Thing #17: Sandbox Wiki

Blog about my experience, eh? Well, let's see...

After reading the details of the assignment, I created an account and logged into the Sandbox Wiki. I then clicked on the link to the Favorite Blogs page, and then hit the "edit page" button. I then added a link to my blog to the list of Howard County participants.

Thing #16: Wikis

As far as applications within a library system, I suspect that a Wiki would not be of much use, as Wikis require a relatively large amount of manpower to establish and maintain to any degree of usefulness. The very nature of a Wiki requires a large degree of multi-user collaboration (or a small number of editors working very regularly).

For a functional and useful Wiki to be established for an environment such as a library system, it would have to be either maintained by a capable team of library staff (who can regularly dedicate time and effort to the Wiki's maintenance) or open to public input (and thus easily vandalized or filled with inaccurate information, intentionally or not, thus increasing the need for moderation, and library staff manpower to be expended on it).

Thing #15: Library 2.0

Like Chip Nilges (who discussed the subject in his article, "To more powerful ways to cooperate [sic]", I've found that the philosophy of "Library 2.0" has largely served to revolutionize the way that libraries view one another, customers, and the distribution of information. One of the fundamental principles of the whole "Web 2.0" concept is that rather than providing information itself, the goal of the institution (be it a website or a library) is to provide the means and/or infrastructure by which to access it.

Thing #14: Technorati

Check out my Technorati Profile. I've found Technorati to be a great way of advertising my blog, and finding out what else is popular on the internet.

Thing #13: Del.icio.us

I've found Del.icio.us to be rather interesting, as, in addition to serving as a social networking resource, it can also function as a valuable research resource. I imagine that it could have potential in a library environment, especially with regard to the possibility of sharing finds between library systems.

Thing #12: Rollyo

Here is my Rollyo search tool for famous/noteworthy quotations. Custom search tools, such as this, could likely help streamline searches for information (something that library employees often find themselves required to do).

Thing # 11: Librarything

My librarything catalog can be found here.