"We expected to banish paper, but we actually banished thought"

At last, access to rss feeds - but oh my gosh, there's so much info piling in to the reader.

Came across this today: “In the information society, nobody thinks. We expected to banish paper, but we actually banished thought” – Michael Crichton.

How true - today I also read of an grad student who's written an applet that prohibits him accessing his computer for a set period (set by him, depending on how much thinking time he feels he needs).

Re some of our 'set questions': What I love is having it all come to me rather than go out looking for it - though for most of what I get now, I get via email alerts anyway. And now, G Reader is just another place I have to check.

I subbed to several of the suggested sites, and added a few blogs of people who always make me think - and then I got carried away creating folders so I could keep like feeds with like - what this does though is limit how much you see since the latest feeds display for each folder - must see if I can change this so just the latest of any folders shows up and I just use the folders if I want to go back and check something.

Wikis - what do they offer?

I've been using wikis in another role for about 4 years now so was familiar with what they're all about and am falling in love with Google notebook as a way of capturing all that important stuff from the web and contextualising it for me.

Still it was fascinating to see how they're being used in libraries.

I noticed that most of the library ones we were alerted to permitted 'authorised' editing, either by library staff or by 'community' members - think this is essential. If readers are not permitted to edit, is it really a wiki?

Though I also like the idea of using a wiki to set up a low cost website.

So, at the library ... although one of my colleagues has her/his doubts, I can see some real benefits - suspect the family historians would take to an fhwiki like ducks to water and scholars drawing on the Mitchell collections ... I guess as the 'doubting dog' says, it comes down to whether or not there is a need driving the collaboration rather than collaboration going in search of a need.

Energy and Teamwork

Here's a pic showing an impressive bit of energy and team work, one of the values we hold dear at the Library. I like to think we display "grace and elegance"as we go about our daily work - not sure though if all our energy is in our hindquarters.

I picked it cos a) I like stuff to do with horses and b) was intrigued by the comments inserted into the pic when you run mouse over it.

Blogs and libraries

How should libraries use blogs?

There are lots of things we could do with them but I've often thought that one thing a big research library like ours should be doing is capturing some blogs of ordinary everyday people today which will form part of the 'documentary heritage' of this state for scholars in 200 years time.

My colleague over at Library Thoughts has been thinking along similar lines. PANDORA will capture online publications of national or state significance but it looks like blogs are excluded from selection at present.

Will there be a 2208 black hole where previously have been diaries and letters?

Blogging - wiifm

It's taken some time to get back into the b/sphere but I've spent the time mulling over what to say, how to say it ... and have reflected on the nature of blogging which seems to me to mostly be one way communication. My observation is that most bloggers blog but most posts don't attract feedback. Not to say that means the posts are not useful, intriguing or thought provoking - just that they're one way. And that perhaps is a clue to the low priority it has had for me this week.

I love sharing ideas, tossing opinions and concepts back and forth, reshaping what I think depending on what I discover about what others think. But posting feels like shooting arrows into the sky and not knowing where they'll land.

A whole new way of communicating for me.

why wandering?

New bloggers should be warned about the time it takes to think up a cool, creative, elegant and intriguing name for your blog ... I've just spent 15 minutes doing some concept design work and then trying to come up with the right words to capture the concept. Yes, I know I can change it later but I also know a name change will remain low on the list of the many priorities competing for my attention.