Editing a Wiki

So, I finally got around to editing the staff wiki. I couldn't believe how easy it was. I cleared a bunch of stuff of of my collection development list and added one new item. It was just like working in a word processing program. I didn't have to put any strange characters or code in; I just started typing. I also deleted Strat's from the list of local restaurants on our Local Ready Reference page, seeing as how the place no longer exists here in Franklin Park. With Vanessa's assistance, I learned how easy it was to add links to the wiki. I added two links to the Collection Development page. I added a link to All Music Guide and another to Billboard Music Charts. I find both of these sites very useful in finding new music releases and which albums and artists are popular on the charts in all genres. I am definitely glad that we no longer have to use brackets and type out the url in order to create a link. Now that I know how easy it is to update the wiki, I won't be so hesitant to add to it. Once I revamp the Interlibrary Loan procedures, I would like to have those posted on the wiki so that everyone will have access to them. I am really finding all of the technology that we have learned about useful and fun. The only problem is finding (or making) the time to just sit down and play with it.

Google Docs

Wow. Google Documents is definitely easier to use than Microsoft Word, if you're not doing anything too complicated. I created a template for my Monthly Reports using Google Documents and I created a spreadsheet for titles I would like to purchase for my Collection Development Areas. What I like about this is that you can access them from anywhere. You don't have to worry about different computers running different versions of Microsoft Word or Excel. You don't have to worry about using up space on your hard drive or carrying around a floppy or a flash drive. I also set up a personal calendar using the 30 Boxes site. It was so easy to set up and so easy to add events. Google Calendar looks much more professional and I think it is not as easy to use. I did not try any of the other sites because I did not want to sign up for yet another site that I probably will not use more than once. However, I do think that we should let our patrons know about some of these sites. Especially, the patrons that often forget their disks or have damage to their disks. At least then they would be able to save their documents and be able to access them again.

Fun with RSS

It's been awhile since I've posted, but I finally got around to completing the tasks for week 2 of our tech training. Week 2 is about RSS. I had heard of it before and I'd heard about Bloglines in a seminar, but I've never felt the need to subscribe to any blogs. But now I am subscribed to 7 library/librarian related blogs, my coworkers' blogs, the Franklin Park Library blog and wiki, and two non-library related blogs. I subscribed to all of them using Google Reader. I have to say that it was quite easy to use. I just have to remember to keep up with it. Hopefully, now I will be more informed about the library world and the world outside the library.