Yossarian is my co-pilot.

CLOUD PROUD

2010-12-23T08:05:00.000-08:00

Cloud computing is a way of outsourcing costly(yet highly effective)services that could otherwise drive your over head through the roof and waste important time and focus.
We here at the library, already use cloud computing for a variety of reasons. Namely, MARMOT could be considered a cloud network that oversees the technical and statistical comings and goings of our library.
The website (mcpld.org) employs many different cloud networks. It is because of this innovative method of service sourcing that we are able to provide our Grand Valley citizens with an exciting host of personal, financial, and educational tools.

2010-10-01T11:21:00.000-07:00

The LibGuides are so great! I love Betsey's cooking/baking one! However, a concise spot that is easy to navigate, and covers all of the daunting ballot issues - it's a dream come true. I scored 100% on the quiz and that is strictly because the LibGuide is so user friendly!

2010-09-02T14:28:00.000-07:00

THIS IS A MAN.

Augustous

2010-08-28T10:29:00.000-07:00

Critical past is totally engrossing. I was really missing me old Pappy so I watched some Navy sailors rescuing a sunken submarine in 1939. My husband custom makes highly detailed GI JOE action figures. He loves Critical Past because it has allowed him to really observe the exact uniforms that soldiers wore throughout history. I also watched the Olympic games from 1936 and was amazed at how technologically advanced the stadium was.
Oh~ by the by, Cook yer pig till 160F or else.

The New OPAC

2010-07-26T15:22:00.001-07:00

LOVE IT!
I love the updated look and the fact that it is a little more comprehensive than our previous options. The nice summaries really help me as I don't always have an exact book in mind that I want to read - and I need to shop around a little. For this reason I also like that you get a picture of the book that you have searched for; many times I judge a book entirely on it's cover.But that's just me. Don't hate the player. Just hate the game....

Newseum

2010-07-02T15:43:00.000-07:00

Very interesting! I would indeed recommend this site to a patron. It's fun as far that little bit of wanderlust that overcomes me at about 2:30PM everyday....

e-books

2010-05-13T16:37:00.000-07:00

So, of the three sites - I would definitely have to say that I really enjoyed Googlebooks the most. It was fun to look through and I was able to find tons of titles that I was interested in, I particularly loved the old issues of Jet magazine.

The other two sites were amazing in the fact that they had so many titles - I just had a harder time finding specific items.

OPtimus Prime

2010-04-30T14:44:00.000-07:00

Optimal Resume is awesome!I can only imagine how this would help someone in an employment search. I particularly love the job search function. I will upload my resume and that of my husband. The tool kit that this library provides it's patrons with is truly a gift.

Print Friendly VS. Print Preview

2010-03-30T12:47:00.000-07:00

For me, I will continue to use print preview. There are however, those times when you are in need of an article that is embedded in a web page. Print preview is just that tool.
It was super easy to use. Not only that, it makes the process of formatting something correctly (for print) quite speedy.I found it intuitive and will use it next time I want a piece of a web page without printing off 50+ pages of weird little internet noodling....

learn - a - test

2010-03-08T08:19:00.000-08:00

This is so valuable! I had fun poking around the different tests and you can bet that I will share this information with our patrons. So many times, the library is the first place that people go when they are looking for a career change. I get that(career change patron) a lot. they are here trying to research what it takes to become a weed killer guy or a postman. Bravo on another great web.o.lution task. Oh, I like how you can stop your test and see how it's going...

Web.o.lution

2010-01-29T15:19:00.000-08:00

The e-book reader from Adobe has been an interesting task. First let me say that making this our first task is very important.Most everyone that I've spoken with (myself included) has had questions about the Overdrive library.
That said...I dove in head first to tackle this downloading of e*books and ran into some hang ups. It seemed that every title I was interested in did not give me the "put in my book bag" option. Certain that my ignorance had soared to new heights I summoned the courage to ask why I couldn't download anything. My personal answer oracle (Sheila) clued me into the fact that we only secure the rights to so many copies of a given title. Ah HA! so I searched around until I finally found one that had availability.
My book downloaded super fast and I found the Adobe Digital Reader very easy to use.
You may think that this story has a happy ending - but it does not. When I went back to the computer that I originally downloaded both the reader and the e*book to - it said that my title had expired. I had only just downloaded this book today (the same day that it expired). Yeeaaah, so I'm a little confused. I'm sure it's something really obvious; but let me know. And even though I'm confused around seemingly every corner - I am learning.

the final destination

2009-11-19T17:14:00.000-08:00

Webolution was fun and informative. I really like the Creative Commons and I also loved the Weebly exercise. I remembered from Information Technology I that web design was easy and fun, but I think that time has made web design all the more user friendly. Thanks for all of the good tips and tricks.

Fun sites.

2009-11-19T14:46:00.000-08:00

I am new to the whole blogging thing and so even reading peoples blogs has been interesting. I don't dink around on the computer too much when I'm at home except for the obvious social networking sites (which I'm not even sure that I'm that crazy about) and checking my work email. I do love etsy as most of us do and I'm also partial to the site: Ozark Mountain Mini Tack (for the extra teenie horse on my shopping list).

