The Beginning In The End....

This may be the end of this incredible library course but this is just the beginning of the blog posts, status updates, and tweets in my Library 2.0 life.  Hope to see you all again in various aspects of the digital world!

Second Life

A (re)slice of life online, part four: Howard's Second Life Office 

by Howard Rheingold

I really enjoyed this video, Rheingold was very interesting to watch and quite funny.  I really loved his virtual office and the graphics were pretty good.  His office actually made me think of that video game Sim City.  I like how as he moves around the second life office and clicks on the walls how it links to videos, pictures, blogs, learning communities and wiki's. The part that made me laugh out loud is when was making his avatar move and he said, "Standing up puts me on top of the chair but its digital so I don't mind."  Overall, this was a cool video and I'm going to watch the other in the series to see how he made his second life office.

Video Games in Libraries

The Case for Video Games in Libraries by Suellen Adams.  I like how in this article it does talk about some libraries hesitance to allow game play but then it says on page 199,
"A search for gaming on the American Library Association Web site (www.ala.org) leads to a plethora of resources about using games in libraries.  The primary focus of the materials is in using game tournaments or video game clubs to bring young adults into the library.  These programs are valuable in a variety of ways, but they are really only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the ways games could be used in the library."
I find peoples hesitance funny especially when the ALA promotes game use and acknowledges it importance in gaining younger patrons.  But like Adams says, the way in which the ALA promotes game use is the beginning of how video games could be utilized within the library setting.  Games are fun but they can be educational as well so why not use them for patron outreach.

Privacy and Technology

Online social networking sites and privacy: Revisiting ethical considerations for a new generation of technology by Peter Fernandez. I actually referenced this article a lot in my literture review. In this article Fernandez says, "By creating a profile on these sites, libraries also risk further legitimizing them, and encouraging users to be passive regarding their own privacy. If libraries take a comprehensive view of privacy as a core value, encouraging their users to use products that do not have the same regard for privacy should give librarians pause. Furthermore, it raises the issue of the role that libraries should play in actively promoting awareness about the privacy issues inherent to these systems." This is a situation in which Libraries are seen as an authority within the information field and if we are seen using social media then it is assumed by our patrons and others among the public that the Library Institution thinks that it is safe. This once again makes the need of Information Literacy Instruction important. When implementing a new outreach program there are going to be difficulties but it is finding a professional way in which to navigate these difficulties that matter. This use of social media not only allows libraries outreach into the community but a way to create other programs that correlate with their use.

Privacy and Generation Y

Privacy and Generation Y: Applying Library Values to Social Networking Sites by Peter Fernandez. This is also an article that I used for my literature review. In it Fernandez says, "In the digital age, potential threats to privacy have expanded, and questions of privacy must be considered in situations where confidentiality is no longer such a clear concern. Traditional statements about privacy make it clear that it would be a problem if, for instance, a patron’s confidential conversations with a librarian were being monitored without the patron’s consent within a SNS." Privacy is not something that we really think about until it is invaded. But as librarians it has always been a part of are code to make sure that people's privacy is protected. But Fernandez is right in our day and age it has become more and more difficult to protect peoples privacy. Partially due to thie persons ignorance when it comes to social networking safety but from others out with the intent to invade their privacy. It is our job to keep the information that our patrons provide us with safe and this task has become increasingly difficult with social media outreach.

Balancing Outreach and Privacy in Facebook

Balancing Outreach and Privacy in Facebook: Five Guiding Decisions Point by Peter Fernandez. This is actually an article that I used in my literature review. In no way does Fernandez say that it is easy to balance outreach and privacy but in all reality embarking on something new is never easy. He talks about how there are many people utilizing Facebook. In the article he says, "Facebook interactions raises a host of questions for libraries such as how to handle potentially hateful speech, to relatively simple things, like what to do if patrons post false, or otherwise problematic information to the site. When a library allows or encourages its patrons to contribute to any part of its site within Facebook, that information will also be tied to the patrons Facebook profile. As a result, the library has an ethical obligation to be aware of potential abuses, and determine how it want to regulate interaction that occur on its site." This quote makes me think about how in school libraries have to protect our students identities from others and that by having our patrons Facebook pages linked to ares can lead to others looking at their page. This would make the need for us to educate our patrons on privacy settings all the more important. Overall, I like this article and felt that this author had a lot of relevent things to say on the subject.

Power of Play

Percolating the Power of Play by Sarah Faye Cohen, Timothy Miner, and Laurent Nishikawa. I really enjoyed this article especially the collaboration aspect. Libraries are about outreach and by uniting with the Computer Gaming Design Program and it's students the library is now able to interact with it's patrons in a more relatable way. I highly recommend using games as a way of teaching and reinforcing a skill. Like the article says it is not an easy process to create a game that incorporates all of the Information Literacy (IL) aspects. Ultimately, one must determine which facets of IL need to be emphasized and then integrate them into the game. In the end, I believe that games are a great way of learning and I actually use them in my classroom as well.