Whitney's World

Google Map to TWC-SEMichigan

2008-06-05T15:21:00.002-04:00

Ok, so it's been a while......

2008-04-09T15:51:00.004-04:00

I got a bit blogged out during the Learning 2.0 program last summer, and I've never been a particularly prolific (or consistent) blogger in the first place, so I have been on quite the hiatus. Apologies to the person (if there is one) who may actually be following my blog.

Lots of life changes since my last "Thing #23" post!

My husband took a job at the University of Michigan in June, and I was incredibly fortunate to follow him to Ann Arbor in October. Not only did I get a job, I got my own personal dream job! That's right, I'm now working in the Taubman Medical Library at U of M as a Liaison Services Librarian. Outside of the preponderance of maize and blue (I'll always be a Spartan at heart......), things couldn't be better.

Of course, the 2.0 stuff (starting to hate that term with the passion of the Annoyed Librarian) is still keeping me very busy here in A2. I'm getting more and more enamored of Google and its various applications, and have started exploring the plethora of 3rd party PubMed tools in hopes of convincing our medical students, faculty, and researchers that Google itself is not really an appropriate source of medical information (unless you really know what you're doing).

I hope to begin posting more regularly, since we spent a good part of our 2.0 subcontract meeting this morning talking about what bad bloggers we all are. Future topics to look forward to: attempting to put a railing up on our deck, adventures in fence installation, more rants from the library, and the occasional State of the Townsend Union address (depending on how mad/happy/upset I am with Brian at the moment).

#23 Is This the End????

2007-09-14T10:25:00.000-04:00

Absolutely not! As evidenced by the Web 2.0 Awards, this program was truly only the beginning. I hope that I can continue to learn about new technologies and how to use them. One of the main reasons that I wanted to start this program at Ohio U is because most of the tools were things I hadn't used much, but wanted to. It was good to "force" myself to take time out of my day to think about how libraries can effectively use Web 2.0 in reach our patrons and fulfill our respective missions.

I can't thank all of the participants enough; it was extremely gratifying to see the level of enthusiasm and participation from our staff! I really appreciate your willingness to try something new.

Remember, the Learning 2.0 Wrap Party is on Thursday, September 20th! We will have food, fun, and will draw the winner for the laptop!! Mark will also be unveiling the new Staff Information Wiki, Char will share the dynamic new FAQ tool, and this will be your last chance to see me before I hit the road for Ann Arbor for good.

I have had an amazing time working at Alden Library, and helping to run this program was definitely the icing on the cake!! Thank you everyone, for your friendship and collegiality. I will miss Athens immensely, and all of you the most!!

#22 Face-to-Face Space

2007-09-14T09:53:00.000-04:00

I was pretty skeptical about the usefulness of social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace before this exercise; to me, they were things that kept the attention of my students in instruction classes.

But I took the plunge and joined Facebook.

I've added a few applications (LibraryThing and Librarian) that are library-specific, and a few that are completely fun (LOLcats, HHDane cause, etc). Surprisingly, I've found myself on it a lot. The most fun has been reconnecting with old high school friends, and other Ohio U library folks. I anticipate that it will be very useful when I make the move to UM.

What I find most fascinating is all of the research that is now being done on social networking sites: demographic makeup of Facebook vs. Myspace, virtual friends vs. real friends, expanding virtual networking and shrinking actual socializion.....interesting stuff.

#21 Podcasts, Schmodcasts!

2007-09-14T09:49:00.000-04:00

I haven't jumped on the podcast bandwagon yet personally, though I know they are vital to a lot of people. My Brian is one of those people; he is set up to receive podcasts of the shows that he never has time to listen to. While he's been up in Ann Arbor, he listens to them at night to go to sleep (since I'm not there to bore him to sleep with my rambling nighttime converstations).

A number of our medical students that I talk to at Irvine Hall also subscribe to relevant podcasts. I'm just not cool enough yet I guess, but I imagine I will be getting involved quickly once I head to Ann Arbor.

