I believe libraries should be involved based on their patron population and economic standing. For example, on the more controversial side, the library may be located in an area of older generation adults without computer savy skills or perhaps funding would prohibit the library from using SecondLife due to staff time restraints. Another important issue is if the library computers are able to support SL usage.

What types of custom search engines would you like to create and why?

The main custom search engine I would begin creating would be for students to benefit from different "homework helpers". A different search engine could be created per subject and you could also cater them to age groupings. 

Government, history, english, math find great authoritative sites that will provide great information and an easy way for kids to search.

Okay so I have been putting off getting involved in LibraryThing. Probably that was a smart decision for the time being because I am now addicted to both that and Rollyo. And oh boy do I want to get that little cat barcode scanner!  :)

Anyway, I started my account with some books I had lying around, so go ahead and visit my LibraryThing catalog.

This is one of the best things ever! This will be very beneficial especially for reference librarians if they take the time to create these personalized search engines.

To start I chose to edit someone's search and ended up only using one of their sites after looking through them.

Visit my Rollyo which I created for searching sources on wind energy.

Do you think libraries should be on Facebook & other social networks - why or why not?

I think everyone would agree that libraries should NOT join social networks if they are not going to be actively involved. You are wasting everyone's time. Our county library system implemented facebook and blogs and NOTHING was ever updated. Thankfully, they updated our website and as of yet I cannot find either. Decisions need to be made whether you have the time and desire to implement these into your site.

I have just created an account through Library 2.0 Ning. So far I really like this social network, I feel that it is professionally centered rather than personal. I don't want my personal life online so I don't want to create a myspace or facebook account without being related to a library.

http://library20.ning.com/profile/AmyLowman

~Amy

What are some interesting ways you could envision your organization using media sharing?

Our county each year has a bookmark contest for students. They draw pictures based on a theme for the year. These drawings are then voted on and winners are chosen. The winning bookmarks are printed up and handed out, they are also archived on the county library website for anyone to see including those of past years.

My favs on flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30072704@N08/favorites/

My favs on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/amy49417

Do you think social bookmarking could be beneficial to the LIS field? Why or why not?

I absolutely think social bookmarking could be beneficial to the LIS field. Why? Because it is a way to retrieve information faster and to find items that you on your own may not have found on your own. 

I have been using delicious social bookimarking for over a year, this is my first experience with StumbleUpon.

Right off, I noticed the interface between the two sites were completely different. Delicious is very low key and plain. StumbleUpon had larger picture icons and interest category tabs.

However plain delicious may seem upon further consideration it is important to note that the tabs and links are the most efficient. It has the popular tags, and a save button next to each url.