Tubin'

I hope all of you loyal Project Play readers listened to Henrietta Pussycat and donned your favorite sweater in honor of Mr. Rogers a few days ago. The sound of Trolley at the start of that YouTube clip brings me instantly back to about age 3 or 4 - my favorite Mr. Rogers moment was always when he fed the fish in his fishtank.

But, YouTube is so much more than fond childhood memories! One can really get lost in watching video after video, one leading into another, until an easy hour has gone by and you are left wondering where you started. I imagine this is how many people still feel after trying to find answers from the average google search. YouTube could be a way to record and make available events in the library such as author visits/talks, children's storytimes, and lectures. Then people who could not attend the event could still sort-of experience the program. One would have to obtain approval from the person being recorded of course.

At one of our library book discussion groups, a staff person found a YouTube clip of some sperm whales to share with the discussion group (Title that month was In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex). It was a wonderful and easy way to add another feature to the discussion. Another fun way library staff could use YouTube as part of a discussion group would be to show clips of whatever author is featured doing a reading or a lecture. I found a bunch of clips of one of my favorite authors Toni Morrison - I remember watching a video of her being interviewed when I was studying her writing in college and I found it facinating to hear her voice, tone and inflection, as she discussed works that I had been pouring over for months. What a great and easy addition to student research when one can simply find this type of thing on YouTube rather than (or in addition to) searching and submit ILL video requests. I'll have to look into how to correctly cite YouTube videos in a bibliography ... I'm sure this question will come up at the Reference Desk sooner rather than later!

LibraryThing, Take Two

I'm guessing my last post, errrr...poem, will not truly suffice for finishing my Project Play Week 7 assignment so here goes - a second stab at LibraryThing. I'm fairly certain the first I heard of LibraryThing was at either a WLA or WAPL conference a few years back and I was instantly intrigued. Then again, I could have just dreamed of a conference session and really LibraryThing insinuated itself into my subcontious via something I ingested or some mysterious futuristic surgery-type-thing. Somehow, I think option #2 may have been the dream due to my finishing Extras late, late last night. No matter the origin of LibraryThing catching my attention, I have found it useful both personally and at the reference desk.

I began adding titles read to my librarything library in January of 2007. My goal has been to add any books I enjoyed during the year so I have a complete list (or rather link to an online list) to send out for family and friends along with my winter solstice cards. In previous years, I tried to keep a journal style list of titles only to find soggy, inky fibrous blobs mixed in with my just-washed skirts as I transfer them to the dryer. All-in-all I am having better luck with adding to my LibraryThing list but it still requires me remembering to login and add the titles...so I am certain there are some that I've left out. Especially while on vacation and far, far, far away from a computer. Which is where I wish I were right now...but, I diverge.

I've recommended LibraryThing to a few patrons as a way to keep track of their reading and was "friended" by a YA patron who took me up on the suggestion. (Note to self: consider doing something related to LibraryThing as part of an upcoming Teen SLP.) I've also used librarything a couple of times when working with a well-read patron on readers advisory suggestions and when compiling suggestion lists for BookAlikes. Overall, I can see using LibraryThing sort of like using Wikipedia - as a jumping off point of ideas for Readers Advisory in combination with print RA lists and guides, Novelist, and my own little grey cells - but not as an end-all resource.

LibraryThing, how I love thee...

Let me count the ways...

you are so easy to use
i add books in a snap
no more pen and paper
jotting titles on scraps
i can send out my list
at the end of the year
of books i enjoyed
to those i hold dear

(ok, ok, I've never claimed to be a poet!)