As far as the podcast directories go....I found them similar to some of the feedfinding tools out there in that I didn't find much useful stuff "searching" for it; I tend to go with things I find on my "usual sites" or things that others have shared with me. Perhaps not the most proactive approach, but saves me a lot of time!

#20 You Too can YouTube

2007-09-14T09:43:00.000-04:00

As you can tell by the sidebar of my blog, I love YouTube. Although I find it virtually impossible to "search" on YouTube and find anything meaningful or useful, it makes it very easy to share the hilarious videos that I see other places online or get from my friends. Check out Terry Tate from my sidebar; laughed so hard I cried. And Chad Vader is also a favorite (Darth's younger brother; day manager at Empire Grocery Stores).

On a more somber, serious, and scholarly note, YouTube can be a great way to connect with our audience. A lot of libraries are already creating videos and uploading them to YouTube, and easily embedding them on their sites to share will all. Our very own library has created a great "Intro to the Library" video based on the Creative Commons videos:

I generally have to tweak the height/width settings a bit in my blog posts to make everything fit nicely, but that's pretty easy to do.

#19 Discovering Web 2.0 Tools

2007-09-14T09:22:00.000-04:00

I'm going to say the same thing everyone else is saying: Wow! Though we've covered a number of "Web 2.0" topics and tools in this program, the Web 2.0 Awards page makes it very clear that there is much, much more out there! A bit daunting, to be honest. We'll never get a chance to try everything, and just when we do, more things are added! Exciting, but also kind of depressing in a "when will it ever stop?!?" way.

I checked out Yelp, ad city-guide type of social site. I was interested to see what it had to say about my hometown area, Minneapolis/St. Paul. The site deafulted to San Francisco, which was kind of annoying (instead of letting me choose my city off the bat).

I entered in Minneapolis, MN and off I went to check out the "local flavor" section. At first glance, nothing about the Minneapolis page seemed as robust as the San Fran page, but I guess that shouldn't surprise me :). I didn't find much, to be honest (I know there's more flavor in Minneapolis than 4 entries!!). It offers the option to add a business, but to me, most local flavor isn't a "business" per se. For example, the Minnesota State Fair is definitely local flavor!

All in all I wasn't that impressed with Yelp (at least for my uses), but I'll give it a chance again. I checked out lots of the other "winners" as well, and there's definitely some cool stuff out there! I plan to check this site the next time they do their "awards", as its a nice compact place to find some of these Web 2.0 tools.

#18 Web-based Apps

2007-09-14T09:17:00.000-04:00

Love love love Google docs and calendars. I've used Google docs for a while now, in my ongoing (and increasingly futile) effort to coordinate budgeting information with my husband. Since he's on the road all the time, and we are both spending money, having a document loaded on a specific computer just didn't make sense. I store all kinds of things on Google docs now, since I never know where or when I might need to access my info.

I have been using Google's calendar application more as well (see my UM Men's Basketball Calendar post; all you Buckeyes, feel free to add it to your iGoogle or your Google calendar!!). I think it has tremendous possibilities for organizing groups; I've been suggesting to Brian that he use it to organize his team's classes and schedules, but we'll see how that goes.......

#17 Playing Around with Wikis

2007-09-14T09:14:00.000-04:00

I've added my blog to the PBWiki page. It's much "easier" to use than mediawiki or even wetpaint, but it loses alot of functionality and customization along the way. It was, however, the perfect option for this program since most of us are wiki newbies. Hopefully we all have the hang of (or at least the idea of) wikis, since the Staff Information Wiki will be launched soon!

Keep your eyes peeled (Mark will be demonstrating it at the Wrap Party), and get ready to contribute your knowledge and information!

#16 So What's in a Wiki?

2007-09-14T09:10:00.000-04:00

Love the wiki! It does, of course have its limitations (it can't be used for everything), but it's a pretty cool tool for gathering information from a variety of sources.

I think wikis can be a great substitute format for our traditional (and static) subject guides, as Chad has done with the BizWiki. Great stuff!

