No. 5 - More Google

Google translate - I tried Google translate on basic English phrases and was impressed. I then tried a web page which was in Polish that I had found for a client researching a coat of arms. It was one of the few web pages I found any information. I was very impressed with the translation and how understandable it was. I wish I had known about this before I sent the client the information. I can see this being useful for multicultural clients in understanding things in the English world but I can also see how useful it could be in providing information for clients in their own language, or in the case of family history helping clients to get information from the country of their ancestors.

Google Books - I had a go searching through Advanced, and it is handy to know that you can search by "Full-view" only, but I found that with out having a reason to use it, it wasn't of to much use.

iGoogle - I have used iGoogle for many years and at home it is my home page. I have everything from weather and the radar to pacman the computer game. It has all my favourite things on it and makes it a one-stop-shop in many cases.

Google Calendar - Again I've used this ever since it was offered as an option for iGoogle. It enables me to keep track of all my appointments, especially in relation to work e.g. working on the weekend. It would have its uses for library groups that may exist outside the library internal workings that want to be able to meet.

Google Maps - I had a play with Google maps when I did the Mashups section. It was very interesting but creating your own map can be time-consuming depending on what type of map you are creating. To view the map you will need to go back to Mashups on Oct 30.

LibraryThing

I first starting using LibraryThing since 2007 after it was presented at an Emerging Technology session. I thought it was a good way to organsie my books at home, as it is an ever expanding collection. To begin with I was very enthusiastic and quite particular about the information used to describe my books. My use of it then petered out but doing this has got me back interested in it.

I've added some more books and looked at some of the functions that weren't available in 2007. There is one where you can bring up the entire series written by an author, and then add books from this series to your library. I've found this one quite useful because I have a number of series that I began to add, and have since had further books published. It was an easy way to add these books.

I also checked out Shelfari and Gurulib. I found that Shelfari was very similar to LibraryThing. I was impressed with GuruLib because it doesn't just limit itself to books, it also allows you to catalogue music, videos/DVDs, computer games and much more. For someone who likes to keep everything in order I was very impressed with this. If I wasn't already a member of LibraryThing, and I don't want another account, I think I would prefer Gurulib because of the larger range of items you can catalogue.

Finally I had fun adding a LibraryThing widget to my blog.

slq's Licence 2 Test Drive

I am hoping, through this program, to gain more practice with some of the technologies to be discussed which I have already used to some extent. I'm looking forward to playing around with some of the technologies I have yet to have a look at.

I do read some blogs and they all have different views. One blog done by a family member allows me to keep up with family news and stay in touch. Another blog I read often is done by one of my favourite authors and it gives me a chance to gain an insight into how authors, or this one in particular, compile their books and the processes they go through. Many authors now do this.

I think that blogs could be very handy for libraries to interact with their clients in a different way and cater to a particular group of clients if necessary. It would enable libraries to communicate new ideas, resources and even gain new clientele.