Picnik

2009-11-19T14:40:00.000-08:00

Picnik is maybe better than the photo editing suite that I use at home, so once again I have learned something new. Webolution has been great for someone like me because although I have a pretty good working knowledge of computers and what to do when; these helpful tips and new sites are a treat and I love the feeling of learning skills I didn't have before.

Tiny URL / Zamzar

2009-11-19T14:12:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPeSbITit5U
Very cool and it auto copied it right to my clip board? Hurrah!

Zamzar is also awesome and I thought that it was pretty special that I could convert files to ipod format. I'll have to check when I get home and see how that works.

Really? I skipped 17 and 18? wow.

2009-11-14T12:48:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that I just skipped these two tasks. Thank you Cari and yer watchful little eyes :) On task 17: I really like the Public Library Association website (I love common ground of any kind). I also liked the library job postings on the internet. Although I am inextricably tied to this town, and would never leave; it is fun to see what is out there.

county and state pages

2009-11-12T13:09:00.001-08:00

These awesome pages allowed me to discover that my home has more than doubled in value since we bought it ten years ago (yippee!).Also, Brenda showed me a cool place to look up which of my favorite eateries are actually vermin infested dumps :(.

At the state web page I was able to find some useful steps for opening a business,learned hoe to register to vote, and also learned how to contact the governor.

WIKI Scavenger: Part Deux

2009-11-05T14:23:00.001-08:00

That's right, I got 100%. Never mind that the answers are basically in the questions (Thank YOu:))It WAS useful to me, because I am always amazed at how much info is contained in that there Wickie (can I spell it like that? It's cute).On to the next....

2009-11-04T12:24:00.000-08:00

Open Office is sooooo cool. I needed this in my life.We were given a computer by a friend and it has some oldness goin' on with it. I think this will really help with some of the applications that we were having problems with. So, my question is, does it allow you to use it as an internet browser, like instead of Windows ? Is the answer to the question really obvious? If so: I'm sorry.

I think that this is very much in accordance with the general philosophy of our library. We are here for the people. We provide free public computers and it is only befitting that we could, feasibly, use a software suite that never cost anyone a cent.

2009-11-04T08:52:00.000-08:00

Clipmarks...

Well, for me personally, Clipmarks really don't fulfill a need. Having said this, I can definitely see how and where a service like this would be so useful. If my business involved doing lots of research this would be so advantageous. It would help to organize any little tidbits. It would be a very good tool for someone that needs to refer to notes or sources without shuffling through papers.

2009-10-27T09:47:00.000-07:00

It has been too long of a vacation when it comes to webolution. What? Did I think we were done? So, I went and tried to download a selection off of Overdrive. I was able to preview it but I couldn't figure out how to access it with the media player. I will go home and do this where I am more comfortable. I did download a collection of chorale music and I wonder if some of the issue was that I downloaded music.

Soundsnap FUN! FUN! FUN!

2009-09-30T14:35:00.000-07:00

It took me a long time to do this task because I had a pretty good time checking out all of these little loops and sounds.
Eventually I decided on the sound clip titled: "Various Horror". Unreal Ambiances-Horror-Various Horror.

It's a super creepy sound byte and I thought we could use it to promote our little Halloween/library trick or treat day.

Also, Amie Street is the bomb. I love that it plugged in my Pandora user name and helped sort through the bajillions of indie artists on their site to isolate what I would love mostly.

Amie Street introduced me to the band "Cymbals Eat Guitars". I really liked their music and can't wait to really spend some time with this site that is new to me...

NoveList

2009-09-17T11:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I, for one, love NoveList. I've used it with patrons and have always really been amazed at how much our patrons enjoy learning to use it for themselves.
For this exercise in particular, I searched the "Read-alike" section for Tony Hillerman type mysteries (my Mama loves em, don't you know). I was able to find some authors that we hadn't completely read everything from. So success, was the outcome for the "read-alikes".
Pretty much the same scenario with recommended reads. I personally use this one a lot.

Graphic novel reporter/Biographical Resources

2009-09-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

The Book Report Network is really a nice new tool for finding out what is new and up and coming. I really loved the "Graphic Novel Reporter". I was able to learn about some graphic novels that I'm not sure that my husband even knows about yet (he knows a lot of them).
Today on Biographical Resources, I looked up Stephen King because I really love him (I know, such sophisticated taste). Did you know that he won an award for Excellence in Teaching?

Masterfile Premier

2009-09-08T12:41:00.000-07:00

At first, I got on Masterfile looking for a 1983 Toyota Tercel through Consumer Reports.I guess that the make/model of the car was too vintage for any information to be in the data base.
So, I went on to check out Dyson vacuum cleaners. I've had one for 5 years and it works really well, but I was thinking about donating it and getting a newer model.
Consumer Reports was really helpful. I was able to look at the newer models and learn about why you would want to replace a vacuum cleaner with a life-time guarantee.The newer Dyson's are smaller and don't require complete removal of the hose attachment to use it.

Next, I searched for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the Biographical Resources from our research tab. There was plenty to read. It gave me 11 different options.