It also allows for others with subject expertise to add content (theoretically, profs, grad students, motivated undergrads, etc). Of course, you would have to talk them into it first.....

UM Men's Basketball Calendar

2007-09-13T13:23:00.000-04:00

Gotta love LOLCats....

2007-08-30T09:36:00.001-04:00

#15 On Learning 2.0

2007-08-30T09:23:00.000-04:00

I think the section of the Iceberg article that I agree with the most is the "Reliance on User Education". We put an incredile amount of time and resources into teaching our patrons how to use the library; what if we put half of that towards making our resources easier and more intuitive to use in the first place? User education will never go away, of course, especially in graduate and advanced classes. However, I do believe that we need to rethink how we get patrons to use our resources. If it takes a 2 hour class just to learn how to do the basics of finding a book or article, then something is wrong! It is one of the major reasons that our new patrons go to Google. It is easy, intuitive, and you get something back (even if it frequently isn't the best "thing" for what you need).

I've been intrigued by more intuitive models of resource discovery lately; in particular, Innovative's new Encore product, which is being beta-tested at Michigan State University (and other sites). Play around with it here:

http://www2.lib.msu.edu/

or directly here:

http://catalog.lib.msu.edu/screens/encore.html

Neat-o!

#14 Technorati

2007-08-30T09:21:00.000-04:00

Clearly I need to play around with Technorati a little more, because its practical applications are not exactly springing immediately to my mind. I tried to "claim" my blog and tag it with oulibraries, but I think something may have gone awry. The pics that I tagged in Flickr seem to be showing up fine though.

I've been getting so involved in overseeing this program that I have been lagging way behind in actually doing all of the exercises myself. Not doing a very good job of leading by example.

I promise to catch up; I'm so proud of everyone who is done already! Great job!!

#13 Del.i.cious (or however you spell it)

2007-08-21T11:16:00.001-04:00

I think there are a lot of interesting ways to use social bookmarking/tagging/etc. When I visited the University of Michigan, their dentistry librarian was using del.icio.us extensively to put together lists of relevant sites and resources. I'm interested in exploring more ways to use this stuff, when I have some free time!!

#12 Rollyo

2007-07-30T11:37:00.000-04:00

I created a quick Rollyo search roll for some of my favorite Great Dane sites; give it a try!

If you're not sure what to search for, try using the word "bloat" (a dangerous condition that can affect Danes) and see what comes up.

Or, search for "Davey" and you will see pictures of our adopted Great Dane! (The first hit is his success story on the rescue website; the second hit is our adoption story in the rescue's newsletter)

#11 Library Thing

2007-07-30T11:28:00.001-04:00

I'm in love with LibraryThing. Mainly because I'm not sophisticated enough to be a cataloger, but it allows me to still "catalog" my books. I'm working on my entire library, but since I just started last night I have a loooong way to go.....

I have added a widget to the sidebar of my blog if you're interested, and here is the link to my (ever-expanding) catalog:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/bergney

Let me know if you want to borrow anything; as long as I get it back!!!!

#10 Image Generators

2007-07-30T11:15:00.000-04:00

Love image generators!! They are so much fun. I got lost in these for days.....finally surfaced long enough to make this post. I've used the Simpsonizer (different than the Simpson Avatar maker; in the Simpsonizer you upload an actual picture of yourself) with my picture :

From This.......

The Simpsonizer came up with this!

Wow; I should be living in Springfield. I'd be MUCH hotter.

I tried to Simpsonize a picture of my dog (hoping they would have something related to Santa's Little Helper loaded into the program), but apparently you have to be human.....too bad.

You Tube Fun

2007-07-30T10:35:00.000-04:00

For those of you itching to watch the entire Terry Tate: Office Linebacker collection, I've added it to the sidebar of my blog. Be warned, these are rated PG-13 for some mild adult language :). And extreme violence, of course.

Maybe, instead of getting a security guard, we could employ a Library Linebacker.....

#9 Finding Feeds

2007-07-18T11:34:00.000-04:00

Okay, not to be an RSS Scrooge, but I just don't care for most of the "feed finding" search tools out there. I tend to get so much irrelevant junk back.......I prefer to just add feeds that I hear about or find on my own.

