Edgar Allen Poe in Creative Commons

This was a difficult task embedding the audio file.  I am still not sure if this was done correctly.

The raven (Edgar Allan Poe), a photo by kevin dooley on Flickr. License also on this link.

License

•  Some rights reserved
• Request to license kevin dooley's photos via Getty Images

The Raven audio file from Internet Archive.org.
License for audio file. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

RSS Feeds

RSS Feeds Fellow Classmates

I have subscribed to Arwa Merriman, Joyce Martin, and Rebecca Capehart's blogs.

RSS Feed News

I subscribed to Fox News and Wave 3 Metro Louisville news rss feeds.

What do I think of RSS Feeds?

I had already subscribed to a couple of rss feeds.  My daughter has a blog and I love tor read her writings of course.  But in general, I really do not like rss feeds.  I hate reading on the computer and I only do it when I have to for school or work.  I have enjoyed looking at other classmates blogs and maybe I will use rss feeds more in the future.  I just feel like computers take up so much of my time already.  If I want news, I would rather pick up the local newspaper and read it.

EVERGREEN INDIANA

A new technology that was implemented while I was working at Jackson County Library in Seymour was our migration to the Evergreen Consortium in 2008.  The purpose of joining this consortium was to provide more access to our patrons and to hopefully save our community money.  

Evergreen Indiana is a group of over 100 member libraries who share materials and the cost of sharing as well.  It was a difficult transition for staff and for patrons during the migration period.  We actually did not close our doors, but we did "blind checkouts".  We were unable to register patrons, take fines, or check in materials.  The only thing we could do was check out materials to patrons who already had library cards.  Of course, we could not tell if patrons had large fines, were expired, or were blocked for other reasons.  After migration was complete, and we began to upload transactions to Evergreen, we had some problems because of these blind check outs.  We also had about four days of items to check in as well.

Now, after the beginning hiccups, and a few troublesome upgrades, Evergreen has been a wonderful decision for our library.  Our patrons have access to millions of items from libraries around the state with no out of pocket cost to them.  We use InfoExpress and our costs our lower because of joining the consortium.  Patrons are excited to go into other counties and use their card as well as have items brought to them.  

Before Evergreen, our library would purchase or ILL items that we did not have for our patrons.  Now, we can place a hold on that obscure title that one library has in Evergreen instead of having to pay postage to get it out of state or ILL it.

We also do not have to pay for an ILS or someone to upgrade it.  Evergreen is open-source software that is managed by the state library.  We already had an technology specialist who helps us through the upgrades.  

Search Skills RFID Technology

The title of the article I found on EBSCOhost in the Academic Search Premier database about RFID was, Library RFID Systems for Identification, Security, and Materials Handling by Laurie Bowen Ayre.
It was published in July 2012.

The Jackson County Public Library that I work in currently uses RFID technology.  RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification.  This type of security technology has been a good trend for libraries to utilize and explore.  Previously we used metal strips on cd's and dvds, which would be easily torn off or cause the item to be caught in players.  The overlays used are smooth and more difficult to remove.  Also these strips could not be used on vhs tapes.  Even though we are now weeding these out of our collection to the sadness of some patrons.  We were told that eventually you could use an RFID wand to scan the shelves, but I have yet to see this come to our library. This would be a great tool to check status of items shelved. It basically works the same as at your grocery store.  The library item is put on a pad, the barcode is scanned automatically, security is turned off, and the item is now checked out to the patron.  We have self-check out machines that work the same way.  The only problem is people still scan just the barcode on the item, causing the gates to alarm.  Our security gates are integrated with the ILS and when activated tell you the name of the item setting the alarm off.  It also tells you the status of the item.  It was a long project to convert everything over to this technology, but overall I think it has been beneficial.  It is helpful to keep in mind that with all new trends in technology there will be hiccups.  We recently had an upgrade to our RFID pads and it took some getting used to.  

Wow!  I have a lot to learn just about Basic computer skills!  My competency results really kind of scared me.  I realize the components that I use daily like email, word processing, and internet, I know a lot about.  I am in need of some extra classes outside of this course probably.  Our library offers free courses and I am signing up today.  Hopefully that will help my basic knowledge.  I knew that I was ignorant about webpage development and database skills.  I know this course will be challenging, but I can do it.

Core Competency Results

Basic Knowledge Score                       65%
Basic Skills                                          67%
Basic Assessment                                66%

Word Processing Knowledge              100%
Word Processing Skills                       100%
Word Processing Assessment             100%

Spreadsheet Knowledge                     100%
Spreadsheet Skills                                80%
Spreadsheet Assessment                      85%

Database Knowledge                           73%
Database Skills                                     27%
Database Assessment                           48%

Presentation Knowledge                       88%
Presentation Skills                                 95%
Presentation Assessment                       93%

Internet Knowledge                              90%
Internet Skills                                        97%
Internet Assessment                              93%

Web Development Knowledge              65%
Web Development Skills                       25%
Web Development Assessment             46%

Skyline Drive in Brownstown Indiana.
Jonathon left, Amanda front, and Bradley in the back.

My name is Katherine Dawn McIntosh and I am 39 years old.  I have been married to my wonderful husband, Bradley for twenty years.  We have two awesome kids, Jonathon 15 and Amanda Kate 18.  I love spending time with them.  They are my life.  I enjoy reading, cooking, hiking, gardening, drag racing, and watching documentaries.

Jackson County Library Seymour Branch

I work at the Jackson County Public Library in Seymour, Indiana.  Isn't this building beautiful? An Andrew Carnegie Library built in 1905 with a new addition in 2005.  Not only do I love my job, but I love the people I get to work with everyday.  They are like family to me.