Spring Cleaning # 30

I have used the S drive before so I knew how to place and delete a file already. I currently have nothing on the S drive.

I organized some of the branch info on the P drive into folders ie. the computer class handouts, conduct letters.

I organized a few more files into folders on the Z drive. I am pretty organized already and keep fewer things than most other people. The oldest file I deleted was from 2005.

I will continue to monitor my files and will keep only what I need.

Email Exercise # 29

Activity one: I have had a personal Yahoo account for awhile. The few people who are not work related still occasionally will send me an email to my hcpl email. I have been sweetly asking them to switch over to my personal email and most have updated their address books to reflect that. I will continue to strive for a distinct division between personal and work related.

Activity two: In my webmail I had already created folders. For this activity I went through and deleted everything I thought could go and printed off a couple that I wanted to retain just in case. I am pretty good about keeping my email down to a bare minimum. For example I went from a high of 14% of my assigned capacity to 7% after this cleaning exercise.

I will usually keep the emails in by inbox which have an expiration date like people out of the office, report due dates, etc.

Activity three:I also updated my address book.

Spring Cleaning Exercise #28

Activity one and three: I read the GTD and found that I already do some of the things suggested. I am especially good about the 2 minute rule of do it, delegate it or defer it. I am fairly good at putting things into files both for myself and for my assistant branch librarian so she can find stuff when I am out. My problem with throwing away is it always seems like the minute I throw something away, we will get a request for stats or asked to go back a couple of years to demonstrate a trend. Otherwise I would be totally happy to purge my files on a regular basis. I find that work is where I have more control over organizing things and so I do. Home is kind of out of control because DH is an inveterate pack-rat.

Activity two: I already use the calendar attached to our webmail but I signed up for the calendar in Google. I am not sure I will remember to check it but I did put several appointments on it.

Week 10 # 23 The End?

In preparation for this post I went back through and reread all nine weeks worth of postings. It reminded me how cautious I was at the beginning and how now nine weeks later I have gained a lot of confidence in using the various tools. I am not sure I will be using all of them but it is great to be familiar with them so I can assist customers.

As far as library use, I do think Wikis would be a great way to do collaborative work among the branches. As we are getting more and more involved in using pictures from the branch activities on the website, the Flickr training and photo editing tools will be very useful.

I would like to sincerely thank all the iHCPL team who put this training together for us: the ones who did the videos, who created the discovery exercises, who have been tracking our posts and who dutifully sent out the bling every week. It has been absolutely the best and most useful training program I have participated in since I came to HCPL.

Week 9 # 22 Downloadable Media

This exercise couldn't have come at a more perfect time. The other night my granddaughter had left her book at school - A Wrinkle in Time. She needed to read the next chapter and answer some questions. Of course, it was after the library was closed. However, Grandma came to the rescue with Overdrive!!!! I found the book in our catalog, downloaded it to our home computer, and voila - she was able to listen to Madeleine L'Engle herself reading to her. Of course, we also had a wee talk about being responsible and remembering important homework tools. Sweet child!

I did look into Wowio and am waiting for my account to be approved. I found a book I will download when I can called It's My Party and I'll Knit if I Want To.

As far as Audio books I will definitely stay with Overdrive. We have such a great selection of books.

Week 9 # 21 Podcasts

I tried all three directories and found that podcastalley was the most interesting. I found a lot of library related podcasts. They ranged from very technical ones to the Annie the library lady reading classics. I don't know what happened to her because she seemed to stop around Chapter 18 of Pride and Prejudice. I hope she's OK.

I then went on to subscribe to the RSS feed from one of my knitting stores. I had noticed that they were posting on their catalog site about new podcasts and this gave me the perfect opportunity to subscribe. The site is www.knitpicks.com.

Week 9 # 20 YouTube

YouTube is an old friend. I discovered Father Matthew Presents a year or so ago. He is a young Episcopal priest who has used this new medium to connect with young people (as well as not so young). He uses humor, pop music and short clips to get across important concepts of our faith.

I think the crew who created the One-Minute Marketing videos and the iHCPL videos has clearly shown a way YouTube can be used in a library setting.