Building An Engine...Easier Than It Sounds

I never dreamed of making my very own Search Engine, and I certainly never imagined it would be this easy. I checked out Rollyo, and though I was transfixed by the red and white swirly thing, I found Google Custom far more efficient. The results were more relevant and easier to sort through. So, I went in and set up my own search engine for entertainment related questions. You can check it out in the side bar of my blog - just above my Library Thing widget. (How much do I love the word widget? Widget, widget, widget.)

The ability to create a custom search engine is great for those of us who use a few related sites all the time, and it's great for businesses and organizations who want to group related sites. How cool is the KCLS & Neighbors search? You can check out SPL and Sno-Isle at the same time - right on! It's similar to how you can search several databases for one subject. Very handy indeed.

As for the Web 2.0 reading assignment, it's a good segue from learning these applicatons ourselves to actually applying them to library service. How can we connect with patrons using these new avenues, and (more importantly) how can we help our patrons to access them? Because so much information can be accessed without a library or a librarian, our job is often to act as a teacher - to guide patrons to these new resources and show them how they work. How cool would it be to extend KCLSU to our patrons?! Just as the physical need for a library is said to be diminishing, so too is the need for a physical classroom.

I absolutely love learning new things, and have truly enjoyed tackling these lessons each week. They are applicable in endless ways, but best of all, they are presented in a way that allows each person to work at their own pace in their own space. There will always be people who prefer a hands-on experience, but I'm sure a lot of patrons would enjoy learning about these things from home as well. (Someone who's heard about blogging, but doesn't quite know what it is or how to do it. Maybe a parent concerned about MySpace but unfamiliar with how it really works.) What if our website offered tutorials to patrons, just as this Learning 2.0 has offered them to staff?! How can we keep this going even after we've earned our MP3 players?