Productivity Tools

Any tools that can help me stay organized are extremely useful to me as like everyone there is a lot of information and scheduling to keep track of. I really like using Google docs as you can access it from any computer. For me I am a children's programmer at my library and by putting my programs on Google docs it's a great way for me to access my programs wherever I am. Milton Public Library has 2 locations and so by using this product I could access my programs at any location which simplifies things for me as I don't have to lug things around. Even for writing word documents I tend to use Google docs as again I can access it from any computer which makes life easier. I love this tool and will use it forever.

Social Cataloging

Social cataloging is a great interactive way for readers to organize and keep track of their reading preferences and reading choices. Librarything or Google Reads is a great way to stay organized and can help librarians with readers advisory as they can consult their own library collections to make recommendations to patrons. I love this site as I often am looking for a one stop resource that will allow me to organize and keep track of what I am reading and what I want to read in the future. I can list all of my favorite books and I can see myself using this tool when I am doing readers advisory as it will remind me of some of the great books out there. My name for Librarything is kate.bastarache. Great lesson and this is definitely a resource I will use in the future.

Wikis

A wiki is a great tool for libraries to use as it allows all of their staff members to contribute information and ideas that can be useful and helpful to everyone. The nice thing about wikis is that there can be different pages for different things i.e. professional development, readers advisory, children's programming, etc. Letting everyone contribute makes them feel like they are part of the team and at the same time provides them with a valuable resource to use for ideas and information.

Film and Photo Sharing

Film and photo sharing is another great way to incorporate patrons into the library. By posting pictures and films it allows patrons to see the events and fun that is in the library. Libraries need to envelope all of the social media that is available in order to include and increase the population of the library and by using Flickr, Instagram, or Youtube this is a great way to reach out to the tech savy library patrons. Here is the link to the picture that I posted on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/120052985@N07/13083152563/. I posted a picture of the Beaty branch of the Milton Public Library where I work.

Tagging & Social Bookmarking Assignment

This assignment touched on something that I already do which made me feel smart. I already use Pinterest on a regular basis for both professional and personal use, I just never knew that it was known as social bookmarking. Pinterest is a great, easy to use, platform that allows people to share ideas and information with each other. Milton Public Library has recently started a Pinterest page and I am one of the contributors to it on a regular basis so our patrons can follow the information we post. Please look up my account on Pinterest by just searching for my name Kate Bastarache and you should be able to find my boards.

This week's lesson was a great lesson for me as it built on the blogging skills we learned last year and added on new skills for RSS feeds and Twitter. I really liked the lesson on RSS feeds as it will help me to keep track of new developments on the blogs that I now follow, the beauty of RSS feeds is that it makes maintaining your blogs extremely easy and you only need to go to one place to look at all of the new developments instead of having to check each blog individually. I know there is a place for Twitter but it was a service that I do not think I will be comfortable with but I am glad this was part of the assignment as it forced me to investigate this service. Step 1 I signed up for Feedreader and added all of the urls that I have on my Blogger page so I can start following the blogs Step 2 I signed up for a Twitter account and actually posted a tweet even though no one follows me. My Twitter name is @Katebastarache. I think there is a real use for both these formats in libraries as people can be sent information regarding the library right to their electronic device. Great assignment!

Favorite Books

This list of books is a list of my all time favorite books 1) The Last Lecture (Randy Pausch) 2) Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis) 3) Anne of Green Gables Series (L.M. Montgomery) 4) Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom) 5) Love You Forever (Robert Munsch) 6) Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte) 7) Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) 8) Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)