out on something. The number of accounts and sites to keep up with can be overwhelming and I often wonder if I am the only one experiencing information fatigue. I have organized my classmates blogs into the Google Reader and so far I think its a great tool for me.
As Rainie mentioned, broadband connections have drastically changed participation in social media and internet activity. I am a very get in, get out, and get on with it internet user, so increased speed of delivery has certainly influenced my internet use over time.

New and Exciting Things!

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog for the Library 2.0 and Social Networking course at URI!. Here I will be discussing ideas and issues related to the course materials and topics.

I am so excited to start this class! This is my first blog and I have to work on getting some other social media sites up and running. I look forward to trying out some new and exciting things in this course and exercising some creativity!