Podcast

Ask and you shall be answered !

Once again,I see echoes of our traditional roles in the virtual space. Answering board might sound hip and cool but at the end of the day, a reference query still remains a reference query.The only novelty to the equation is the peer/user review process of rating the answer.I personally found the answering board a little bit too messy and random. Yes, there are subject categories, but they are quite broad and imprecise. I think many queries may be lost in the WWW or still awaiting an answer.It seems that the answer board also serves many uses-e.g.personal ad, seeking an opinion, meeting people, looking for answers, not very clear cut!
I don't know if there is a real need for this technology at my workplace.I don't quite know how we can manage the queries when there is no actual system of control in place. Answering board are very impersonal and informal, the nature of the queries differs from the traditional reference questions that you receive via email.
As for customer review or comments, sometimes, the one-on-one option may be the best manner to gage customers' satisfaction or dissatisfaction rate.
I think using these answer boards websites to sharpen our reference skills is a great idea. I also like the idea that we are contributing something free to the world. An act of generosity where we share our knowledge and help others at the same time. It's very altruistic and it reflects my personal belief and values as a Buddhist.

del.icio.us LibraryThing

This week's tutorial was challenging but at the end of the session, I was happy with my achievement.
The concept of social tagging was not new or revolutionary to me. I think librarians have been doing that all along but we did not have a name for it.
Del.icio.us is a useful tool in reference work. I like the idea of multiple contributor and yet not having an administrator, I think most people don't mind adding but really would not relish the thought of site or page maintenance. The tag cloud is also very useful, especially rating the number of time a tag has been selected for that particular site. I guess that you can safely assume that the higher the number, the more relevant is the information.
LibraryThing is a great tool for reader advisory service in library.We have a monthly bestseller list (paper format), it is static and traditional. This tool can be use to produce the monthly newsletter or enable staff or patrons to review a book (provide that we create an account for either staff or library patrons.Personally, I thing LibraryThing is a great tool to keep track of your reading through the years.

A Wiki conversion

I have always treated Wiki and contents in Wiki with much suspicions and doubts as I have often been told by people in my professions that the information contributed to the wiki pages may not be reliable or correct.After completing the reading on Wiki this week, I think I have reassessed my position on Wiki.In actually fact, I am a now a Wiki believer and have even created my very own PBwiki for my volunteer group. It's a fantastic tool for collaboration, especially good for project management. Instead of emailing each other, the wiki becomes the central communication channels for all participants. It is very easy to create the wiki, as easy as creating this blog. In terms of maintenance and management, it is also very straight forward. I have noticed that once again, educator and librarians have been early adopters of wiki.

Bridge to Happiness

I found this video quite by chance while searching on YouTube. The message and content of the video appealed to me so I have included it in my blog. It spend some time learning about the process of embedding the script to my blog, but once I understood the process, it was a relatively easy task of cut and paste. I also experimented with the html code and modified the size of the screen on my blog by changing the measurement in the html script. I was thrilled when it worked!

Keeping in touch with H.H. The Dalai Lama

I have added a RSS feed to this blog (located at the bottom of the pages) so I can keep up to date with the latest news on H.H.The Dalai Lama. This is a very useful tool to gather information at a single source. It certainly save the reader time and effort. Once the search terms are programmed, the machine will do the rest. This, I guess, in old library term, is known as a current awareness service.
Tibetan Buddhism features highly on my list of interests. I am always interested in learning and understanding H.H.'s perspectives on life and world matters. His perspective on world or science matters are vastly different and thought provoking. He challenges our mundane and sometimes narrow point of view or definition of what is right or wrong /truth or lies. I can't think of a greater role model to emulate than H.H.! I guess that's the reason why so many people are so drawn to him. He speaks the words of truth and honesty and encourages everyone to rise beyond their own limitations.His message is simple and clear- love, respect, inner peace and wisdom.