Thing 23: The Wrap-up

I really enjoyed the 23 Things program. Even when learning about a 2.0 tool I'm not likely to use myself, I felt like I was at least becoming more tech savvy and better able to use these tools in the workplace or to help patrons use them when necessary.

One of the wrap-up questions on the CTLS Web site asks whether or not participants would take part in similar discovery programs if CTLS offered them. I'm a solid "yes" on that one. One of the things I liked the most about the 23 Things program was how it was both self-directed, yet, through the blog comment functions, also interactive. I could go at my own pace, didn't have to feel self-conscious when encountering something completely new to me, and could still read, write, comment on, or read comments about the activities on my blog and others'. I also liked that the self-directed nature of the program allowed me to branch off and pursue topics of particular interested to me, even when they weren't strictly part of the 23 Things.

Thanks, Kam, and the rest of the folks at CTLS! This was a great learning experience and it was fun, too. You can't beat that.

Thing 22: LibriVox Rocks!

Despite what you might think having read my earlier post about my feelings toward podcasts and talk radio, I actually love audiobooks. One of the biggest lifestyle changes I experienced when moving to Texas was a huge increase in the amount of time I spend in the car (in fact, in Boston I didn't own a car). Let me tell you, that one is not in the "pros" column when it comes to comparing Boston to Austin. I hate driving. I hate spending so much time in my car every day. But, audiobooks help make that time much more bearable.

I think LibriVox is especially great because it's volunteer-driven. I love that the books available on LibriVox are there simply because someone enjoyed them enough to take the time to record and share them with the rest of us. I also love the huge selection. I suppose if I'd ever thought about it, I would've realized that so many great classics are now in the public domain. I hadn't thought about it, though, so browsing LibriVox's catalog was a very pleasant surprise.

Thing 21: Pod People

I checked out Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo's film reviews on BBC Radio's 5 Live Web site. Film reviews are something I rely heavily on in my work because I am the DVD selector for my library. I have to say, I wasn't too into it. That's been my reaction to just about every podcast I've ever listened to. The good news is it's not them, it's me. I definitely think podcasts have many uses that are applicable to the day-to-day operations of libraries, I just am the type of user that prefers written information. I don't like to watch television news broadcasts and I generally don't like talk radio and the exceptions to these rules almost always involve sports broadcasting.