Google Docs and Productivity

Okay, so I'm bloggin out-of-order.... I posted previously about the optional fun photos section of our training mostly because, well, it was fun! But seriously, what can I say about online productivity? I have used google docs before and I like the fact the the document "lives" online (no need to even carry the usb thumbdrive with me anymore) and that is accessible anywhere there is internet access. Anyone can (or at least should) easily see the usefulness of google docs (and other online productivity sites) for collaborative works. I briefly wondered why someone might actually choose a wiki for collaborative work over online productivity apps but I think for committee work, sites like google docs make more sense. I see a wiki as a useful tool more for a collaborative work that you want the public to be able to view. Yes, I'm making arbitrary distinctions!

In some ways I wonder if online apps like those offered by google docs will eventually be the "death knell" for computer-hosted applications like Microsoft Office. In the ever changing world of technology, it wouldn't surprise me at all!

Playing with photos

Susan's website has some interesting photos of the library that have been edited using http://www.befunky.com/. I really like the effects, so here are 2 photos that I played with.

Tagging & Social Bookmarks

More than any other web 2.0 feature, I see this as the most useful for our library users. We librarians just have to face it - our subject headings are not intuitive at all! With tagging added to our catalog records, we could enable our customers to find what they are looking for so much easier. I'll be honest, sometimes I'll search for a book title on a topic that a customer is looking for (where I know we have books in the collection on the topic, but I'm not sure what the subject heading might be); then I'll see what in the world the subject heading was for that topic. Many times, the subject heading just isn't specific enough to be of any help, or is just "odd" enough that you wouldn't think in a million years that it could possibly be the subject term. I'm even not ashamed to admit that that on occasion, I've used amazon and LibraryThing to find additional titles on a topic - then returned to our catalog to see if we own the titles found. In a nutshell, tags make finding relevant titles that much quicker and simpler - and our library members deserve to be able to find the materials they need with as few barriers as possible.

Oh yes, on a personal level, I use delicious as a web-based set of bookmarks that can go with me anywhere.