Wildcat Wiki

That was going to be my first idea for a wiki, and then I figured I really didn't want to look up a bunch of UK or Wildcat stats as a beginning...nor did I want opponents trashing the place since this is a new thing. So I opted for a work wiki for ILL which I thought might help as we update to 7.2 in ILLiad. So far, since we haven't updated yet and I'm not real sure what to start with, it's a pretty empty wiki. Part of the problem seems to be my resistance to info collection that might not be correct. Something like this might be a breaking point for the OCD nature of librarians.

http://ukinterlibraryloan.pbwiki.com/

My only beef with the wiki world seems to be an isolated nature of pbwiki that does not make the newly created pages all that easy to access once they have been added. I keep hoping for a bold or eye-catching menu but only see my new pages under recently edited pages or when I click to see all pages....some main menu from the home page listing the other pages would seem to improve usability if you are switching back and forth or accessing a lot of pages. Otherwise the experience was easy, just a bit awkward since I read wikis but rarely contribute. I will definitely keep this in mind when we have group projects.

P.S. An added note about the rss feeds....thanks to anonymous "winter blues" Crovo for reminding us about Outlook 2007 feeds already on our sidebar. I had looked at these and deleted what I didn't like but didn't realize how easy it was to add your favs to this feed instead of bloglines....one exception: I did have a weather blog that was added yet Outlook does not update or pull in any new posts. Bloglines treated this feed fine, but Outlook had trouble....again, maybe I just need to look at settings...just an fyi.

Happy Wiki Wednesday! (Sorry, couldn't resist)

Bloglines

I was familiar with the phrase RSS and the orange symbol as floating terms, but without roots so-to-speak. Blue 2.0 added the roots allowing me to plant my own collection (can you tell I'm already thinking of spring planting?). Anyway...really cool and very easy! I have my standard news sites bookmarked that I will probably not add to the bloglines because I don't want the pressure of seeing so many "unread" changes each day, plus I like the standard news sites complete with visuals as they are. However, I really love the idea of pulling some of my lesser visited feeds and blogs into this site. As Blue 2.0 progresses, I anticipate adding some co-worker blogs to the Bloglines account, but for now I am having fun adding some of my known favs.....for now...my favs include local weather blogs (really quite educational and much more informative than the 2 minute news spot) and A Light Unto the Nations - two soldiers in Israel who usually produce a once a week radio and TV show but sometimes can't post due to reserve duty. This way, I don't have to go to the radio station and sift through their multiple listings, I can just glance at my new list to see if they have added a new show. Really saves time!

By the way, I was concerned that Bloglines would be a hassle since most account sites ask for the sign-in and password, even after you've told it to "remember me". But happily, bloglines did remember me and it really is just one click to see my list of multiple feeds....very nice way of corralling the herd of tech info!

Progress...I think

Ok, so I went back to review the actual activity "instructions" since I got a bit carried away early on. It seems I was supposed to tell everyone about my experience: I had dabbled a bit last week, but it's a fairly easy process. The only dilemma occurred when trying to decide whether I will keep this blog or trade it in for a new one at the end. I finally decided on a generic libraryish blog that may include some personal fun things as they happen. That should keep everyone on the edge of their seat! (can you smell the sarcasm?) As for work use....maybe...but in all honesty, we have so many list-servs and community portals in ILL-land that one more blog might be too much to follow. I greatly enjoyed Amanda's nickname (ILLiadgal) and could definitely relate to the venting urge caused by ILLiad. Although, I have been here long enough to have lived through Clio, so I won't vent too much. Maybe this is where the chatting will come in handy. Venting in real-time with instant response can be more rewarding.

As for the chat issue: This was considerably more difficult as I have been anti-AOL for years and they did not disappoint me with the multiple methods that this chat window appears - weird. I also encountered some of the errors others have commented about and it increased the completion time. After the trouble, I do have a chat account with AOL now, but MSN's IM has always been my preferred, so I think I will check into the Meebo thing to make things simpler.
Chow for now!

And they're off!

And so the Blue 2.0 fun begins! As I continue on what seems an eternal path of learning library lingo I felt the title of this blog was appropriate. True wisdom is hard to attain but everyday I hope the new bits of knowledge will someday accumulate into a semblance of true library wisdom - at least sometime before retirement! As the journey of learning continues, Blue 2.0 @ UK is the next stop. So far it's fun. This is not my first blog as I created a blog this summer for SLIS/LISSO (http://uklisso.blogspot.com/), but it's different making one up for yourself...kind of creepy when they want your name and hobbies for all the world to see. Yes, I know you can turn off access...but that sounds like a pain at this point in the proceedings. On to my next tasks.
Cheri