confessions of a southside catatonic chataholic

Hey! Remember, I'm a library assistant and this is not meant to be a comprehensive guide of any sort. It's my personal exploration of Manukau Libraries' Learning 2.0 programme, PLCMC's Learning 2.1 programme and a look at which NZ public libraries are using web 2.0 tools. That's the limit of my disclaimer. Read ahead at your own peril :)

Hastings District Libraries - has a blog which I have been enjoying reading. They also use Library Elf which I like the idea of. It's a reminder service that allows customers to receive email alerts: before items are due, on extended loans/reserves, for complete lists of items issued to you and/or your family members. It's a free web-based service run through a third party site and customers create an account with Library Elf (using their barcode, selecting a pin and choosing Hastings District Library from the list). There are quite comphrehensive instructions for how to set it all up. They have an 'Ask the Librarian' service for email reference queries (answered 9am-5pm weekdays only. Charges may apply).

Hutt City Libraries - always had a soft spot for Hutt City. My early childhood years were spent in Petone in one of those beautiful old homes (1st kindy, 1st school, 1st library card) with weekends on the foreshore or at Percy's Reserve. Went back there a couple of years ago and it seemed so much smaller and busier than I remembered. Enough reminiscing! Hutt City Libraries has an 'Ask the Librarian' email service, and they also provide a link to their Research Service Policy. Their Central Library has WiFi capability! Nice. Hey - they have a 'Recently available' menu in their catalogue, and a variety of book lists.

My previous post was emailed in to Blogger and my Zamzar pic didn't show up BLEAH and our council email bit at the bottom of outgoing mails popped up in the post as well *rolls eyes* So don't do what I did - please read to the end of Castro's chapter on the various ways in which posts can be submitted. Then you'll see the instructions for how to clearly define where the end of the post should sit. D'OH@me. If ever there were a good argument for not skipping that would be it ;)

Am currently reading 'Red: the next generation of American writers - teenage girls - on what fires up their lives today' edited by Amy Goldwasser and 'The cult of the amateur: how today's internet is killing our culture' by Andrew Keen. I am curious, if nothing else. Gosh, the blurb alone lets you know Keen's standpoint right off the bat, and it was prob that more than anything that made me curious, 'In today's self-broadcasting culture, where amateurism is celebrated and anyone with an opinion, however ill-informed, can publish a blog . . . the distinction between trained expert and uninformed amateur becomes dangerously blurred.'

Sometime this weekend I had better stop reading so much and start my next assignment. Real life - it's so intrusive!

Technorati Tags: learning2.1, Manukau,, libraries, web2.0