Final Entry

For the final topic I will write a message to Cathy Deane with my final thoughts, who thought this Web 2.0 lesson could come in useful for Security staff, but first I'll talk about the last activities.

I received my flashdrive, which couldn't have come at a better time, as my personal computer at home is out of space. I had trouble using it at work, however, as I couldn't access the files when I installed the flash drive. Mike in Computer Services helped out and showed me that I would need to name a new drive to get the flash drive to work and he showed me how. I downloaded a picture that represented that I voted this year, which is something I'm proud of since I did that for the first time ever. And incidentally, I voted for the correct candidate, and maybe twice, but that's another story.

Second I found a web 2.0 site called Meglobe, which is a place where you can translate to English. This can help me talk smack when I play poker online with players around the world.

Here are my final thoughts about Web 2.0:

As I described in my very first entry, technology can help us all do our jobs better and more efficiently, but it can also needlessly complicate things when the old way of doing things is working just fine. It shouldn't be force-fed to staff just because it's there. In the same way, I don't need a couple extra toes because the ten I have work just fine.

That being said, are there any new technologies that can or should be used specifically for Security staff? My answer is maybe.

I believe that the Security Log we use now works just fine. It does its purpose of helping Security Officers communicate between themselves and shows how we respond to new situations. A wicki could come in handy because we all handle different problems in different ways, and it could cause a discussion amongst Security staff in certain situations where it is necessary to come to a conclusion about how the situation should be handled in the future.

One idea I had was for a Security Blog that could be accessed by all staff on the intranet. I know that staff members have security concerns that are not always addressed, most likely because these things are forgotten or staff are not accustomed to having Security Officers. Just today I overheard a Page speak about a security matter that had never been addressed with me, for whatever reason, but those are the kinds of things I'd like to know. A blog or even a wicki shared by staff and Security could be utilized for these kinds of security issues that fall between the cracks.

I could also write general posts in the blog about my own philosophies regarding security, which I understand is completely self-indulgent but could educate staff as well. Of course there would always be the reminder that staff is encouraged to speak with Secuirty Officers in person or email when it comes to private concerns.

If we switch from the Security Log to another type of technology then it would be helpful to inact some kind of tagging so that Security staff can see how certain issues have been handled in the past. For example, one of us could type in "handicapped parking" and see how that situation has been handled in the past.

I don't feel strongly for these ideas one way or another, but it was fun working/playing with Web 2.0

5th Entry

For the topic of podcasts I first listened to one of the Sarah Long interviews. She spoke to two men from Holland who created a coffee table book about libraries they had toured in the United States. They called it the Shanatchic Tour in honor of storytellers in Ireland who would travel from town to town and tell stories in exchange for food and lodging. They displayed great passion for libraries and discussed their goal of "libraries without walls," meaning the ability to share stories and knowledge as a global community.

I found that one of the man's last names is Boekesteijn which sounds like "Book stein." That's almost as good as the Library Cop's name from Seinfeld being Bookman. I should consider changing my name to this.

Somewhere along the line I learned that POD stands for "Personal On Demand." Makes sense.

I was disappointed that I couldn't download a book. I did download the Overdrive Media but when I attempted to download a book into it, I got an error message that the parameters are incorrect. I took it to Spencer in Computer Services who was unable to help me. Then I emailed Michelle Vonderhaar, who told me to download the Overdrive Media to the C drive, but I see that the site is down for maintenance today. Michelle told me to blog about it if I continued to have trouble, which is what I just did.

Browsing the available books to download, I was surprised at the selection at first, but came to realize that the most books available are newer books and best sellers, which is fine, but in general not what I would find appealing. Also, for some reason if a book is "checked out" you have to place a hold on it. I don't understand why the quantity of downloads is finite. If the website offers a book, can't it be downloaded an infinite number of times?

It may be best that I was unable to download a book anyway, as I find listening to a book on tape or CD to be kind of silly, especially when a male narrator acts out a female voice.

Fourth Post--You call this work?

I've been browsing Flickr and youtube for the past 20 minutes and I'm starting to feel guilty about it. I need to remind myself it's okay to do this at work, because this is the "work" I'm supposed to do. I didn't think much of Flickr when I first learned about it at the staff institute day, but now I realize how much I do look for pictures at home, using primarily Google images, and Flickr is a lot better. The photos are a lot better in quantity and quality.

I don't know how much any of this lesson applies to working at the library, especially my job as Security Officer, but I will enjoy it at home. I've been aware of youtube for a while, and I use it mostly to watch funny things or listen to music, and then add those videos to peoples' myspace pages.

I looked through photos of my favorite band, Gogol Bordello, and some of the pictures do capture the energy that the band brings. This particular photo features Eugene Hutz, the lead singer, standing on a drum being held up by the crowd. One of the go-go dancers bangs on that drum, but it doubles as a transportation device. This band's music is so beautiful and joyous that just going through the pictures made me a little emotional, thinking about the feelings the music brings me and singing, yelling, howling, and screaming along.

