Addiction ...

I've been addicted to Bloglines since I went to a Web 2.0 conference in Miami last year.

How efficient it is!
All my blog addictions in one place!

Beside reading Boing Boing's happy and quirky news bits .... I'm absolutely obsessed with the blogs of popular YA authors. They have reverted back to being in high school and formed these cliques where they go out together, meet in fancy hotels rooms and write, make silly vlogs filled with inside jokes, take road trip book tours, dare eachother to eat dozen of peeps and drink cheap wine and then film it all ... and they just look so damn hip that I want to beg to be part of the group.

Links to my faves:



Maureen Johnson - http://maureenjohnson.blogspot.com/



John Green - http://www.sparksflyup.com/weblog.php



Scott Westerfeld - http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/

For interviews and the scoop on new books:
http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/
http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/



Jackie Parker - http://interactivereader.blogspot.com/



The Ya Ya Ya's - http://theyayayas.wordpress.com/2008/05/22/summer-blog-blast-tour-e-lockhart/



Little Willow -http://slayground.livejournal.com/


I Love Boing Boing too!



because of articles like this:
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/05/01/young-adult-sections.html




Articles on sugary cereal light fixtures:

And videos of of the Wearable Technology Fashion Show:

FLICKR FATASTICNESS - Ode to Twilight Fandom

Lovingly made with Flickr Toys' Mosaic Maker!
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php

A connection is made

How can blogging be used in libraries .... CONNECTING!!

... if libraries are an institution that connects people with information .... then they should also have the same presence online.

Blogs allow for the sharing of information, they allow patrons and staff to collaborate - share ideas, meet new people, chat about the Twilight books.

I'd love to have a blog to post reader's advisory lists, ask teens for ideas, post new book reviews, cool websites, trailers for movies based on books ... etc.

We have enough presence in the community that if we had an online presence also, through blogging, I think it would totally change the community's perspective on the library. Especially for the young people. By not having a blog or myspace that represents the library we are telling this young demographic that we just don't care about them . ... That we are totally ignoring they're need to connect online. So Sad! .... because they are a rockin', vibrant group!

Lifelong Learners

While the slideshow was dull ...
the message is true ....
for lifelong learners
it's never too soon, or too late ,to learn something new!

This is why I love working in youth services!
We work to inspire lifelong readers and library users. From baby storytimes to teen events, we have to keep convincing parents and children that we still have what they need and keep them interested.

This also what keeps us on our toes. We have to be on top of the latest trends and continually learn what's HOT and deliver it to the public. Especially with young adults and children, they are hardwired into technology - they are the key lifelong learners because they will always want to be ahead of the game and will constantly learn to keep up with those trends. We have much to learn from them.

MOST DIFFICULT PART FOR ME??

Using technology to my advantage!

It's a piece of cake using technology to my PERSONAL advantage. I love my ipod! .... and I'm addicted to RSS feeds and blogs and YouTube. And admittedly - MySpace.
However, trying to incorporate these technology trends into the library has often been met with resistance.

"If you don't offer them something they value now, you're going to be irrelevant to them for the rest of their lives. It's not a risk we can afford to take."
- Eli Neiburger, ALA Gaming in Libraries Symposium, December 2005

That's my difficulty ... convincing others that it is beneficial and NEEDED to incorporate social software on the library teen webpages, teen advisory boards need blogs and mysapce pages, teens should be allowed to podcast, we should be able to hook up our ipods for story time music instead of using cassette tapes, staff should have a listserv, patrons should be able to comment about books on a blog, the library director should have a blog, patrons should be able to text or IM a PBCLS librarian with questions, gaming should be promoted in full force!!

Especially since all this is fun! Web 2.0 technologies promote the sharing of ideas, creativity, and online communities.