Hello again,

Work was great today. There is a group from the University of Pittsburgh and Heritage health. The group is called Community 2.0. Their goal is to use technology based equipment for the betterment of the community. I gave a tour in Braddock. The group wanted to know what did I do when I was a kid living Braddock. So I walked Dave (he is part of the group) around and told him some stuff about me and the area. It was nice talking about my childhood and also helping them to gather information that could make my community a better place.

Alicia

Today was a great day. It was my day off from work so I was able to spend time studying and cleaning. My weekdays are so busy. I usually have to stay up late to get some study time in but not on Fridays. Fridays I can wake up relaxed and take my time with what needs to be completed. My Husband is usually off on Fridays too. He always wakes up before me and cooks breakfast (He is a dream!).

I find hard to believe that I am writing about my life. My life is pretty boring. I never have anything to say that I believe is relevant.

I did complete my first assignments and I think I'm catching up for the time being. You know when think you have things under control things always goes astray and then you start all over again and again.

I had to order books and movies for the children library. I asked the kids through a survey what kind of books do they want. Most of the kids that were surveyed stated that they want more anime. So I began to select the material and I began to get interested in anime. I read and looked at so many that I got curious and now I hooked. This genre of entertainment is great. My favorite anime is Bleach. The story is about Shinigamis. Shinigamis are part of Japanese folklore. Most anime is based on the Japanese culture. There was one anime series that I really like that talks about feudal era. The series is called Basilisk. If you get a chance you have to watch it and believe me once you do you will get hooked.

Well, have to go!

Alicia

Last night I listened to the podcast. Mr. Tomer made me feel that I made a good decision of my recent purchase. Most of my adult life I used a PC. I loved my PC. My recent version had the software of Microsoft XP. I was able to move through the applications easily. The MAC seems easier but it's still different and I have just to use to the different application. I also have the Microsoft 2007 applications. The appear different on the MAC. I have to read the book so I can use the programs more efficiently.

Today I will be tagging reference sites. I have not done this before. I hope I catch on quickly.

Tell you about it later today!

Alicia

When we decided to get this computer I didn't realize how many output devices are part of the package. The computer has a web cam and speaker. We can take a picture off of our web cam and use it for our screen saver. I'm very happy with the new computer.


All of the information that we are consuming is a little overwhelming. I have not read this much since my senior year in college. I should have expected as much. After reading the material that was assigned, I see that the library community is going through a change or should I say that libraries are constantly evolving.

I didn't think of library science as being so thought provoking. I thought is was straight forward. I think I maybe a little naive. When I began my job in the library I thought I was part of a business. The consumer was the commodity that we strive to attain. I haven't thought beyond getting the patron in our doors but now I see that information age is changing the dynamics of library functions and what people want from libraries. We have to find new ways to entice patrons. We want them to use as a resource but libraries are now in competition. Books and other information material can be bought cheaply and obtained within a matter of days. We compete with coffee house and their Wi-Fi accessibility, home computers, and the portable computers. Libraries are seeking new and a diverse place in this technology age. We seek to find a balance with the old and the new. I hope we can make the rope into a plank so the balance won't be so black and white for our future success.

I got my MAC! Last week my computer died :{! So my husband and I decided we would get a new computer instead of trying to repair our old one. We had that computer for 7 years and it served us well. We we made the decision to get a new computer we knew we wanted to get what we really wanted. So we wanted to know what our friends had and did they enjoy their computers. We also had testimonials from people on why they loved their computers. Most of our friends swore that MAC computers were the be all to all computers. "Why were they so great we asked?"

The first thing that I was told by all MAC users I know "NO VIRUSES!!!!!"
The second thing was easy to assemble and use.
The third thing was memory. Most if not all MAC computers have a lot of memory. My old computer had less than 1 GB my new computer has more than 4GB of memory.

When we went to the store we were awe struck. Everything was shinny and new. Upon closer inspection we noticed something different with some of the computers. There were no towers! The brain was in the screen. We were assured that of tutorial classes and maintenance (if we get the protection plan) and 24 for hour support if any problems arise.

We inquired about the features that we wanted; which was more memory and software to accommodate school work and hobby activities, we got what we wanted and more. Now its just a matter of learning about and utilizing features that MAC has to offer.

Today we got new computers. We usually open at 2:00pm but today we were a little late. I mention this because the topic of discussion and our readings are about in my opinion commodities. What is it we have that they want? That seems to be the million dollar question for today. What do consumers want and how can we effectively give it to them efficiently. Kuhn's analyses on "Paradigms" made me think. What are the patterns or trends of our patrons. What would make them come to our library? Is it new computers? If so why? How can we use it to our advantage? Are our patrons willing to wait or come back for those advantages? These are questions that I think all libraries need to think about.

I also have to ask what other commodities can we pedal? What can we do to stimulate interest? Who should we target? Why should we target a specific target? Is that the library's goal? Are we forcing a square peg into a round hole?

So, now that I have asked the questions I will seek the answer!

May 18, 2007

I'm finally on the computer. Today was crazy for me. My computer crashed. I just had too much crap in my computer. The recent downloads took my computer to the point of no return. I also think there is a virus. I have another computer but I do not have it hooked up to the Internet until now. I had to download a lot of software but I'm finally done.

I panicked!!!!!!!!!! I have school work and work things that need to be done. That's over with and I can get back to work.

I also had to deal with a sick dog. I don't know what he ate but he has been throw-up and pooping. You think that would stop him from putting his mouth on anything else! You would be wrong. I was cleaning his latest accident and there he was eating the cat food.

I'm having a great day

Lee Lee