Final Post

Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Assignment Four RFID

So like the rest of my classmates I have been stressing out over assignment four. I have been struggling  between  two topics. I have even made outlines for these two different papers. There is nothing fun about indecisiveness. I am forcing myself to make a decision by midnight so I can complete my paper.
It's not surprising that this is happening at the end of the class. I get stressed like everyone else and the final assignment has been weighing on me because I want it to be good. I'll be able to decide on something in the end and it WILL turn out well. I may just do a simple coin toss and leave up to head or tails.

UPDATE: Here is  Assignment Four 

CMS Interview

I interviewed the Computer Services Librarian of a public library branch in Georgia. I conducted the interview by email. Below are the answers to the assigned questions. 

How and where did you hear about CMS?

At a conference, from the webmaster at DeKalb Public Library.

What were your motivations to adopt CMS for its current use (library

website)?

The ability to have a variety of staff members adding content to the web page.

What were your decision making criteria? and What is the name of CMS

they are using now?

Wordpress. Of the CMSs that we tested, Workpress was easiest to deploy (the

least amount of edits to php scripts and other server-side fixes) and the

most user friendly for users adding content.

What are the important benefits or advantages of CMS they are using

now over the old system or another CMS system they've used in the past?

CMS based pages Google well. With the CMS, we now have multiples staff

members adding content directly to the web page where before there was just

one. The CMS has improved the overall organization of the webpage.

How was the learning curve?

Significant. Though you can muddle along with a CMS, at some point, you will

need to become an expert or to hire an expert to fully experience the

benefits of a CMS.

The interview was informative because I could understand the context of the of the answers better after our readings and discussions. I also was very surprised that the same reason that my fellow classmates mentioned for a CMS were also restated by my interviewee. It's one thing to speak of hypothetical situations, but another to know that our thought process is along the same lines as a librarian currently working in the field. I currently aid in adding an editing a CMS and I think this is one of the most important aspect. As a future librarian technical competency is important. Libraries do not function without  the help of many staff members and I think it makes sense that more than one individual would contribute. 

Happy Birthday to Me! And just in case you didn't know there is no more privacy on the web!

It's both sweet and slightly off putting that my Google Doodle is a birthday cake with a Happy Birthday message from Google. I am of course logged into my Google  account, but it's just one of the many ways that companies use your personal information.  I can't complain to loudly because I am certainly part of the reason. I sign up for almost everything. I get tons of free discounts and goodies through my email, but its' not really free is it? My personal information is a form of payment. Companies use our personal information to market to us. They know how old we are, whether we are college educated and how much our household income is. If we haven't explicitly given them this information they have figured out most of this from our Internet searches and our purchases. Even if we are very careful and vigilant they will still find someway to glean information from our online presence. Since I don't plan on living off the grid any time soon I'll just continue on my merry way. 

Joomla

I have to be honest and say I was a little nervous about this assignment after hearing the complaints from my classmates. I found that using Joomla was a frustrating experience for me. From the beginning of the assignment when I had to watch an almost two hour video before starting. The video was informative and covered what we would need to complete the assignment. However, I found myself having to go back to it when I forgot certain parts. I think it would be better if the video was broken into three or four parts to separated into section like creating Articles.

My actual website turned out fairly well. I don't know if it was just me , but Joomla seemed like a sensitive piece of software. It would slow down and seemed glitchy at times. Other than that Joomla is obviously very complex. I was able to the basics but I don't think it is as intuitive as sites such a wordpress or blogger. I understand that blogs and websites are different but Joomla seems overly difficult sometimes.  I do like that you the ability to customize so easily but was surprised by how users have to mainly look outside of Joomla for what I think is basic content.

Lastly, I think my previous experience in Dr. Yang's information Architecture class also effected the way I approached this assignment. I was mostly positive at first. However, after creating a website with HTML and making my own headers and editing HTML I was bothered by minor issues like  banner not being where I wanted. When I did look at the HTML on the Joomla pages I recognized most of it, but there were parts that I didn't completely understand. All in all it was good assignment. It definitely challenged me and  introduced to me to something that I was not aware of. I liked the final outcome.

After reading about my trials, please view my Joomla:http://mgrammont7500.cloudaccess.net/

Finding a Wiki for a Library

The Main Characteristics of Library

In order to find a Wiki for my library I used the WikiMatrix to compare all of my options. I chose to make a wiki for the Piedmont Regional Library. It is both the local library for the city of Winder, GA and serves as the branch library for the Piedmont Regional System. The system is comprised of 10 branches. The library system serves a population of over 160,000 and has a budget of over $2,000,000. The goal of the library to ensure better communication with the community and a friendly and noticeable online presence. The library needs a wiki that will help promote the library to the community while relating to the different branch libraries online presence.

The Requirements for this Library Wiki 

• Free- With budgets getting smaller every year it is important to be as frugal as possible.
• The Wiki is an established website; not brand new.
• Easy to set up and edit
• WYSIWYG is not important- There may be many people including support staff that are not as  tech savvy as the tech librarian who could work on the wiki..
• English language support is a must and expected.
• Security- the website is secure and not susceptible to attack. This is important because the library system's web page is monitored closely and protected. The wiki should be the same. 

After careful evaluation using the WikiMatrix comparison tool, the wiki that meets all of the library's requirements is Mindtouch. This wiki fits all of the above requirements. It is safe,customizable, and has support is needed for those who need it. 

http://www.mindtouch.com/

Thoughts on Blogger

I have found using Blogger to be quiet a good experience. I really enjoy how you can customize  almost everything. Especially with the options to edit the HTML. I have to say that I haven't actually edited any HTML myself but I have looked at it. This is especially interesting to me because of my previous course last semester. Another part that is an important aspect to Blogger is how it is tied to Google. This might be a good or bad thing for some users.

Expectations

As I am working towards the end of this program I have noticed that I have higher expectations for each class I take. This is probably very logical. In regards to MLIS 7505, I was slightly apprehensive because it is based on something I already have knowledge of. Applied Technologies in Library Practices is also my first Maymester course, but I am enjoying it so far. The pace  of the class means that  I am constantly working on something related to this course; more so than a regular semester. Assignment one has been fun and challenging in some ways. I have enjoyed interacting with my fellow classmates and reading their viewpoints. In my first post, I stated that I  hope to learn more about Web 2.0 and other technologies so I can successfully incorporate them into my professional life.  So far my expectations have been met. I believe that Applied Technologies in Library Practices class will far exceed my expectations.

Web 2.0 and Beyond

I am lucky enough to have had access to and interest in Web 2.0 since it's conception. At work I update the Facebook page as well the Pintrest. I use other web 2.0 websites like twitter and Youtube  for my personal use. I enjoy reading reading tech news especially as it relates to libraries, books, and copyright. I hope to learn more about Web 2.0 and other technologies so I can successfully incorporate them into my professional life. I'm excited about the opportunity to blog for this class and read my fellow classmates viewpoints.