The World of Flickr

A Spot of Rouge

The color red inspired my gallery because it is one of my favorite colors and a universal color that represents warmth and love. The color really resonates in photographs and expresses so much meaning in a single snapshot of time.

A Spot of Rouge consists of photos all featuring the color red in some way, shape, or form.

I used Flickr to search, find and select the photos for this gallery. I explored previously designed galleries to get inspiration and ideas from users I liked, and I checked out different groups and users' galleries to find certain photos.

It was amazing to find so many photos representing this color in such beautiful ways. There were several groups specifically built on the color, and even one called rot-rosso-rouge-rood. I have a very specific taste when it comes tophotography, so I spent a while searching for the perfect images to be included.

I was particularly looking for photos that used red to represent a feeling or emotion. I wanted photos with a vintage or retro feel so I could portray a reflection of what I like in the gallery.

My search was most successful when I used searches containing two key words, such as "vintage red" or "artsy red;"otherwise the search was too expansive and didn't really provide what I wanted. I also was a little disappointed Flickr's gallery could only include 18 photos. It could have been more telling if a couple more could have been included. I also found it difficult to search for photos with a specific feeling. With such a large number of photos to browse through, it was hard to narrow it down as much as I wanted.

I also would have preferred if Flickr made it easier to go back and forth between photos. It became tiresome to click forward and backward to choose photos for my gallery. On the upside though, every time I clicked on a photo I was led to something else. This helped me find particular users' photos that I really enjoyed, and made my search more interesting. Flickr is a good representation of how Bates' Berrypicking Model works in a digital world. Each new search led me to new photos, users, and galleries, and each new click took me on a different path. Overall, the third order of Flickr's organization was successful in delivering what I was looking for. It just took a lot of searching on my end to find the right photographs.

Flickr is a wonderful source for online photography sharing and archiving. There are so many images to browse and the ability for tagging makes photos easily searchable.

The following are the terms I searched for:

• the color red
• red
• rouge
• a world of red
• red in photos
• photos featuring red
• artsy red
• retro red
• vintage red
• red art
• animals and red

You can view my gallery here.

(all photos from Flickr)

Knowitnow.org Vs. Ask A Librarian

For my Information Awareness Report I sought out information to answer my question, "How do I make sure I am a healthy vegan?" After assessing the information I gathered on my own, I sought the same information using Knowitnow.org and Kent State's "Ask a Librarian" online services. The following is a critical analysis of my experiences.

Knowitnow.org

Here is a transcript of our conversation:

Jessica Crossfield: How do I make sure I am a healthy vegan?

wcpl615: Hello. You've connected to your 24x7 online reference service staffed by librarians across the state. Please wait one moment while I take a look at your question.

wcpl615: I am going to send you links to some articles - click on the I'm going to send a web site link. If you click on it, the page will open in a new window or tab. Please take a look, and let me know if this helps answer your question. Enter your zip code when prompted

wcpl615: http://web.ebscohost.com.kin.oplin.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&hid=111&sid=5d1a63ed-d3a7-4363-bf81-4a678dca8664%40sessionmgr114

wcpl615: http://web.ebscohost.com.kin.oplin.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=6&hid=111&sid=5d1a63ed-d3a7-4363-bf81-4a678dca8664%40sessionmgr114

wcpl615: http://web.ebscohost.com.kin.oplin.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=8&hid=111&sid=5d1a63ed-d3a7-4363-bf81-4a678dca8664%40sessionmgr114

wcpl615: Is this the type of information you are looking for?

wcpl615: Or do you need more scholarly articles?

Jessica Crossfield: No, this is very helpful. Do you have any information on important vitamins or health supplements needed?

wcpl615: Ok, just a minute

wcpl615: Here's a few articles

wcpl615: http://web.ebscohost.com.kin.oplin.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=14&hid=111&sid=5d1a63ed-d3a7-4363-bf81-4a678dca8664%40sessionmgr114

wcpl615: http://web.ebscohost.com.kin.oplin.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&hid=111&sid=d755d6d7-e7b2-47cc-8d75-b398a6abe380%40sessionmgr114

wcpl615: http://web.ebscohost.com.kin.oplin.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7&hid=111&sid=d755d6d7-e7b2-47cc-8d75-b398a6abe380%40sessionmgr114

wcpl615: http://web.ebscohost.com.kin.oplin.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=9&hid=111&sid=d755d6d7-e7b2-47cc-8d75-b398a6abe380%40sessionmgr114

Jessica Crossfield: Thank you so much, this has been very helpful!

wcpl615: Your welcome, is there anything else I can help you with?

