Online Hosted Video and Podcasting

I first became familiar with online hosted video, such as YouTube, through my daughter, who is in grade six, and who browses this site on a regular basis. She likes to view videos on topics such as dogs, cats, school topics, sports and music. Almost any topic imaginable is covered in YouTube, even libraries. It's a great service, because it combines audio and video to present topics of interest. There are many applications for libraries, including library design projects, marketing of library services and resources, highlighting new library collections and celebrating National Library Week.

Podcasting also has a number of great library applications. First of all, anyone with a microphone, a computer and an Internet connection can publish audio broadcasts that can be listened to by people anywhere in the world. Podcasting can be tailored to a medical school library curriculum. It allows for learning "on demand", at anytime and anywhere. It also is useful for students who may miss regular class sessions, due to illness. Libraries may create podcasts to publicize their services and resources, and to highlight specific library topics, such as access to the online catalog, searching PubMed and orientation to the library.

Both online hosted video and podcasting provide libraries with effective methods to communicate with our clientele on a regular basis, to tailor our presentations for different audiences and to reinforce learning.

Online Photo Sharing

Online photo sharing would be handy for project work that involves the sharing of photos. An example of how this tool could be applied to library work is in a library space remodeling project, with team members in different locations, who have photos of library designs, furnishings and equipment that they would like to share.

I created an account in Flickr and I found it pretty easy to upload a digital photo - of our dog, Ozzy, a Cairn Terrier - and share it with others. Features such as tagging, and the organizing of online photos, is very attractive to me.

There have been some instances in the past, when I was in need of a specific photo for use in a presentation, and photos in Flickr would have been the perfect solution. If the Creative Commons license allows me to use the photo, it's very easy to copy and paste the photos into a PowerPoint presentation.

Other examples of how Online Photo Sharing could be used in libraries is during a Library Open House - to launch a new library service or resource; during a Library Instruction Session - to highlight the unique ways that the library utilizes innovative technologies in training; or during National Library Week - to show off your creative ideas and to catch the library community in action. Sharing photos of library events, such as these, with other libraries, or by publishing them in your library news blog, serves to inform colleagues and clientele about library services and resources, enhances the library's image and publicizes the library's activities.

Web Office Tools

Our assignment for week 5 was to become acquainted with Web Office Tools. Google Docs & Spreadsheets was highlighted and after creating an account, it took very little time to create a basic word processing document and a spreadsheet. I was impressed with all of the options for modifying documents and for sharing / collaborating with others.

I also created an account in Zoho and I liked the functionality of this tool as well. It was easy to import a word document, name, and modify it. The spreadsheet function was also very simple. Both Google Docs & Spreadsheets and Zoho have great potential for libraries.

Librarians could use Web Office Tools within their library and medical informatics instruction program, for the posting of student assignments or projects. Web Office Tools would allow students to collaborate on library instruction assignments, by sharing their documents with their classmates and instructors. Once their documents were finished, the instructors could access the student assignments at their leisure and insert comments, questions and a final grade.

Librarians could provide students and faculty with instruction on the use of Web Office Tools for research projects, highlighting such features as peer editing, continuous peer feedback and collective brainstorming. These tools are very easy to use; they're freely available on the Web, and they offer limitless opportunities for collaboration.

MLA committees and groups, no matter their location or time zone, could collaborate on library guides, procedures, projects or proposals.

One disadvantage of these Web Office Tools is that the Internet could be slow or there could be an Internet service interruption. While I don't plan to discontinue use of my MS Office Suite, Web Office Tools are easy to use, they're free and they offer excellent functionality. I plan to continue to investigate Google Docs and Zoho in the future.

Social Bookmarking Tools and Their Use in Libraries

Social bookmarking tools could be very useful for MLA sections, MLA chapters, and MLA in general, because they help us keep abreast of the latest library / informatics news and technologies, changes in the profession, and they facilitate overall networking. It was very easy to register for del.icio.us, and it will be wonderful to finally have the ability to better organize my favourite sites, to tag them and to share them with others.

MLA sections and chapters could benefit from the use of social bookmarking tools by creating section and/or chapter accounts, so that the group members could share the resources fully. A group account could also be set up within individual libraries, on topics, such as medical reference, web 2.0, or evidence-based clinical practice.

Another possibility would be to create links to subject guides on our websites. For example, sites that focus on occupational therapy, or physiotherapy, resources could be tagged and made available to health professionals within those disciplines. The possibilities are endless!

Social Networking Tools: My Experiences and Impressions

I have only just begun to explore the world of social networking tools, but I can see the attraction that these tools must have for individuals who are looking to reconnect with former class-mates, colleagues and friends; as well as for those who are hoping to making new friends, explore job options, relocate or seek romance.

We were asked to comment on how MLA could use social networking to connect the membership. Already, in Facebook, there are a number of MLA chapters and interest groups that have formed, and being able to see the photos and profiles of the individuals creates a more personal experience and might encourage more members to sign up and get involved.

It was interesting to explore the MySpace sites, and I can see the potential for libraries to obtain user feedback and to promote their services and resources in this way.

Overall, social networking tools are a great resource for connecting with others, but there are privacy concerns. It's tempting to put all sorts of personal information out there, in order to find more friends. I guess it just depends on one's comfort level with the web.