One neat feed finder, Medworm, is specific to medical feeds; this type of search option may be the future of "feed finding" since it isn't searching the entire contents of the know web.

#8 RSS Feeds etc.

2007-07-18T11:31:00.001-04:00

I'm still trying to decide which I like better: Google Reader, or Bloglines. They each do some nifty things, but I wish I could smash them together and take the best bits of both.

One thing that I really like about Bloglines (which I haven't found in Google Reader yet, but it might be there) is the ability to creat public feed lists. I have experimented with this a bit with medical resources, but am not sure how useful it would be overall.

#7 Blog About Technology

2007-07-18T11:28:00.000-04:00

Yarg. That's one broad topic. While I love technology, I wasn't one of those kids who grew up with a computer in their house. So I definitely feel behind my peers sometimes. Because of this, I make a concerted effort to stay up on what's going on in the tech world as best I can.

More importantly, because I feel like I still have so much to learn (it never stops, right?), I appreciate how scary technology can seem before you just dive right in.

#6 More Flickr Fun

2007-07-18T11:26:00.001-04:00

Okay, so this isn't very "techie librarian" of me, but I love the Flickr Color Pickr! Something about all of those bright shiny pics, lovingly categorized by coordinating color....okay, maybe that is very librarian of me :)

I am so proud of everyone who has jumped on board the Learning 2.0 train! We've had great turnout at the workshops, and everyone is helping each other out.

Kudos to all!

#5 Discover Flickr

2007-07-18T11:23:00.001-04:00

P1010104
Originally uploaded by bergney

This picture isn't exactly of my workplace, but this picture is up in my office.....hopefully that counts :).

This is our dog Davey, the first day we brought him home from the Rescue. He's a little more grey around the face now (we tell him he's distinguished), but still as friendly and happy as ever!

Sweet! I'm a Simpson!

2007-07-17T14:17:00.001-04:00

Thanks to allnightinalden and The Simpsons Movie, I've now created my very own Simpsons avatar!!

Very cool. You can do it too, just go to the main site and select the Avatar option at the top of the page. The rest is up to you!!

Oh yeah, I will get caught up on my Learning 2.0 assignments eventually......I've spent so much time coordinating and helping that I haven't been posting!

Bad Whitney......

Giant Children

2007-06-25T15:03:00.000-04:00

Finally found someone who will have bigger kids than Brian and I.....

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20043648,00.html

#3 Create a Test Post (and blog about 7 1/2 Things)

2007-06-25T14:06:00.001-04:00

Hmm.....The 7 1/2 Things....I've gotten so wrapped up in coordinating the Learning 2.0 program that I'm a little late with my first "official" post!

I think the easiest thing for me is to start with the end in mind. I always have a glorious vision for how things will turn out.....it's the stuff in between that can bog me down! In that vein I would probably say that viewing problems as challenges is the toughest for me. The problems often derail my glorious vision :).

Congrats to everyone that is up and running with Learning 2.0; you're helping to make my vision a reality!!

Test Post 2

2007-06-21T13:22:00.000-04:00

This is my second test post for Learning 2.0

Ohio University Libraries Learning 2.0

2007-05-24T14:30:00.000-04:00

Well, I haven't posted for a while, but I am preparing my blog for the start of the Ohio University Libraries Learning 2.0 project. Any staff who are trying this blog thing out, feel free to take a look around!

The Holidays are fast approaching....

2005-12-20T11:28:00.000-05:00

Time for Whitney's holiday posting! No need to hold your breath any longer.

For those of you familiar with my cooking skills, I attempted to make some traditional Norwegian Christmas cookies this year: Fattigman and Rosettes.

They turned out pretty good, as evidenced by the fact that they are all gone now. Sigh. Fortunately, Brian and I are going to Minnesota for Christmas to see my family so I'm hoping that the fattigman and rosettes will be falling like rain (or snow, as the case may be).

