More on RSS Feeds

To finish off #7, I added a couple of RSS feeds to Google Reader. I tried to use Technorati to find some interesting blogs but found their site confusing. In the end, I used Google Reader's search feature and added librarian.net. which had an interesting post on the issue of privacy and technology in libraries, called "ruminating about privacy" by jessamyn. Here's an excerpt:

Patron 1 wants to make sure no one ever knows what they are reading. Tells the OPAC to not keep his reading list. Knows his PIN. Wants to make sure the public access PCs don’t retain records of the sites he’s visited. Is a bit horrified that the library data we do keep isn’t in some way encrypted or otherwise protected.

Patron 2 wants to know every book she has ever checked out. Wants the library to leave the name of the book she has on hold on her answering machine. Wants her friend to be able to pick the book up for her at the library. Doesn’t remember her PIN and finds it vaguely annoying that she needs more than her library card number to use the OPAC.

A privacy solution that works for Patron 1 becomes a usability impediment to Patron 2. While libraries have the responsibility to keep both patrons’ data safe, they also have the responsibility to be usable and accomodating to both patrons. Technology, in my opinion, can address these issues but librarians have to a) embrace it b) request it from their vendors c) be willing to tolerate the learning curve that comes with any new technology.

I'm sure this sounds vaguely familiar. Given time constraints and the fact that I'm taking baby steps to reach all 24 Things, I'll leave this issue to one side and quickly move onto Play Stations....this sounds like more fun!

Thing #6

Another month goes by and I've finally found some time to play in the playground. I set up a Google Reader account several weeks ago with a few RSS feeds. When I accessed it today, I was overwhelmed with 1000+ feeds from the Telegraph. Oh my! I can barely keep up with email let alone feeds. However, I did enjoy an article from LibraryThing RSS feed, entitled "The First Ever Catalog Flash Mob" about 20 cataloguers who descended on a church in Massachusetts to catalogue a collection of 1200 or so books....sounds like an interesting thing to do on the weekend! I also added the Lithe Librarian: Adventures of an Auxiliary blog to my feeds. This is one RSS feed I'd probably check regularly because the book reviews are great. On the whole, I enjoyed learning about RSS feeds (I'm one of those uninformed people who hadn't heard of them before) but it isn't something that I could see myself accessing regularly. There's only so much information I can absorb in a day.