keeping found things found

This is the name of a study that was being conducted (maybe still?) at the University of Washington's Information School when I was a student there. I have been thinking about that project in relation to delicious, which has really revolutionized--at least for me---how i "store" the websites I need. I have tags like "errands" for my banking and bus routes, "hiking" for routes and directions to trails, and way too many items under my umbrella tag for work: Professional. I just started a new tag for readings I am using for my Lib101 course in the spring. One great way to use delicious for libraries is for instruction purposes. Instead of having to create a website or powerpoint with links to examples for class, you can create a tag for a specific class, or call it "Instruction" and keep the sites you need to show your students there. I'd be interested to hear how other folks think delicious can be used in the college library context. I mostly think of it as a personal professional resource.

Bloglines (or pick your aggregator) has also revolutionized my online life. I have purposely chosen not to subscribe to more blogs on more topics: local politics, movies, fashion, cooking, food...because I already feel like I am overwhelmed by what i'm receiving. But I swear by professional reading through bloglines. I am on about a dozen library related blogs and I know it's how I learned about this course, and anything vaguely 21st century I know about comes from using feeds. I don't have the time to do more than browse my feeds anyway, but at least I am getting a taste of what's going on.

Today, for our assignment, I set up a folder of feeds for my dad. He's easy to pick for: favorite newspapers, politics and the local library...(my hometown library has several blogs, go Darien Public!) so i sent him a half dozen feeds and called to explain "aggregators and feeds". That was fun. And I get to look like the tech geek. not.