Marlz’s Weblog

So here it all is…on YouTube for all to see and rekindle. Gaming + Marlz = HELP!!! I have never been a gamer-girl and unfortunately, the skills that I hoped were maybe hidden, never appeared on the evening of October 24, 2007 in the LIS 768 classroom. I realize that practice makes perfect but I am coping with the realization that gaming requires a whole different level of thinking. I have enjoyed playing the game of Katamari Damacy, even when I have disappointed the King of all the Comos due to a lack of accumulated items. But this is fun! The fun ends, however, when reality is shown through a game of Brain Age or Guitar Hero. You see, I know the answers to these questions and equations. I know these songs. Why am I so slow at proving this knowledge? Frustration sets in and another round is attempted.  

Gearing up for game night, I tried my hand at God of War. A friend of mine is in a gaming class and needed to view my inexperience in order to get a new perspective on how it is played. Now, maybe it was his expertise and experience or maybe it was just the non-gamer thinking that I have; I was not exploring modes and methods of combating the Hydra. Yes, the Kratos I was controlling was truly pathetic. Though I kept trying and retrying! Was this annoying to me? Yes! But, persistence is a good quality that also needs to also be exercised in the game of life. 

I realize that there are all sorts of games that require different levels of skills. Some games relax the mind and some release our own inner battles. I enjoy watching other people game-it-up. I see what they are not about their physical appearance. How the body may start to sway, as if actually fighting in mid-flight. I see the determination in their eyes and the way their posture suddenly improves. I know that there is more to gaming than a few minutes of computerized interaction. I conclude that gaming is where life lessons can be discovered and put into practice. Where better to promote these acts than in a library, or library school, setting!

Searching out libraries that have their presence on MySpace, I did a quick Google search with “libraries on MySpace” to see what would result. The result brought about a page of MySpace library listings. This Space was meant for both academic and public libraries as an “aid to you and your library’s presence on MySpace.” Libraries on MySpace have 392 members and was founded on May 24, 2006. Keeping in mind that this was a “groups” listing page, Libraries on MySpace had many links and helpful informative resources to consult. After skimming this somewhat of a 1.0 looking page, I decided to visit a page with a little more pizzazz.

Hennepin County Library provided me with the evidence and support that MySpace fosters a social networking atmosphere across many levels. The Hennepin County Library MySpace stats are as follows: 87 yr old / female / Hopkins, Minnesota / 1041 friends. Hennepin was really where I started my analysis of how I would expect MySpace could enhance a library’s presence as a social networking experience. After looking over blog posts and other factoids listed, I looked at Hennepin County Library’s Friend Space as well as Hennepin County Library’s Friends Comments in order to get a feel for their friendship. After all, birds of a feather… I was glad to see that there were comments from a variety of libraries as well as authors sending their regards. Certain comments prompted me to look at other library’s MySpace pages, such as St. Louis Park Library, one of many branches of the Hennepin County Library system.

The St. Louis Park Library MySpace stats are: 17 year old / female / Minnesota / 318 friends. This library had a very animeted look that allowed me to connect deeper with my own interests in anime theme songs. There was a music player that linked me to Project Playlist  where anyone could create their own playlist to post on their MySpace page. I was able to look at other people’s playlists, blogs, and mp3’s. Needless to say, music always draws me in. St. Louis Park, as with most of the libraries that I visited on MySpace, seemed very much geared towards the teen sector. I wanted to see how libraries on MySpace could also appeal to adults and found the presence of Second Life Library 2.0 on MySpace. 

The Second Life Library 2.0 MySpace stats are: 41 yr old/ Female/ Info Island Illinois / 365 friends. The many YouTube segments gave me an informative tour of Info Island. This was an encompassing mix of Library 2.0 that could break all barriers of who we are vs. who we wanted to be. The MySpace blog was located on Info Island and there were posts about the newest developments on Info Island. Unfortunately, there did not seem to be many blog comments. The visit to Info Island left me with the question of whether SL is too far ahead of MySpace in terms of reality. Could there be degrees within 2.0 that measured intellect or maturity? This is one of the questions I am pondering while gathering conclusions about in the nearer future.