Jessica Crossfield: No, I think that is everything. Thank you!

wcpl615: Thanks for using KnowItKnow 24x7 Local.

• The Knowitnow.org librarian was very helpful in offering me articles. She sent me 7 articles on the topic of a vegan diet. The first set the librarian sent me basically centered around recipes, so I then asked the librarian again, "What kind of vitamins or supplements should I make sure that I get?" To this question she sent me an additional 4 articles. Unfortunately, one of them I thought was kind of inaccurate, according to the research I have done. I did enjoy one article she sent me on being vegan on a low-budget diet. It is quite a misconception that it costs a lot of be vegetarian or vegan, when in reality it is possible to eat cost-effectively when you center your diet on whole foods.

This librarian was helpful and definitely open to helping me find materials; however, a lot of the material she sent me I really didn't find that informative. I also felt that some of the articles were a bit dated. On the upside, I liked that the materials she sent were complete and not just links or snippets of the article.

I did think that the site in general is a great idea. It was very nice to know that I could have a librarian immediately available to answer my questions. I also found it well designed and easy to navigate. I liked that the librarian asked if it was what I was looking for, and if I needed more scholarly articles. I also liked that the entire conversation, including links, were emailed to me after our meeting was through. This will be helpful in revisiting sites.

Kent State's Ask a Librarian

Here is the transcript from our conversation:

meeboguest395259: How do I make sure I am a healthy vegan?

imaksulibrarian: Check with a doctor and do a little research.

meeboguest395259: Can you recommend any books that would be good for information?

imaksulibrarian: Sure, let me check!

imaksulibrarian: Hang on a sec

imaksulibrarian: Check out some of these materials: http://www.vegancoach.com/best-vegan-books.html

meeboguest395259: ok, thank you!

imaksulibrarian: No problem!

•First of all, I was a little disappointed with this librarian's initial response. I felt that is was a bit obvious and unhelpful, so I decided to probe some more and ask another question. Again, I was a disappointed in the offering of only one web page when there are thousands of websites and books out there offering information.

On the up side, this wasn't a website that I was familiar with, so it did offer some new information, and although I was already familiar with all of the books listed, it might be a good start for a new vegan. The librarian did respond quickly to my inquiries, but I would have liked if the librarian had asked me more about what I was looking for, or tried to narrow down the search.

Conclusions

This was my first time using these programs, and overall I was a little disappointed with both experiences. There could be a couple reasons for this, one being because I asking a question that I already knew a lot about, and two, because it is a topic that very few people are informed on. Either way, both services seemed willing to help but didn't really teach me anything that I didn't already know. I was extremely disappointed that neither services recommended any of the best sources of information on this topic and that a person who might be interested in researching this topic and adopting this lifestyle, wouldn't get access to some of the best materials out there.

In my personal research I found a lot more helpful information that led to my successful life choice. This could be because libraries are lacking in materials about this topic, or that librarians just aren't as informed about the topic. Either way, knowitnow.org and Ask a Librarian are wonderful services for some instances, but in my case, they were not as informative as I would have liked.

I think these services would be most useful with inquiries on the right side of the continuum of specifiability at the cognitive level. With a defined problem or question, answers would be easier for these librarians to come by, but with a question like mine that doesn't really have a defined answer, the librarians didn't seem to be sure what information to find. I believe I would possibly use these services again but for a different reason. They might be more helpful in finding scholarly sources or specific answers, but I really found they lacked in helping me find information on my question.

Despite the unsuccessfulness of my search, I do think that Kent's Ask a Librarian is a great service that is offered to its students. Under different circumstances I think it could be a very useful tool. In both cases, I only had to wait a minute or two for the librarians to come back online, and once that happened I received information quickly. The sites were quick and efficient and easy to navigate. Both librarians seemed very nice and willing to help, but just didn't share the information I was looking for.

My Links!

Delicious

WorldCat

username: sayhijess

Flickr

Library Thing

Good Reads

Information Awareness Report: How do I become a vegan?

Roughly two years ago I made the choice that I was going to become a vegan. Because I was previously a vegetarian for seven years, the initial transition wasn't too difficult, but finding the information to make sure I was a healthy vegan was truly an adventure in itself. I quickly realized that no matter how much I knew about vegetarianism, veganism was like entering a whole new world.

My first steps included seeking information online. The vegan community has really made a place for itself in the digital world, and it really helped a new vegan learn about the process. Books and cookbooks were my next stop and they taught me the basics of veganism. They became huge sources of information for me, and great sources of inspiration. They also fueled my love of cooking, which really blossomed when I became vegan.

