Hafa Adai! Greetings from Guam. I am roaming outside of the continental U.S, into the middle of the Pacific. I am the new Systems and Network Services Librarian for the University of Guam’s Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Library.

I have been on the island for about a month now, and working for the University for about three weeks. It is a bit strange working full-time, five days a week, 8 to 5 or so, since I have been working part-time for the last six years, working only three days a week. It took a while to get use to the daily work schedule, but I am now OK at waking up at 5:30 in the morning :)

I had to take time off to get car insurance and run other errands, so I more planning when I need to handle personal business during the day. I am so glad I took care of all my medical stuff before getting here. Part of the job requirement was to have a physical exam and a TB screen test within 60 days of hire, and I took care of that before leaving Seattle.

My commute is about 7.5 miles long, or 20 minutes. In rush hour, its about 30 minutes. The speed limit is 35 mph but on long stretches on straight pavement, hardly anybody goes the speed limit...they all go about 50! So - its strange driving on the left side of the lane, and getting passed by on the right. The roads are not great - lots of potholes and un-even pavement, so I have to drive carefully.

The weather is *hot* and my temperature gauge says 86 degrees when its about 7 in the morning. The first few days were hard; I had to hide out at the shopping mall a few blocks from the house so I could get cool, and I was taking at least three showers a day, and sometimes I took a fourth one before going to bed. My mom does not have any air conditioning, and so I have a small fan going on all night to help keep me comfortable. Power is expensive on the island;my mom has decided to not get air-conditioning. Besides, being in an airconditioned room or house for a long time makes my nose stuffy.

I had couple of shocks while I was here. I found out that an off-island check takes *16* business days to clear...so for about a month, I was living off my credit cards. I get paid for the first time this Friday...yeah! I missed the first pay period, so this paycheck is a big one!

I got a used car from my friend's brother. He was selling his 2003 Nissan Xterra, v6 engine, and an SUV. It is a gas-guzzler and with gas prices at about $3.50 per gallon, the car is my guilty pleasure. I feel more comfortable driving it than a sedan, since I am high up, and its feels secure. I have seen a few cars run a red light here, so its a safety issue. Besides, I did not like the newer Rav 4's or the CR-V's.

I joined a fitness gym attached to the Hilton Hotel because they have beachfront, and its nice to lounge on the beach after a week of work, and have a nice pool to swim in when it gets dark. I try to go to the gym at least three times a week.

One of the first things I did when I got back on the island was visit my dad's grave. The last time I visited was in 1998, so it has been a while. I also enjoyed some pickled green mangoes that came from my mom's tree.

It is taking a while to adjusted to the slower pace here on Guam, but its fun being with my friends, getting challenged at work, and getting back to island life with my mom.

I finally got news that my household goods from Seattle is on its way here. I have to pay about $15oo for shipping and insurance since I went over my relocation allowance...I guess I packed too many books!

Happy Trails to You, Until We Meet Again

Hello, just wanted a quick note to say -- working at KCLS has been fun, and this Learning 2.0 - 27 Things has been wonderful. Now, can I get my MP3 player sent to me? I am looking forward to it.

I am off to a new adventure outside of KCLS...but I will keep you wonderful people in my heart and my mind.

New topics for KCLS Learning U - begin to use the new technology promote KCLS services, improve collaboration and communication, increase the technical knowledge and currency of staff - incoming and long-term.

Thank you for all the fish, David and Laurel.

Reflections on the KCLS Learning 2.0 - 27 Things

First of all, THANK YOU to David Wasserman and Laurel Steiner, for making this happen. This training program was an incredible experience. It provided a safe, informed, and planned way to learn about the new tools, websites, services, and up-coming trends in computers, social networking, library services, and the Internet, in a way that does not overwhelm the learner.

I think the sheer volume of services, new companies, new tools, and just plain old information out on the Web is daunting and confusing without a Pathfinder helping show you the way. David Wasserman made an excellent Pathfinder.

This training program allowed staff at KCLS to navigate the bewildering world of Web 2.0, and provided lessons to learn about the new services and tools out there. We got to find out what the hoopla is about for blogging, sharing photos and video, and what the attraction might be to such sites as Flickr, MySpace, YouTube and other cool sites, and what libraries are doing to keep relevant fast-changing landscape of the Web. We were introduced to new words and new ideas like wikis, RSS, Feeds, mashups, and others.

My favorite lessons would those that explained the use of Del.icio.us, Wikis, and RSS feeds, and introduced Google Documents. I think this is a very handy since the service allows access to applications online without installing software.

The incentive of the MP3 player is a big draw for me to participate, but I think the program itself is a very good learning and staff development program. It makes staff more knowledgeable and informed about the tools and sites that the patrons are using, and makes them able to help patrons when they ask for help, and keeps staff current.

I would make a slight change to the program, maybe increase the days between lessons that are involved. I had problems with the Google Labs and the WebWare – too much to look at, and keep track – too many choices. It can be overwhelming.

