#5 Flickr

Flickr is one of those sites that I could spend hours playing with (literally). I'm still a little fuzzy on some of the areas like color picker and those types of things. I guess the more I use it, the easier it gets. I really had fun creating the posters and trading cards. I have always wanted to get into scrapbooking but never took the time (or expense). After surfing around in Flickr, I am going to work on putting my "Girls' Week in Florida" trip photos in a set and create some "online albums" that I can share with my friends! Someone is really on their toes! (Aren't you glad librarians don't look like this anymore! (Did they ever really look like that?!?!)

#7 Flickr & the Archives

I love browsing through the historical images on the Nashville Library and TeVA sites. I especially liked the postcards on the TeVA site. It makes me want to get the library's photos done! At one point several years ago, we started pursuing that with the Gore Center when Jim Neal was still there, but we never quite got it headed in the right direction. This would be a great asset to offer to the community to have the old photographs accessible through our website. We have some photos that are a one of a kind. This might be something we want to look as a "90 day" project!

#6 Mashups are what?!

I'm not sure I totally understand what mashups are, but I do know that they are totally cool! I really enjoyed creating posters and trading cards with the motivational posters and trading card sites. I can't wait to email them to my friends to bring back some great memories! My only problem at this point is trying to be creative and put the right words together. I really like being able to create such specialized posters, but I do wish I had more control over the fonts. I think this will be a great tool in putting together some great promotional posters for the library!

#4 Online databases

In looking over the many online databases that Linebaugh has to offer, I first looked at the p4A Antiques Reference database where I looked up several pieces of furniture that I owned. I enjoyed looking at the photos of the items, but didn't have much success in locating any of the pieces that I owned. I ended up going to the Biography Resource Center to see if I could locate a brief biography of Black Elk, a Lakota Sioux medicine man. Since my oldest daughter has been going on mission trips to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota for seven years now and plans to move there in the spring, a friend recommended she read the book Black Elk Speaks by John Neihardt, Nebraska's poet laureate (1931). Nicholas Black Elk experienced the Battle of Little Big Horn as a teenager, Custer's last stand, witnessed Wounded Knee and was part of Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show. He became a Roman Catholic, but never let go of the "great vision" that he had at age nine while dealing with a life-threatening illness.

I found the database to be easy to use, with access to as little or as much information as I cared to read. This would be extremely helpful in helping students with reports or anyone just wanting to find information about someone--from birth/death dates to their writings/philosophies, etc.

7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners

In listening to the presentation on 7 1/2 habits of highly successful lifelong learners, I found several of the habits quite easy to follow--especially the last 1/2 step PLAY!! I love to learn new ways to express myself creatively and new technology offers so many choices. Where do I begin?! I learn best by having a problem or project to work on. Typically, that's how I learn new computer programs. It may take me longer to get there, but you can bet I've hit every button I can find to see what it will do before I'm done. So I can really combine habits 3 and 6 together as probably my easiest. The hardest one might be habit 4 since I don't always remember how I did something and can't repeat the process, but I'll keep trying! The best part of all this is recognizing that we should never give up on learning--it should be a "lifelong" goal!

Staff Development Day

LPLS Has The Best Staff In the World!!

What a fantastic day this has been. I'm not sure when I have been so energized. I came away from our Staff Development Day ready to face the world and give it everything I've got to make LPLS the best library system ever--anywhere! We have such an incredible staff--all willing to pitch in and do what they can to make things work like a well oiled machine. I'm so excited to see what happens over the next 90 days. With Barb's guidance and Laurel's leadership and a staff who will DO (not try!) what it takes, who knows how far we'll go. And let's not forget our supportive Library Board, Foundation and great group of Friends! But we can't forget those fabulous patrons--what would we do without them?!