Oh, do I love my MP3 player!!!!! I take it with me to excercise at the Wellness Center and can listen to my own music regardless of what someone has on the TV. I took it with when I visited my friend, Norma, out at Assisted Living and she was amazed. She asked how something that small can hold so much. I told her I don't know...but it does. She is 85. Her first car was a Model A...and now technology has literally changed the world.

Some thoughts on State Auditor Mike Foley's criticism of the NE Library Commission's use of public funds for "gaming":

I was angry....no, make that "livid", when I read the Lincoln Journal Star article that Mike Foley criticized the NLC for getting into games like Guitar Hero, Rock Band, etc. He claims that libraries do not need to be involved in those kinds of things....that kids already have and know how to play those games, etc. HE DOESN'T HAVE A CLUE! HE DOESN'T GET IT!!!!!!

I am almost 64 years old and have just learned about all these technology tools in order to better serve our library patrons! We just bought Guitar Hero and other Wii games for our library. We had the Youth Advisory Board come in to open the boxes...and they set it all up! Kids come in to play games on the computers, they want to check out books that give clues for gaming, they check out Electronic Gaming Magazine all the time. While some of these kids have computers and Wii's at home; many do not. Diana and I have to keep up with these kids and learn from them how to use and set up the equipment.

The thing is, the kids are not always there who know how to set up and use this equipment. We need to know more about these games ourselves. I am so glad the NLC has been on top of this brave new world and had workshops, NE Learns 2.0, and other classes to help librarians navigate this mysterious landscape. Our local nursing home had a Wii long before we did!

Libraries today are community centers where people of all ages gather to learn, share, exchange, and collaborate on a wide variety of issues and topics. Programming is essential to our library's good health. We have speakers, movies, displays, book clubs, and now great games for our patrons. And we are planning to use the gaming equipment for all ages....families, senior citizens, as well as the youth of our community.

I was glad to see the Lincoln paper publish a letter from the librarian from the Republican Valley Library System as well as the editorial cartoon. I also appreciated the NLC posting the accusations and the well written response on its website! We need to drag Mike Foley and his staff kicking and screaming into the 21st Century.

OH MY WORD!!!! I now have some of my own music on my MP3 player! I did need some help from my husband....but I was able to put some of my favorite CDs on! Another technology task performed!

YIPPEE!!!!!!!!! Sarah responded and now I know how to "hyper-link"!!!!! I am getting ready for our One Book One NE brown bag lunch tomorrow so downloading music to my MP3 player will have to wait until later in the week. But I continue to be amazed at how much technology I am learning...and able to learn....at my age!!!

If my hyperlink worked...which I think it did....

HELLO SARAH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please leave a comment on this blog if you connected through the link I sent you.

WhooHoo!!!!!!!! I e-mailed Sarah, my daughter, in NC and hyperlinked this blogsite to her. When I highlighted the URL it came up in purple so I think I was successful!

Thanks to Michael Sauers for teaching me how to do that!

After returning home from the library winter workshop in Norfolk I decided to explore my new MP3 player. I was able to autoscan a few fm stations in....Froggy 98, KZ100, and KLIR. It worked really well here at home...even in the basement. However, today I took it up to Osceola to the Wellness Center and I couldn't get good reception. Now I will "need" to know how to upload and download my own music, etc. for my personal use.

Another note on technology....yesterday Michael Sauers told me how to do hyperlinks...I am going to see if I can do it.

This morning I put the Zen software on my computer. Step #1 accomplished! I plugged in my new MP3 player and started charging it. Went up to the Wellness Center for some exercise, got the mail, ate lunch, read, visited a friend....and later this afternoon my player was all charged and ready to go. Step #2 accomplished! I'm pleased with my progress. The next step involves familiarizing myself with the player, its menu, features, etc. That will probably have to be Saturday because tomorrow I have workshops in Norfolk. So, enough for one day.

Got my new MP3 player today! I have read the instructions at least a dozen times. When I have more time this week I will get it going on my computer. Here I am once again asking myself...CAN I DO THIS???????????????? After Nebraska Learns 2.0 the answer has to be YES I CAN!!!!!!!!!!! It's hard teaching an old dog new tricks...but it is possible!

