Is this where it all ends?

Hi there, I'd like to begin my final(?) post by thanking all of you who have taken the time to check out my blog. Your comments and feedback have been appreciated! =) Also, I'd like to thank the library for providing this opportunity and for creating the chance not only to win some really cool toys (the flash drive and mp3 player) but also to become more familiar with some of the latest technological advancements. Thank you.

This post will be fulfilling the final two assignments - summarizing my thoughts about Learning Library 2.0 as well as suggesting a way that the library could incorporate one of these tools into our services. All in all I thought this program was beneficial. I definitely learned about things that I was completely unfamiliar with before, and had the chance to visit sites that I probably never would've used on my own. That said, I also found this program at times to be fairly cumbersome and time consuming. The weekly assignments took me considerably longer than expected (the 30 minute estimate was way off) and I found myself having to complete several assignments at home. Also, this program was problematic in that it competed for my time with some of my more pressing responsibilities. I would be working on a Library 2.0 assignment and thinking, "You know Paul, you really should be working on such and such instead of Library 2.0." Usually, the guilt got the best of me and I went back to work on other projects (hence the having to complete assignments at home comment.)

My favorite assignments included Flickr, Myspace (sorry, but this one turned out to be really fun), online image generators, LibraryThing, YouTube, and Google Maps. Assignments that were less enjoyable included Technorati, Del.icio.us, RSS feeds, and the Web/Library 2.0 perspectives (Zzzzzzzzzz). LibraryThing especially seems like a tool which I'll be using in the future. To be honest, that's actually one of the reasons I'm probably going to keep my blog . . . simply so I can have access to my LibraryThing account as well as Deanna's. =) (Have you seen hers? It's AWESOME!!! Lots of great book suggestions!)

I think the library could really benefit from adding podcasts/online video to their website. Imagine how cool it would be if we could film our storytimes and book babies and then post them online! That would be such a great resource for our patrons as well as other librarians. Also, several years ago the Library had a massive monarch butterfly release at the end of our Summer Reading Program. All summer long families watched the caterpillars progress through the various stages of development. Unfortunately, lots of folks were unable to attend the actual release, and I'm sure a podcast of the event posted on our webpage would've been greatly appreciated. Carrying this idea even further, the library has a Myspace page. We're making a big effort to reach out to our local teen population. How cool would it be if we could post video clips from our annual "Battle of the Bands" program on that page? This seems like a really easy way to reach out to our teens as well as make that resource more relevant.

So I guess that's about it. All in all I'm glad I participated in this program. It was a lot of work and was at times stressful, but I feel that I did learn a lot which is definitely a good thing. (Cue Queen's "We Are the Champions.) So thanks again to everybody who helped make this possible.

I'm pretty sure this isn't going to be my final post, so instead of goodbye, how about see you later! (And here's hoping I can win that coveted laptop!)