live long and pros.. er... learn something!

Good sites this week and lots to learn on a few of them. I spent a lot of time on the How Stuff Works site simply because I was interested in reading the articles. I also like the Nikon site because the articles about photography were interesting and came with great visual aids. I will probably spend more time in the future on the Nikon site to improve my photographic skills.

I did see some issues with a couple of the sites. Like many places on the web, sites get forgotten or ignored by their creators and fail to update regularly. For example, I looked at the DIY home theater lesson CNET's site. I was unable to get a price for the two receivers I was interested in because they were both "out of stock". It turns out the Denon is from 2006 and has very limited availability. Also, I was disturbed by the houses they showed in the the "hot houses" feature because they seemed to focus only on what I would consider an "upper class" home and not on things that can be done in smaller spaces.

I think that there will be more of this style of learning at all levels simply because it allows the user to learn on very specific subjects at the most convienent times. I think this shift is important because it empowers the user. Why sit through an entire electronics class to learn how to set up your surround sound?

Importance of historical web based information

Look for Pete the Perch to show up on Orlando Memory. Many thanks to the librarian on the 4th floor for supplying the picture on flickr.
We have been given an interesting question this week: how important are 2 distinct websites with historical information to me and the library. The first part is easy - obviously Orlando Memory gives us the opportunity to keep photos of how the library looked and how it has evolved. Since certain kinds of change can take time - and let's face it libraries are among the slowest changers for a variety of reasons - it's easy to show just how much change takes place in a long time. We are also in the unique position to see the changes that go on in the downtown area. With Orlando memory we can have a repository for information not only about our library but about the community in which we live. It's nice for me because I like historical things and find it fascinating to see how things change.
Orange Seed is a different idea. It's not as visual, so at times it's hard to see how the ideas presented will really fit until they are completed. It does allow for collaboration by a number of people - even those who don't have the initial idea, but may have ideas about implementation of other's ideas. I rarely look at the orange seed because I don't have time and I haven't had an idea that I think needs to be implemented.