We are also planning on seeing A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie Theater while we're there as a birthday present to me :). That's right kids, Whitney turns 28 on December 23rd! Exciting times; I'm turning into a grownup.

Brian's final two games of 2005 are big ones, as the Bobcats take on Detroit on the 22nd and Kentucky on the 30th. The Kentucky game will be on ESPN2, so tune in and cheer on the 'Cats!

Rhode Island bound!

2005-12-10T11:23:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone, I'm checking in from the lovely (but tiny) state of Rhode Island today. Why Rhode Island, you ask? The Bobcats are in town to play URI today, so I decided to make the trip to stand by my man.

We experienced some apocolyptic weather yesterday, having rain, snow, sunshine, rainbows, an ice storm, and just plain cold all in one day. I kept waiting for the sky to fall.

Well, I'm signing off for now, but be sure to check out the Bobcats on TV at 7:30 if you can!

The Dresses (Brian, KEEP OUT!!!)

2005-11-29T12:10:00.000-05:00

Two postings in one day; a virtual flurry of blogging from your girl Whitney!

Now comes the interesting part: deciding on a dress. I tried some on a couple of weekends ago with Amanda (my maid of honor/only bridesmaid) and we figured out that, surprisingly, I look best in a strapless or halter style. Who knew I could hold it up. I can't actually put pictures of me in the dresses online, since most of the bridal shops have very strict rules about taking pictures. The bridal business is more cutthroat than I thought.

Please give me your input on the finalists!! Just use the "comments" option at the bottom of this posting to let me know what you think.

Dress 1
I would go with the black and white (as shown in the main picture). I didn't get to try this one on, but it will be coming in December. Check out all views.

Dress 2
LOVED this one in the store; I tried it on in navy and white, but would get it in red and white (as shown in the back photo). Be sure to look at the back; it's beautiful.

Dress 3
Again, didn't get to try this one on but I like it!

Dress 4
Sorry, there isn't a good direct link to this dress. Choose "Fall 2005" under the big BRIDAL letters; go to the second page and it is the first one on the upper left. The style name is Kiara. Again, check out the back and alternate views.

Dress 5
This one is a halter-style that looked pretty decent when I tried it on.

I'm thinking very hard about wearing some traditional Norwegian jewelry; here's an idea of what it looks like; it's not too gigantic, each piece is about 1" x 1" and come as a pendant and earrings.

Most of the dresses that I looked at had beading/designs reminiscent of the style of the jewelry. The earring on the left are close to actual size, the ones on the right are pictured much bigger than they actually are.

Looking forward to hearing from you all!!

Whitney

Wedding News (and stuff)

2005-11-29T10:16:00.000-05:00

I apologize for my complete lack of postings this past month; I have been madly trying to plan the impending nuptuals of myself and The Man, Brian. I beg forgiveness :).

For those of you trying to plan ahead, or just curious, be sure to check out our wedding page on The Knot.

Colors will be deep red, black, and white.

I've been looking at dresses and come up with some favorites; at some point I'll post pictures here so everyone can give me input (you know I need all the help I can get looking girly!)

A lot of the wedding communication will be taking place via e-mail, so keep an eye on your inbox for updates and my frantic, panicked requests!

In other news, the Bobcats got off to a good start for their first regular-season game against St. Francis (PA). American is up this coming Saturday at 4pm.

Tuesday afternoon.....

2005-10-18T15:04:00.000-04:00

Yep, that's pretty much how I feel about this afternoon. Try doing a Google Image Search for "blarg" and see what you get; I found it enlightening.

I'm biding my time until I head up to my alma mater, Michigan State, for the weekend. It's homecoming time, which is actually time for all of The Girls to reconvene in East Lansing and pretend we're 21 again. Then all of the real 21-year-olds can look at us and laugh :).

Meanwhile, Brian has been working a lot and I've been trying to get things in shape around the house. Let's just say the lawn hasn't been mowed in about 2 months (thank god for the dry summer!). In my defense, Brian broke the lawnmower and we just got it back, but still...our yard looks a bit overgrown...