In addition to books and the internet, I sought out people who had already been vegan for a good amount of time so I could soak in some of their expertise and knowledge. Along those same lines, I also found that blogs and vegan-centric podcasts were great for keeping my beliefs strong and not feeling alone in a world full of omnivores.

-Some of the questions I asked when deciding to move forward with this life choice were:

• What is and isn't vegan?
• What do I need to change in my life?
• What products are vegan?
• What foods are the most nutritionally sound?
• What does it mean to be vegan?
• What do I eat as a vegan?
• What vitamins do I need to make sure that I am getting on a daily basis?

-I asked these of myself and kept them in mind while I researched and looked for information. I also asked them of my human sources and talked to them about some of my concerns.

-On the web, I searched the following terms:

vegan, vegan eating , healthy vegan, vegan recipes, how to be a vegan

Web sources of information:

www.vegan.com

www.veganhealth.org

www.theppk.com

www.blog.fatfreevegan.com

www.mercyforanimals.org

www.compassionatecooks.com

www.vegancrunk.blogspot.com

www.veganhomemade.wordpress.com

www.veganyumyum.com

www.manifestvegan.com

www.vegandad.blogspot.com

www.crazysexylife.com

Podcasts

"Vegetarian Food For Thought" Podcast

"Vegan Freak" Podcast

"Vegan Radio" Podcast

Books

Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis, Vesanto Melina

Veganomicon by Isa Chandra-Moskowitz

The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

The Garden of Vegan by Tanya Barnard, Sarah Kramer

The Vegan Planet By Robin Robertson

The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone

Magazines

Vegetarian Times Magazine

VegNews Magazine

People

Adrienne Raimo, R.D. and holistic nutrionist

Emily Hudson, cousin and vegan of 9 years

I think that most of the information sources I sought out really served their purpose in teaching me what I wanted to know. I was able to sort out what I thought was most important and what would work best for my life and my choices. All of the sources that I chose were valid, and if I found something I wasn't quite sure was accurate, I wouldn't continue to read or explore it. I purposefully chose to educate myself with sources that I knew were extremely knowledgeable and accurate. There is so much information out there on this subject, that I really had to do my research on what to listen to and what to ignore. This is also an ongoing process. In the two years that I have been vegan, I have viewed news, reports, accounts, recipes, and stories almost daily about my life choice. I always look for more information, because there is always more information to find.

It is also extremely important for me to share this information. This subject is so important to me, and if I am able to cause discussion and even maybe change one person's mind, than it is totally worth it. This fuels my desire for knowledge on veganism, so I can answer any questions assuredly and accurately.

I think that this information report may be different from others only because their really is no definitive answer. This goes along with our transition into the Age of Abundance and that there always seems to be more information than what we initially see or could ever even learn. There could always be more information I could take in about this subject, however, I feel as though I am fully knowledgeable about the important health aspects of veganism and that the knowledge that I sought had been completely filled. In fact, I would feel confident in being a source of information for

someone who was looking to become a vegan.

However, I do think this comfort level of knowledge could change in future choices. For example, when I decide to have children, that would create a whole new information search. I would want to learn what special dietary needs a pregnant vegan needs, as opposed to just what I need in my life. In addition to this, there seems to be a huge uprising right now in our society about the care we take towards the animals we eat. This creates whole new sources of information for me to take in about this subject I care so strongly about. This is what keeps this subject such an in depth and interesting topic in my life, especially in an age where new information is in a constant flux.

During the process I learned a lot about myself, how I understand, and my level of information literacy. I realized that I prefer faceted classification when it comes to knowledge and discovery. I would much rather plug in two or three keywords and quickly find what I am really look ing for. I also learned more about my reasoning for wanting to be vegan in the first place. I think one of the strongest methods of learning for me is to read, understand, and share. When I spoke to other people about my reasons for being vegan and what it meant to me, it only strengthened my understanding.

My Living Book

Title: Photographer to Cataloguer

Abstract: A young woman spends 5 years as a photojournalist, realizes that she wants to head in a different direction, and takes the necessary steps to take care of history rather than capture it.

Chapters:
1. How to be an idealistic journalist: "I am going to be best photojournalist ever!"
2. Leave Florida and fall in love with Ohio...
3. Realize that librarianship is the career ever (while teaching yourself the ukulele)

Conclusion: Just take it one day at a time...

Here is my first post! Welcome to the world of a vegan, ukulele-playing, knitting, graduate library school student. Here I will share my thoughts about digitization, the future of information, and the Age of Abundance.