3rd Entry

I wish I had more time to spend on these lessons. I could spend a day looking through "delicious" and I think "Library Thing" would be fun to look through as well. I took the tour and I may sign up on my own from home. It seems like an extended version of the posts people make reviewing books on amazon.com. I can get addicted reading what peoples' ideas and interpretations of books are there.

As for tagging itself, I'm not sure it has much application when it comes to security staff. I can see how it could be useful if we had some kind of security database set up that showed how security staff handled certain situations. For example, if in the Security Log we wanted to know how certain parking situations were handled in the past, you might tag the word "parking" and then bring up every entry that had to do with parking. From that information a security staff member could determine how to act in a specific situation based on how it had been handled in the past. However, as far as I know the Security Log cannot be tagged.

Come to think of it, tagging could be a useful tool in just that type of situation, if we used an application where tagging is an option, but I'm not sure what type of application would be used. I'll have to ask Cathy Deane if and when we switch the Security Log over to some other type of application.

2nd Post

I need to cut these blog entries short because I've already spent an hour on the second topic.

I had fun working with the Wiki. I hope this particular Wiki continues into the future because it's nice to learn about my co-workers and their favorite things. It took me longer than I thought to add an entry about my favorite books, so although I wanted to add another about my favorite music, I'll put that on the backburner, and perhaps add more at a later time.

I see the value of a Wiki. The video explaining it was very helpful. Again, I see it as a tool that can be useful, but the purpose is defeated when using it is forced down our throats just because it's there. As it relates to my own job in security, I can see it being used when there are certain ongoing situations and each security staff member adds his own experience to the topic. For instance, parking in the garage posed a problem in the past, and maybe a Wiki could have been used for all of our opinions and suggestions.

Frankly, the Security Log is being used less and less now. That may be because we don't have any ongoing issues to deal with at this time. The newest Security Officer hasn't added one entry yet. The lack of communication amongst us may pose a problem in the future, but again, no need to fix what aint broke.

I think wiki literally means "quickly" from the article I read, but now it's been maybe a week since I did read it so don't quote me.

1st Entry

So this is my new blog and I have a few thoughts about it.

A lot of work went into the name of my blog. I tried to come up with something clever, a play on words perhaps, something to do with security. I came up with nothing. Not even a meditative shower, where I do most of my thinking, produced a cute name for my blog. It's Brian's Library Blog, which is straight and to the point. Best, it makes no mention of my job as a Security Officer. That's fine, because although it's my job, this blog isn't just about that, but about blogging itself, and issues facing the library.

A word about these new internet innovations, such as blogging: I believe new features on the internet can be useful in certain circumstances. I condemn the idea of utilizing new things, like blogs, just because they're there. Cathy Deane has me doing this blog because she said the Security Log may be scrathced for a blog format. Well, I like the Security Log. It serves its purpose, which at this point is for communication between the different Security Officers as well as the administration. I'm willing to explore blogs and the other technologies available, but in general if it aint broke don't fix it.

Depending on who reads this blog, I may ruffle a few feathers. I tend to be candid in my writing, mostly because I find it to be the best way to collect my thoughts. Writing is where my opinions are expressed, and I have strong ones. I'm not afraid to disagree with somebody, but I tend to come across a lot more easygoing in person because if I have a difference of opinion I process it and write about it.

I had the idea that a blog could be a great tool for the security staff, as a way to communicate with the rest of the staff. This is where I see the future of blogging as opposed to a replacement for the Security Log. A security blog on the library's intranet could be helpful for a communication between the regular staff--their specific security concerns--and the security staff, who would respond and also write about security measures. I wouldn't even mind blogging about some of my ideas and philosophies when it comes to security. As I've said all along, as a Security Officer I want to be as much involved as possible. When it comes to security concerns, I know staff members may have things to discuss, maybe things they forget about later, so a security blog could provide that communication.

I read part of the blog called "Library Bytes." This is because I couldn't stand to read anything from this Michael Stephens. I didn't like his presentation. I didn't think he had much to say, and most of what he did say I disagreed with. And he gets paid for this. If whoever reads this is the same person who read my evaluation of the presentation, you know I think he's a sham.

From "Library Bytes" one blog that grabbed my attention was about nominating a "mover and shaker." I loathe this term. Pam Nelson described this Michael Stephens to me as a "mover and shaker." For me, these people do a whole lot of moving and shaking, but they never accomplish anything. The people who work in Circulation, they check items in and out all day long as well as catch the overflow from the service desks with patrons with any kinds of problems to deal with. These are the people that get things done. I know because I used to work in Circ. The movers and shakers try to come up with ideas, most of which are unnecessary. They become speakers who get paid to do nothing.

Those are my opinions, which I never felt compelled to share, but you asked for it.