Video, YouTube, television, DIY movies and video clips

Video, YouTube, television, DIY movies and video clips

YouTube created a new social network. Now anybody can be a director of their own movie, post a news-breaking clip, and alert the millions of viewer on funny, disturbing, educational, international, and un-usually. YouTube has made it a lot easier to share videos with lots and lots of people. I used it to look up videos of Zidane during the World Cup, and it was very nice to see videos US viewer normally do not have access to. In terms of politics and global issues and concerns, YouTube has widen the reach of many isolated groups, individuals, and broaden the horizons of the human race -- at least those that have access to the Web.

Podcasts and E-books
I have used or experienced podcasts before - I first thought you had to have an iPod, but I guess the widely popularity of the iPod has made the turn 'podcast' a generic term. One of my favorite shows - Project Runaway on BravoTV had podcasts by Tim Gunn. So - that is when I learned about podcasts. It's another extension of media and the Web.

For my Library-related podcast and RSS feed. I selected OpenStacks.

And for my E-book or audio book - I already used it to download a few books when it first came out. Since I had an old computer, it took a long, long time to download the chapters to my computer, and to transfer them to my MP3 player. It's a wonderful format since it is a lot easier to handle than CDs and tapes....you just need to have time to download to your computer. OR if you don't have one, there is the format already installed on an MP3 player provided by the library!

Online Docs,new tools, Web 2.0 winners

Online applications - great idea, allows for sharing of documents with others, and being able to use them anywhere through the Internet. Also, the added bonus of not having to install software or buy software. There is the question of security, and confidentiality. I would not use this for any sensitive personal information; and I would make sure I have back-ups of files on a flash drive. Another concern is what happens when I have built a large volume of documents on these on-line services, and they start charging for the service. There is also the question of ownership - who actually owns these files, and if people do not really read the agreement and use policies, they may not realize what rights they have regarding their files and access to them, and the liability of the software vendor.

Of the two services - I prefer Google Docs - 1) because I already have an account, and one less user id/password to remember. Also, the interface is similar to that of the RTF editor for Hotmail.

On Google Labs and Trends - The two services I tried and like are: Related Links and Google Page Creators. The first one might be useful for the Library to help guide patrons to other sites or information that might be of interest to them during their searches. The second one, page creator, allows quick, easy creation of web pages with fantastic looks. This would be great in creating websites -- useful for blogs, program announcements, service alerts, and uses. One concern with these services - again is the nature of the service. Currently the service is free, but what happens if Google changes this to a fee-based service, and a library or organization has invested much work on their pages and its all on the Google site.

I tried Google Set - I don't really understand what use this would be other than a piece of trivia or a fun thing to do to see the Set generator can be stumped, or what kinds of things the Set generator will bring up.

I used Web 2.0 Award nominees. I found it easier to use that Webware. I looked under the Chart of Winners to see the different categories and the winners. The two services I tried were Goowy (online Desktop) http://www.goowy.com/index.aspx and Omnidrive http://www.omnidrive.com/- for storage. I think if you have set up your Desktop a certain way it would be helpful to be able to access it anywhere, and having access to storage is a great tool and its free.

Web 2.0, Libraries, Library Staff, and Patrons

Web 2.0 is a nice revolution of the Internet landscape. Any tool or set of tools and technology that is easy to use, understand, and master that allows people to search, discover, find, use, and create, propagate, and collaborate on a local and global scale is awesome. And Libraries and their Staff should embrace these tools, but not to the extend that they disregard or ignore services to their patrons in the name of Progress, Technology, Coolness, or being Current.

I agree that Libraries need to understand these new tools, and to incorporate them to provide meaningful and timely services to their patrons, but Libraries should also keep in mind not all their patrons will like the changes, or can understand the new services. The Digital Divide is still present in our society, and in some cases, the gap is widening. Even thought prices of hardware such as computers, laptops and cell phones are going down, it seems prices for services keeps going up, and those pesky surcharges, fees, and what-not can be prohibitive to some people. So, it would good if Libraries embrace Web 2.0 but not to the extend they stop providing non-Web 2.0, in person service to patrons who are not up on technology and the hype.

Search Engines - My Way, My Searches

New tools for information specialists - creating your own custom search engines! I think it is a great tool. With the explosion of information out there, it is so cool that people can easily create custom search engines to access their favorite websites, blogs, homepages, etc in a search engine format. This is handy. And being able to access this from any computer, from any place in the world that has Internet access is building upon available resources and extending their uses in new ways. We are truly in a mobile world.

I created two search engines for two of my hobbies, interests. Stargate-1 and Web page designs.

http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=002660428997621145179%3Av3iqjrn5puk

This one should take you to my SG-1 Search engine, and the other one goes to my search engine for web design information.

http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=002660428997621145179%3Asqfbvej-38u

I used the Google tool to create them, since I did not like the Rollyo tool. I do not like the use of ads on my search engine, and the preferences given to commercial sites in the results page. I also thought the Rollyo tool was harder to use, not as intuitive as the Google tool, and besides, I already have a Google account. I did not have to create another account, and have to remember my id and password.