Thing 22--Ning-a-ling-a-ling

I had heard the term Ning, but couldn't have explained exactly what a Ning was to anyone else until I read the information in Thing 22! I had visited the Texas Librarians Ning about a year or so ago when I read about it on the TLC listerv. Now that I know the purpose of a Ning and have taken the time to really 'tour' the site, I can see that Nings can be very useful! What a great place to ask questions, share photos & videos, discuss issues, etc. with other people who have similar interests or situations. I think that Nings would be especially useful for people who are segregated from other professionals in the same position, i.e. librarians in small districts or districts where there is no central library department to organize and unify the group. Even in other situations, I can see a Ning being used to facilitate discussions on pertinent topics and share resources that are not media center specific. The only problem I see is that there comes a point where you must select which outlet is the preferred one for you. If you (by you I mean me!) try to participate in too many forums, you (again, me!) end up with so much more than you are able to keep up with. For my situation, I will probably stick mostly to the preferred means of communication (Outlook) that my district has chosen, but only because I am fortunate enough to work in a large, urban district with a central library department that is run efficiently and effectively by our director and his staff. If I was more 'on my own' in a smaller district, I would definitely look to a Ning for help. However, I will definitely check in on the Texas Librarians' Ning from time to time when I need help or just to touch base with other members of my profession.