The Story Squirrel

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This week we were tasked with creating a plan for a makerspace with a budget of $3,000 as a one-time grant. I originally thought of doing a typical children's makerspace as I am more focused on youth services, but I wanted to try something a little different, so I instead devised a plan for a hand-tool woodworking makerspace specifically for adults. I know from personal experience that finding a "third place" for adults can be incredibly hard. I wanted to think of a place that was specifically a place to unplug and be off of technology. As woodworking is something that is of interest to me, I thought it might make a good space for adults.

I honestly found this to be quite difficult, in part because I have never created a proposal for this type of thing before. Originally I started getting way too detailed focusing on individual items and finding links to the items to purchase online, but I realized that this is not an actual plan, it is just a proposal. As such I tried to keep it to general needs without going into the actual detail of item-by-item purchases (though I did use actual items when coming up with estimates). I also honestly don't know the feasibility of something like this from an insurance standpoint. I know there would be a lot of additional information I would need in order to make this an actual proposal but as a start it was at least an interesting way to get out of my comfort zone and try something new.

This week, the assignment was to explore different web-based curation sites and choose three to explore more that we were then to populate with ten different resources. As I have always wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail (it is literally the only thing on my "bucket list") I populated it with ten resources on that topic.

I tried a few that I immediately gave up on because they locked sharing features behind paywalls and the entire point was to share these online, so that wouldn't work! I ended up using the following (the links go to my specific tests):

EverNote

Padlet

PearlTrees

EverNote was the first one I tried, and it was quite easy to use. I appreciated the fact that it feels very similar to adding information into say a Google Sites site, where I could add whatever text I wanted, immediately share previews of websites, and I could easily move things around where I wanted. The biggest negative for EverNote was it was a little too simple. I also didn't like that much of EverNote seems to be locked behind paywalls and I had multiple times where I got full-page pop ups that I had to wait for before I could continue using it.

Padlet was easy to use, and I appreciated that it let me choose different formats. I like that each link has the ability to be different in size if needed, but it also easily matched sizes for me. It was the easiest to use in my opinion, allowing for easy modifications while also allowing for individual "posts" to be edited quickly. Plus each one auto-populated with a preview of the website being linked, except for one. I feel like Padlet would be the one I would most likely gravitate toward in the future.

PearlTrees was the easiest to add stuff to (simply drag-and-drop) and I appreciate that the sharing URL was the easiest to be read by a human (thus easiest to retype if needed) but I didn't like the full-page previews that popped up each time you clicked on one of the items. I think PearlTrees would be great for a beginner for sharing, but for anyone who has a little more skillset, Padlet offered basically everything that PearlTrees does only with more customization.

I think all three of these would be good for sharing resources with patrons, but overall I found the ease of use plus the layout of Padlet to be the strongest of these all.

So the assignment here was to create a library program using some sort of AI tool, with the purpose of the activity being to demonstrate that AI can be a starting point but is really not something that can create a completed product, and that even a completed product itself is of no use without background information and skill set on the part of the one implementing the activity. I thought I would use Google Gemini as a test for this, as it is already a widely-used AI program and having investigated different schools, I’ve heard a lot are being pushed to implement Gemini as they are already involved in Google Education, use chrome books, etc.

The first thing I really noticed when looking at the results to my prompt was that while there was a very decent outline, it really had no connection to anything. I do realize I went in with my prompt to Gemini being very basic, but that was the point. If someone is going to use an AI service for something like this, it is likely they are going to go into it with very basic information. 

[Note: Originally this was posted on Medium, which seemed like a good service, until I saw that they put ads in your posts and really try to monetize everything. I am tired of everything being monetized, so I am moving here instead. Luckily the general ideas I mentioned regarding Medium also fit Tumblr so I am going to put the word Tumblr in brackets wherever I use Medium]

I have had a lot of personal blogs throughout my life, starting on sites like LiveJournal before moving on to WordPress and various other forms. I think I realized along the way that I don’t necessarily see the point in re-inventing the wheel. To be blunt, I don’t think that there is anything special I have to say that is going to be worth others searching out to just find my own specific blog. I feel Medium[Tumblr] is a good place because it crosses the boundary between blog and social media. You have your dedicated “page” but there is also a feed to be a part of. I think that it isn’t always so important to worry about what you as an individual have to say as much as it is to have the community aspect of a dialog. Nobody likes to be monologued at. That gets boring. It leads to individuals putting more value in their own messaging than in communication.

Squirrel eating walnuts. I named this one Uno because of the missing ear.

I have always loved nature and often feel most at peace when I am in quiet solitude outdoors. I like many people got very into birds while sitting outside. I had multiple bird feeders. I saw a lot of birds, but what I saw most was squirrels. Squirrels have a bad rap when it comes to bird feeders. They’re seen as a nuissance. I never understood it. They just want to survive and do their thing. So I moved from just feeding the birds to feeding the squirrels as well. The one pictured is the one that made me fall in love with the species. I love to see their curiosity and ingenuity. They remind me of some of the most important people I have met. They may not be beloved like the birds, but they’re doing their thing. There is something beautiful about watching them live their lives, just like the birds, just like people. Squirrels are for the most part solitary but they still live in the presence of others like them. I remember seeing the ways they would fight over the food I would throw out to them, until they realized there was more than enough. I throw out a single pecan to a group, they all charge it. But if instead I throw out a handful, they all get their own. No one is any more important than any other. That’s what my thought on a blog really is, I suppose. Same with any aspect of individuality versus community. If we put all of our focus on one thing, we are going to miss out on a lot. If I followed with the other budding bird watchers and came up with elaborate baffles to keep the squirrels away, I would only be cheating myself. My ignorance and assumptions would have meant I missed out on something that I have truly come to deeply love.