YouTube - Awesome!!!!

What can I say about YouTube other than it's incredibly addictive, and of course AWESOME? Once you start looking, you start thinking of other videos you've got to try and find, like that crazy cartoon you used to watch as a kid. Even worse, you think, "I know, I could upload my own video!" :O)! Who knows? Maybe your child could be the next Justin Bieber!!! It's really easy to use. It does require adult supervision if you have young kids - the videos that come up for an innocent search could result in some objectionable selections. Another reason why it's so important for the family computer to be in a public area of the house! I think YouTube would be a fantastic resource in promoting the library. Aside from adding video in how to intiate a search on the computer or introducing staff, you could share footage from library events. Not only would it be fun for the people who participated in the event, but it might encourage others who haven't attended before to give it a try next time. How about creating a video of a booktalk and adding that to the Library's website? Couldnt' librarians share successful displays and events with each other using YouTube, also? Uses for YouTube in the library setting are endless!

Online Productivity Tools - really cool!

Yesterday I explored zoho.com and created a flyer for an upcoming book talk that I'm having about The Seer of Shadows by Avi. What I particularly liked about the this "tool" is that you are able to share the documents that you create with others. You can choose to make it available for editing so that it is a "live" document or to lock it, so that it stays as your original creation. You can also post the creations to your blog as well as a multitude of other things. You can literally share your creation with anyone that you choose to, including making it a public document for the "world" to see :o)! I wasn't able to make the blog function work (I haven't given up yet), but I think it's a great way to share document with patrons, such as flyers, etc. and other things that I haven't even thought about yet.

Image Generators . . . revisited!

As I was reading through some of my previous blogs, I was reminded of the image generators. There was such a huge variety, and I only got to check out a small sample of them. Initially I didn't see a lot of practical use. After considering the value of technology and how it can promote a library program, I can see how image generators would be a really great way to "dress up" a website, library blog or facebook page. You could change the image generator that you used daily, if you like because there are so many. They could bring emphasis to a particular library event or even just your library's name. The more I explore each of the different items, the more value I see in them. Could you use anagram maker to pique interest in a new book? Have them try to figure out the title from strange "phrase" that you posted. This image generator could be particularly useful when trying to interest teens (they're always hard nuts to crack!), but maybe providing them with a puzzle or mystery to solve, you could draw them in - who knows? The possibilities are really endless!