Time to go, I must solve the library's e-problems before going home to wash the dog and make felt people for the library's Homecoming banner (more on that later...). Giorgio's, I'm looking forward to some baked potato pizza...

Today is the day!

2005-10-14T09:11:00.000-04:00

Yes kids, NCAA basketball season officially starts tonight. For those of you who didn't spend their youth on the courts, this means that teams can being practicing. No games until mid-November usually. In my situation, this basically means that I become single again, since my man is a college basketball coach.

As he is torturing the team with suicides, tip drill, and other evil drills designed for "conditioning", I will be preparing for tomorrow's Paws Parade in Dayton. Davey and I will be repping the Athens area with one of my co-librarians Janet, who is bringing her Dane Nikki.

Of course, I'm not looking forward to leaving Athens at 6:30 am to get there at 9, but all for a good cause, right? Let me know if you're interested in sponsoring us (late notice, I know).

I saw Wallace and Gromit the other day and it was fantastic! Extremely clever and funny :). I would recommend it just because of the scene with the rabbit belching (right Amanda?).

Enough for now, must get to work! E-problems everywhere, as usual.

Wallace and Gromit etc.

2005-10-06T16:13:00.000-04:00

Joy Joy Joy!!!

I realized today that Wallace and Gromit: the Curse of the Were-Rabbit will be out soon! What's not to like about British claymation? For the rest of you W&G fans (or those who want to learn), be sure to check out the Were-Rabbit preview further down the page, or Socca-matic.

I may or may not get out to see Corpse Bride tonight, as Brian and I have another Six Feet Under date tonight. Don't worry folks, we are almost through Season 3 on DVD.

After work I'm planning on taking Davey for a walk around campus;

trying to get him used to lots of people around. He is very polite,

but sometimes gets a bit weirded out with crowds. Let's be honest, I could do with a good walk myself, seeing as how I've put on about 15 pounds since moving to Athens. Disgusting.

On that uplifting note...

Goodbye for now!!

Amazing Animal Footage

2005-10-05T19:25:00.000-04:00

This has got to be one of the most amazing photos I've seen of the animal kingdom. When Darwinism and non-native species collide!

That picture just made my day. The rest of my day involved going to work, washing the dog, and then taking him for a walk so that he wouldn't immediately roll in the grass and get all dirty again. No, we managed to wait a whole 2 hours before doing that; a new record in Dogdom.

I still haven't managed to see Corpse Bride, but since Brian and I have a Six Feet Under date tonight I should get my daily dose of morbidity. For those who don't know, this is not just a personality quirk; it's in my DNA. My grandfather used to own a funeral home: Winberg Furniture Store and Funeral Home, in Ellsworth Wisconsin. Don't even ask; I know what you're thinking. My Grandma ran the furniture store :). More about her later, as she is an amazing woman!

Brian is arriving shortly, so I need to clean the dog hair out of the guest bathroom.

Welcome to Whitney's World

2005-10-04T16:30:00.000-04:00

Well, here I am, one of the BlogPeople. Big thanks to Mike S. at Wayne State for getting me started with his Blogging presentation! I couldn't have done it without ya :)

So, a quick intro to me:

I'm Whitney, and as my URL implies I am a librarian. Unfortunately this does not mean I get to read books all day. No, I deal in e-resources. I know; with a title like Electronic Access Librarian I should have been blogging long before now. I am a pitiful excuse for a modern librarian.

So I live here in Southeastern Ohio with my Man Brian and our Dog Davey. We are all disproportionally large for our species. Brian & I are humans, 6'3" and 6'1" respectively; Davey is a dog who is large at 31" and 100 lbs but small for the Great Dane that he is. We love him anyway :).

If you would like to read more about Davey see his story here. There are many wonderful Danes to adopt from Harlequin Haven, which is located outside of Cincinnati. Please consider donating if you can't adopt!

Okay, enough for today, but please stay tuned for more entries, including wedding planning, basketball season, the joys and sorrows of working in a library, and maybe some good rants.