Weebly Webolution

2009-09-03T14:47:00.000-07:00

Check out my totally exciting web page located at:

http://yossarianismyco-pilot.weebly.com

I found Weebly fairly easy to use and did my page in a rush. But as with so many of the useful web tools that we have been shown; I will spend more time on it when I get the chance.

Creative Commons

2009-09-02T15:44:00.000-07:00

Wawaweewa!
This is fun.Creative Commons is exactly what I've been looking for as far as Alphonse Mucha's artwork. I have always loved his work and had a very hard time finding a way to use some of his designs.
I guess my question is: Is this the same thing as "public domain"?

A little something wonderfulllllll....

2009-09-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddFBX9hwaOM

webolution # 7

2009-09-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

I looked at all of the different sites dedicated to "Lit-lovers" and chose to join up with Shelfari.
I have recently started keeping track of books that I have read and also the books that I want to read. My ongoing list was kept in an old journal. My list kept falling apart and I was going to start tracking it through our MCPLD website.
Shelfari is really, in my opinion, fun to use. I can't wait until I have a little more time to expand my library.
Goodreads is another great site. The only reason I didn't sign up for an account is that I felt that Shelfari was exactly what I was looking for. I don't really need all that Goodreads has to offer.
The Boulder Goodreads page was great and I would love to contribute to a Goodreads site of our own.

On a separate note: how cool is this Heathers artwork? Whoever found it, bravo!

The "Add to My Book" bag button is way cool.

2009-08-31T09:30:00.000-07:00

Hands down I would say that the "Add to My Book Bag" method will be the one that I use from now on for placing multiple holds. I really think that this option would be easier for both patrons and staff in a hurry.
My only question is: why was I not using this method before?

Our cool Facebookin' President...

2009-08-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

I had really never taken the time to explore Obama's Facebook page. I've always wanted to but had never really given myself the time to do so. I have to say that I was really impressed for one reason. Barack Obama wants the people of the United States to be involved. It really feels like, by being able to just check in with what he is doing, we have once again been enlisted as actual role playing citizens.
This really is both the beauty and the beast that is Facebook. As you know, I do love to check my Facebook page (never, ever at work). I have reconnected with my cousins and half-brother, I have looked at beautiful photography that my friends have captured on their exciting journeys (yes Josh, I am vicariously climbing mountains through you). However, the whole keeping tabs on EVERYONE thing did weird me out a bit at first.
I loved exploring the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. If you haven't had a chance to look at this awesome page; you should really check it out. There is an amazing portrait that was recently added of Eunice Kennedy-Shriver.

Nothin' like a web scavenger hunt...

2009-08-25T14:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I got a score of 86.66666667 on our little quiz :(. I truly thought that I would score 100.0%. I thought wrong. It's cool though, because I learned more about our library.
Did you know?
*That there is no public meeting room in Fruita? Oh, you did?
*Also that Gail Yerbic gave a presentation at the May board meeting? I bet she was wonderful.

On to the next task, and I have to say that I do enjoy blogging and I always enjoy learning about our library.

Webolution Task # 2

2009-08-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

Task # 2 is near and dear to my heart. I really had never explored Pandora until I came to work here at the library. Pandora Radio is an absolutely perfect option for me, as a music listener. I enjoy listening to a variety of music while doing all sorts of things: cooking, cleaning, checking in books...
When I first began using Pandora I had a lot of complaints about the playlists that they would compile based on my station request. But after much playing around and learning some new techniques (the thumbs up/down, that is so cool...); I have decided that I really love Pandora Radio. It plays in our house on most days and really is a gift from the music gods.
Today, I typed in The Life Aquatic Soundtrack and was pleasantly surprised by what turned up. First of all , they had named the channel (Pandora channel) Team Zissou Radio, which I thought was very cool. The real surprise is what followed. Pandora went ahead and gave me a nice selection of Seu George, which is from the Life Aquatic Soundtrack and I loved it. Next, Pandora took me on a journey of all kinds of wonderful instumental/soundtrack music: Little Miss Sunshine, Leo Kotke, Eric Bachman.
All in all, by really devoting some time to this site I have learned that to truly navigate Pandora Radio, it kind of helps to let Pandora Radio do the navigating...

An avid journal keeper begins to blog...

2009-08-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

When I was 12 years old, I began to keep a journal. Sometimes I feel that "journal" is too limiting of a word to describe all that these magical books have become to me over the years. My journals have been fanciful collages and sketch books. They have let me explore poetry, narration, brainstorming, outlining, baby names and so much more...These writing/creativity exercises have expanded my mind and allowed me a greater understanding of who I am. I recommend it to all of you.
Naturally, blogging has always has always been something that I felt that I should at least try. In some ways I feel a slight personal aversion to it. I love to hand write. Maybe in a past life (yes, I believe in past lives) I was a scribe. I don't know.
Never the less, it is definitely time to blog. I still keep a journal, and it is a really cool one this time around. But there is, in my opinion, never too much creative writing that a person can do. It is healthy and informative and I am ready to give it a maiden voyage...