WOW! What a great network of thinkers and doers. The Library 2.0 Ning Community is a very faceted one that I found to be very open and conversational. I created a profile and was happy to find others who I know from LIS 768. One of the aspects that I found very useful was the Groups that have Ning forums. There is a wide range of fun and practical groups that I could join. Exploring the Personality Type in the Library group, I thought about how often I have considered my own, as well as those whom I work with, for reasons behind why certain changes happen or don’t. I remember taking the Myers Briggs and finding out that I, as an INFJ, fit in the occupational personality for librarians. Is there more to an organization than the personalities behind it? There were many interesting proposed thoughts on this topic and I, as the introvert in this INFJ personality, am thinking that this just may be one of a few groups I should join.

What a neat experience! So, I decided to visit the link that Aimee gave to the LIS Wiki for Chat reference libraries and couldn’t decide which part of the world to IM. I decided to go with the Answers Now option: Live reference chat – 24/7 using international partners in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United States. I found myself in New Zealand and explained my objective within the chat widow. Suddenly…Sam arrived!   Sam: Hi Marlene – welcome to NZ! I’ll do my best to answer your questions – fire awaymarlene: First off, How long has your library been using IM and how have you promoted this Service?
Sam: Live Online has been going since 2003 and promotion is mainly inhouse through the website
marlene: Are there only certain hours devoted to IM questions? or is it a 24/7 service?Sam: The service is offered through the library’s opening hours: 9am to 9pm weekdays and 9am to 4pm at the weekends.marlene: Introducing IM to staff, was there much training or staff input involved? and do you feel it has been successful?Sam: Training is ongoing. There is one team responsible for the development and maintenance of the service
Sam: It could be more successful with wider promotion. Customers are delighted with the service usuallySam: http://library.christchurch.org.nz/LiveOnline/FindOutMore/

marlene: Have you noticed a difference in the types of questions asked in an IM session as opposed to an in-person or virtual reference session? Do you find that there are limitations with IM?
Sam: We get the full range of questions that are encountered in person or otherwise

Sam: online reference requires a thorough reference interview and maybe more questioning – no visual or aural clues
marlene: Well Sam, I thank you very much for your time and answers. This was one of my first IM experiences and it has been really interesting and exciting. Take care and I will definitely have to come visit your library in the future.
Sam: The software we use has limitations – there is a 5 step check process before computers can be connected and co-browsing enabled
Sam: Thanks for your interest and all the best with the library studies. Bye Marlene!marlene: It seems that everything has limitations…and then a completely new program is introduced. Thanks again. I hope it continues to be successful. 

Overall, I found IM to be an enjoyable experience. However, as you can see, there are those time delays that can throw off a conversation, especially when one is not sure if the full answer has been stated. I also felt that because it is “instant” I should be brief and not engage in too many questions. I can see how IM is useful and pretty straightforward. After the session ended, I was given the option to both print the transcripts and/or have them e-mailed to my address. This too was a very accommodating feature, especially for this exercise. I would definitely promote this to the patrons at my library.

Yes, I have to admit that I am somewhat of a Dewey fan. Why? I guess I was familiarized at an early age with Dewey and as long as I could sing the alphabet…doesn’t everybody do that while alphabetically searching?…I found it to be logical and orderly. When college struck my library searches, I found that I was a bit confused with the LC classifications. One course in cataloging did help but still, Dewey instructs me where to go.  

Enter BISAC! (Book Industry Standards and Communications)

Not long ago I searched Barnes and Noble for travel guides for my trip to London. All I had to do was go to the travel section and find that BISAC was a purely topical, and easy, way of searching for my guides. But, how did I know that I was really seeing all that there was. Could I not go to another B&N and find more useful books, purely because they were in stock?  I decided to search the Maricopa County Library (Perry Branch) on-line catalog to see how things looked in BISAC terms. I could see that doing a simple search for “Travel” (books) brought about 2879 matches. What was misleading was how few of these titles were actually available in the Perry Branch. This finding supports the aspect of how size and BISAC aren’t completely compatible for all libraries. Visiting the Gather No Dust blog, it was useful to see how things looked from their Perry Branch Library Tour page. I also appreciated that this blog touched upon “What works” and “What doesn’t work.”   

I do believe that library branches can successfully please their patronage with a BISAC approach and atmosphere. Arizona is obviously in the fast lane for building branches. Could a large library support BISAC standards? Possibly with slow changes within newer collections, I’m thinking Graphic Novels and Teen materials. Would I feel that I am accessing all there really is available in my trip to a topical section? Probably not, especially if I’m in need of an in depth supply of research materials.

Another informative article I consulted about Dewey vs. BISAC in Maricopa was from The Wall Street Journal.