Thing 22. What Did I Learn Today?

Staying current is definitely key. Yesterday I was thinking that in another year, we will need to have "another 23 things" project. Then it occurred to me, by then it is too late. We need to keep building upon and learning new tools.

I am not a bandwagon jumper and I distrust following flavor of the day type initiatives. New tools, and processes, etc. need to make sense to me before I can make sense of them to others. I do however, commit to investigating new ideas, tools, technology. To try them out. To effectively evaluate their usefulness for our services and in my life.

It took far more than 15 min. a day to complete this 23 thing project; however, 15 min a day is doable. I love the Tame the Web site and I think it gives a pretty comprehensive look as applying some of these technologies. I will keep up with this site and/or switch to another one if it resonates more, but will definitely have 2-3 resources that I check regularly.

Certainly it isn't enough to learn about the new 2.0 tools. We have to use them, to understand them, to then apply them as appropriate in our services.

I think we need to pay attention to all of the library's customers -- from the Luddites who still lament about the loss of the card catalog to the techno-savvy who demand the latest formats for the newest gadgets. I think as an administrator it is a continuous struggle to prioritize tasks to address the diverse needs of all of our users.

I have encouraged staff to spend a fair amount of work time to learn these tools and it has been interesting for me to read their blogs -- their perceptions and their progress. I now expect some application of those tools in how we deliver services. I have some idea, but more importantly, I want to receive ideas from staff and have us work together as a team to incorporate them. I plan on making this a regular agenda item for our monthly staff meetings.

I am going to revisit many of these tools frequently. Some are already fully integrated into my work life, some are getting there, some I may discard and move on.

As for staying current, I will be using RSS feeds more frequently and in the tools that are already part of my daily routine -- i.e. My Yahoo home page . Almost all of the tech tools I have learned, I have learned from other library staff -- both at my local library, at conference, and in networking with my colleagues across the country. I love that ours is a sharing profession and I appreciate that I can rely on that. I too need to contribute my sharing of what I have learned and I plan to do so.

As for blogging, I'm not very confident of my writing skills -- I would much rather talk. I have a web cam on new computer, perhaps I will give that a try. We'll see. However, it is totally unacceptable to NOT stay attuned to the technology and other trends affecting our profession.