Assignment: Using LibraryThing in Your School Library (Web 2.0 Tool Review)

“LibraryThing is an online service to help people catalog their books easily. You can access your catalog from anywhere—even on your mobile phone. Because everyone catalogs together, LibraryThing also connects people with the same books, comes up with suggestions for what to read next, and so forth.” (LibraryThing, 2007)

 

Learning how to use LibraryThing is very easy. All you do is create an account by entering your information into the green box at LibraryThing.com and you’re ready to go! If you want a tour of how to use the site, there is one ready for you to take at any time. LibraryThing gets all it’s data from Amazon.com, so when you’re entering books all you have to do is enter the title, author, or ISBN to find the books you’re looking to add to your LibraryThing library!

Some school libraries are already using LibraryThing to enhance their students’ learning experiences. Piedmont High School, in California, has created it’s own LibraryThing page so that it’s students, teachers, faculty and parents can connect with each other about literature both inside and outside the library. Hunter College High School, in New York, tells it’s students about using LibraryThing in their school blog. St. Margarets School in Berwick, Victoria uses LibraryThing to host their bookclub titled Fantales Club del Libro.

LibraryThing also has ‘Groups’ that members can join. These groups usually have a specific audience in mind. For instance; a perfect group for all of us school librarians to join would be the group titled Teachers. This group is for teachers of all sorts (elementary, middle, high school, college, etc.) to come together and share information about books and strategies they use with their students.

LibraryThing can be used for professional reasons (as in the Teachers Group example) or can be used with our students. In his article School Library 2.0, SLJ’s Christopher Harris recognizes that, “in the hands of school librarians, LibraryThing can be a powerful tool, providing an OPAC interface that actively engages students”. As school librarians, we could create Groups for our own school libraries and have students create their own libraries and be able to communicate with other students, teachers or parents, from their school, about the books they’ve read. Instead of challenging this Web 2.0 tool (as some parents have challenged MySpace), I think parents would welcome a new way to connect with their children and their children’s school. LibraryThing is a great way to foster strong school and community ties.

Post #1: Are You Telling Me The Internet Wasn’t Always There?

Kids today have no idea what life was like before the Internet. They don’t have to rely on the telephone to speak with their friends or physically go to the mall when they want to see what’s new and exciting in the world of retail or wait days for someone to receive their letter in the mail. They live in a fast paced world that has been sped up by the Internet.

The Internet was born in 1973 as a U.S. Defense research program investigating interlinking packet networks of various kinds (http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/cerf.shtml). The project was called the “Internetting” project was later became known as the “Internet.” The two protocols that were developed as a result of this project are TCP and IP.

Besides the government, there were other people who had a hand in helping the Internet become what it is today. Ted Nelson coined the word “Hypertext” in 1965 in his article A File Structure for the Complex, the Changing, and the Indeterminate. Nelson also coined the phrase “WorldWideWeb” for a project he was working on in 1990. (http://www.w3.org/History.html)

The Internet started arriving in homes starting in 1994, with the announcement of the “Internet in a box” product developed by Spry Inc. AOL started sending out their cds in mail for their dial-up service around 1995.

Since dial-up, the Internet has come a long way. Dial-up, DSL, Cable, etc. Almost everything we do can be done on the Internet. Social networking allows us to keep in touch with our friends and family. We never have to leave the comfort of our homes to go shopping. We can get our favorite movies without having to drive to the video rental store. We can receive and send email messages. We can search for information. We can get our favorite music without having to buy the cd. We can create content to suit our personalities, needs and wants.

The Internet offers an endless amount of opportunity and services and kids today take it for granted. The Internet has always just been there for them; they have no idea what life was like before it. They also don’t know life before cell phones, mp3 players, video games, etc. Today’s society is incorporating technology into every aspect of life. I wonder what technologies will shape the lives of my children…

‘Cool’ Way to Restore Books

The University of Iowa main library has a freezer in it. It’s not for their favorite ice cream or TV dinners either. They are using the freezer to help restore books that have been damaged by water. Freezing the books helps prevent the growth of mold, giving these books a second chance. Check out the full article.

First Time Blogger

Hey! Nice to meet you! I am a student at Dominican University, in River Forest, IL. I am working on my graduate degree in Library and Information Science and am almost halfway through the program. This semester, I am taking three classes; one of which is the reason for me starting this blog. LIS753 Internet Fundamentals and Design is fast proving to be the most interesting class I have taken in my graduate courses so far. By learning about Web 2.0 and a bit of HTML, I feel I will be able to tackle our technology oriented society and hand them the information they are seeking. I am excited to have my own blog and hopefully I’ll have some interesting things to say!