Facebook "becoming a fan"

As I logged on to my Facebook over the weekend I had noticed that I had a new invite to a group fan page. It was to my local library and thought it was really interesting because it was made from a patron and not an employee of that library. I was pleased to see that the community is reaching out to others to inform them about the events happening daily at our library.

Welcome to the "It's Cool to Be Smart Club"

Here's a fun video that shows how exciting and welcoming a library can be. The Santa Monica main library is located at

601 Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 458-8600

The ALA Lists Great Web Sites for Kids

Here's a great resource for kids. The ALA and the Association for Library Service to Children have reviewed web sites based upon Authorship, Purpose, Design & Stability, and Content, and have come up with a list of excellent sites for young people. They are also labeled for appropriateness to various age groups of kids or for parents/teachers. These are sites for browsing, playing, and learning. I've posted the link with our favorites.

A clean bill of health...for my PC.

After two weeks of problems with my computer I finally brought it to my friend who built the thing.  Why didn't I realize it was seriously sick with a bad virus.  Well, after reloading XP it is finally well enough to play with the rest of the other little kids on the internet playground.  Sorry for the delay.

I posted a link to the library where I first volunteered, the Juneau Public in Alaska; a great small town library.  I changed the font color on the sidebar headings and I made a poll on the sidebar.

I was thinking about who uses social networking sites.  I know everyone uses it, but teens seem to be the biggest demographic.  That is also a demographic that isn't as represented in public libraries as the little ones or adults.  So I have was thinking to have a weekly mini interview with  my teen daughter about what libraries could do, from a teens point of view, to make libraries more approachable using social networking as a tool.  I would like all of you to help me by posting possible questions.  As the weeks go on I think we could develope a well thought out conversation with a teen who loves book but rarely thinks about using the library.

One more change

I read back through what Linda had highlighted for tonight and realized I needed to change something on the template. Wasn't sure if adding a link counted so I changed the text color. It can be changed back. I just thought this was the least invasive. I didn't want to make any huge changes as you all have been working on it all week.

New to Group One

Hi all,
Thank you for allowing me to barge in on your group. I love what you all have done so far and am looking forward to getting to know everyone and have a productive semester. I added a favorite link; delicious.com. It's a social bookmarking site that I think is really helpful. It allows you to share your bookmarks with others as well as have access to your own personal bookmarks wherever you are. You log in like you would for your email account. It just happens to be another Google App! Check it out. I thought it might fit as your theme is Social Networking for Libraries. I know that many libraries actually use Delicious to keep bookmarks handy for students. It's a very useful tool. The only downfall is that it can get out of hand. As you start to click, sometimes you can't stop, and then you end up with lists and lists and lists. But no matter. Every link is "tagged" and easy to find. I also posted my profile. Thanks again for welcoming me.

Hi Networms, I added two links and changed the post date color to Georgia bold. Nice work. We still have till midnight to make additions or changes. Keep in touch.

Hi Gang,
Well, I changed the blog text font on the template to Verdana. I hope you like it. Looks like we've got a good blog going. After everybody makes a change to the template and lets Linda know what you did by posting here, we can send Linda an invite. Remember, we need to do it by midnight Thursday. Then we can delete these posts later.

Favorite Libraries

Going to a library on a weekly basis has always been a part of my life. I didn't learn to read until I was 8 years old and it was a life defining moment when I was able to join the Summer Reading Program at my childhood library. Since then "going to the library" has been an integral part of my life.

I have favorite libraries that I have passed through over the years: my college library, Butler Library, where I spent two years of my life in the 3rd floor sub basement stacks researching and writing papers for my major. The New York Public Library's main branch with the famous flanking stone lions and the best selection of "New Fiction", and my childhood library, Noble Rd. Library. I still visit online- it's has a very active website.

Since we now also live in a virtual world, I visit the Bodleian Library at Oxford University, and highly recommend their"bodcasts". If you like mysteries, you would probably enjoy the bodcasts of P.D. James and Ruth Rendell.

If you have a favorite library- share it. I'll find a picture and post it.

Wikipedia defines a social network as a social structure made up of individuals (or organizations) called "nodes" which are tied (connected) by one or more types of specific interdependency such as, friendship, kinship, financial exchange, dislike, or relationships of belief, knowledge, or prestige.

Is social networking via the Web just another new digital hype or could it be a renewed, revisited opportunity( compliments of the Internet) to reach out and target niche groups of like interests, attitudes, and concerns? Libraries have so much to offer besides books, but not everyone is in the habit of going to their library.

I say, yes, yes, yes. Let's begin by bringing out those charming and specific displays from their cases, animating them, add a reading list, and patron comments and share it through the library's website with the community at large. Or do you have a concern with an issue like filtering? Let's have a community discussion online and get everyone's perspective. Do you love Project Guttenberg and want to share it with the others. Don't understand the concept of e-Books and want to learn? Library blog. Possibilities abound, and yes, there are questions- who manages this, how does it work, and probably many more. But like most of the changes brought by evolving technology: the Internet, Google, Wikipedia, e-books, etc. and on into the future, librarians and libraries remain a constant as the keepers of knowledge and place we can all share even if it is not the traditional brick and mortar.