Oh my, just read my e-mail that I am one of the winners of Nebraska Learns 2.0. I am one of 9 participants to win an MP3 player! I am shocked. That means I will have to keep my blog and track my progress on learning how to use one! I called my daughter and she asked if I even knew what one was?! LOL!!!! I know what one is...I just don't know how to use one. Which just proves my theory....technology is on a need to know basis. Now that I will be owning an MP3 player I will need to know how to use it! And I thought I was going to delete all the things I had accumulated on my computer that had to do with Nebraska Learns 2.0. Think Again!!! MP3 player here we go!

Reread my blog from the beginning....great way to see how much I have grown, learned, and stretched myself! There was great merit in having to keep a blog. You never know how far you've come until you take a look back to where you started! I am proud of myself for sticking with this class! I also remember saying one of my weaknesses would be wanting to skip ahead and take short cuts....saw that in my blog when I had to go back and create posts for the items I had done but had not posted a comment. That was good for me. Again, as frustrating as it was at times, it was a growing experience for me!

#23 I am amazed that I have completed all 23 things! When I first started there was so much I didn't know..I felt awkward, confused, and frustrated at times...but the accountability to complete each item by a deadline was motivating. I have always said computers are on a need to know basis. I didn't know at the beginning how much I needed to know. Will I use most of these tools...probably not. But there are definitely many that I will. Thanks to the staff for providing this experience for us. My favorite discoveries are the LibraryThing...I continue to use that to record my books...and the apps with MyHeritage.com....for my personal family history. As far as my work at the library is concerned I have learned about 1)the current technology that will help in assisting our patrons find and use resources, 2)other libraries and the ways that they are using the web and 3) my ability to have confidence in myself to explore and discover the larger world beyond Stromsburg, NE...and that's good for everyone!

#22 Podcasts are cool! From Bess and Harry Houdini to Nebraska's own Pat Leach on the Lincoln City Library podcasts! I have been attending her Notable Books session at Convention each year and now I can listen again, and again, and again!!! I added the LCL podcast site to my blogline favorites. It took me awhile...but I finally got it! I also explored the Lansing, IL teen poetry cafe podcast. I can definitely see how podcasts can generate interest in everything library! It is so important that libraries see themselves as more than what is contained inside their walls. There is a whole new world out there and libraries need to be thinking outside the box!

#21 Found a great genealogy video by the Birmingham Library...title....genealogy or looking for one's own peeps. It is cool! Right up there with the library dominos. It's done in silent movie script and black and white. A little yellow peeps duck is searching for his family history...it shows all the resources in the library....and even found where the peeps hooked up with the Cadbury's! LOL! I can see where these kinds of videos are entertaining yet informative at the same time. Libraries are changing with the age of technology and this is a great resource for libraries! I had trouble again trying to embed this video into my blog. I'll retry and see what I can do.

#20 will be something I continue with long after this class is done! I explored, downloaded, and am working on MyHeritage.com. I have been doing genealogy for 40 years and this site is a keeper! I already am a part of Geni.com for my husband's side of the family. My Heritage will be my family's history. Last night at the library when exploring this site, a friend and patron came in and had his paperwork for his family tree through MyHeritage.com! I am going to show our genealogy club this site for sure. It's as good as any software you can purchase...and better in that you can invite family members to be a part!!!!

Thing #19 Explored both sites and found Google Docs very user friendly. Appreciated all the samples and used one to enter a basic genealogy presentation I put together. It was a lot like using a powerpoint template. I can see how useful this would be in collaborating a presentation. It would save on time and energy. Would like to post it to this blog but not sure how to do that.
Maybe I'll figure that out later...but for now thing #19 is done.

Finished #18....joining the NeLearns Wiki was a lot easier than I anticipated. Enjoyed looking at others' favorites!!!! It must have been easy if I can do it while keeping an eye on the Gator Bowl. Huskers need to get with it....Castille just made a 58 yard run! anyway...can see the advantages for wikis. Will definitely be checking out the Library Success wiki for good library ideas. Thanks to NELearns 2.0.

Enjoyed looking at the wikis. For someone like me from a very small rural library I was really impressed with the larger libraries' wikis. They truly do become community hubs. Their links and resources were amazing. It broadens the role of the library in a community. I really loved reading all the reviews in the Book Lovers Wiki...will certainly be checking that out for future reads. I was really impressed with Library Success....I found the note about vandalism interesting...that now e-mail confirmation was required. Who would want to vandalize a library wiki??? I looked at weeding....good resources and policies; programming for adults; services for the disabled; and staff training. There is a ton of information but it was well organized with lots of links. Seemed very user friendly to me.