Web 2.0 in Libraries: by Roen Janyk

Increased library funding for AB and NWT..

roenj — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:19:15 +0000

Well it is official. The Albertan and Northwest Territories’ governments are increasing library funding. Albrtan Premier Ed Stelmach himself proclaimed it as “an investment in Albertans” (e-mail communication/press release, April 16, 2009). The government has promised a $9 million increase in funding over last years, $7 million of which will go directly to library services and community needs. The other $2 million will be invested in technology. Not only does this provide huge advantages for Albertans as a whole, but it also means equal opportunities and access for residents living in remote communities. A $2 million alottment to technology is also greatly needed. If Alberta’s remote public libraries are anything like British Columbia’s, there is a huge gap in the technological abilities of library users in these communities, versus those in more densely populated areas. Along with Alberta, I have just learned that the NWT’s will be increasing library funding. The money spent will help smaller, community libraries increase their services by primarily staying open an extra 10 hours per week, increasing their hours from 20 to 30 hours a week. According to the NWT government, circulation has increased an incredible 69% in the last 2 years! It is no question that increased spending on public libraries was the next step. The investments made by both the Alberta and NWT governments are an investment in their provinces education, youth, and futures. I hope that with an election hanging over our heads, the public will put pressure on their local governments to follow in the footsteps of the other governments who are investing their money into services that serve the public immediately, as well as in the long term.

New twibe member

roenj — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 03:35:35 +0000

Well, I seem to be learning something new everyday, but I suppose that’s how things should be, yes? Apparently there is some new tool on Twitter called ‘Twibes’. Basically groups of Twitterers that are all interested in the same thing. So I joined a Twibe of fellow librarians. I think it’s great! All the library information I could ever want, as current as it gets, sent right to my computer. I wasn’t too sure about joining at first. It almost felt like a gang. I had to make sure there was an easy way out if it proved to be over my web 2.0 brain competency. So far so good though. It is kind of nice to have a separate “twibe’ for my library related tweets. Although, it could prove to be slightly annoying, and twice as time consuming, if I end up with half my fellow librarian Twitterers on my main update page, and the other half of them on my librarian Twibe page. Only time will tell, but I will be sure to keep you posted.

Ipods and Library Tours, Together at Last

roenj — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 05:49:03 +0000

Normally when you see students with ear buds in, they are listening to music, groovin’ along the sidewalk, or studying in the library. But with Web 2.0 comes a new breed of itunes…library tours! Available via Podcast, increasing numbers of libraries are offering services and collection items that can be downloaded to ones Ipod. With CD players now a thing of the past, the next step of offering materials via .mp3 (or .mp4 if you use itunes music), seems only logical.

While browsing for libraries that offer various Web 2.0 technologies I decided to take a little Google stroll past my old stomping grounds- the Acadia University library. I can’t count the number of hours I spent there. I might as well have had a tent set-up on the main floor. Between working there for all four years of my BA, countless hours of studying, and the various other reasons we all hung out there, it was like my second home. So I checked out the website, and sure enough, right in plain site when you get to the home page, it says “Take a Podcast tour!”. They don’t have any other advanced Web 2.0 technologies, but by golly they have podcasting! I always find it slightly comical that some of the smallest libraries will be using tools such as RSS feeds, or blogs, while other considerably larger libraries have only podcasts. Anyways, so the Acadia Library offers library tours conducted by your very own liaison librarian if you are a student, or for the general public, it is just luck of the draw. The Podcasting tool is so easy that all a user has to do is point, click, and tour. The tour is even offered in Mandarin, as well as in English. In order to hear the podcast on your computer, you are required to have QuickTime, however, this is an Apple program, so normally those downloading podcasts already have QuickTime, and for those who don’t, it’s free. This seems to be the only Web 2.0 tool the library is utilizing, and although it is a great start, I know there are librarians with technological skills far more advanced than the one currently being offered. But you have to start somewhere, right? I don’t know how valuable of a tool the library tour podcast is for current students (although I am sure there are quite a few first years who have never stepped foot inside the doors), but the podcast is a great tool for students coming to Acadia in the future, for community members who also use the library and may have trouble navigating the floors, and for anyone else unfamiliar with the library itself. It is also a great example to set for other libraries who may want to follow with similar practices. Some further suggestions I have is to include other podcasts about other services available. Maybe weekly or monthly podcasts of new items coming in? Maybe a current events podcast? There are tons of different directions you could take. I also suggest that the library looks into some more Web 2.0 technologies, and provide information for their students about Web 2.0 technologies that could help them (ahem…wikis…). Acadia prides itself on being technologically advanced, but other than the use of laptops, where is the advancement, and how is it playing out into the library?

Blogging about blogs

roenj — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:42:17 +0000

So here I am, blogging about blogs. I’m sure this is a cardinal sin in some people’s books. But I really just can’t help it, not on the topic of libraries at least. Previously, I never quite understood web blogs. I mean, I got the overall concept, but I had sort of the same attitude towards them that I had towards Twitter: Who really cares about my life? After speaking to a few different people with blogs, they didn’t seem to care if others read them. One person said their blog was more like a journal, where they could just write and archive their life, digitally. Another I talked to blogged about the food they ate everyday, they said it kept them accountable to try and eat healthy. Ok…those are some valid uses for blogs, but I still didn’t see myself as an official ‘blogger’.

So fast forward to present day. Here I am blogging, and soon to be blogging about how blogs are right up there with RSS feeds in my books. It is not so much the act of blogging that I am really enjoying, but what I am getting out of it. I get to pass on all this great information, follow others and learn about more information, share links, and share comical web 2.0 stories. I have to say, that even after this assignment is over, my blog wont be. The more I get into these web 2.0 technologies, the more I want to get immersed.

I would have to say that blogs and libraries are like two peas in a pod, or they have the capability to be at least. Not all, and actually, not too many, are using blogs as means of keeping their patrons informed. In my opinion, blogs should be right up there with websites as necessary online features available from a library. Websites are so impersonal. Yes, they provide important features, such as online catalogues, upcoming events, access to digital collections, etc. But what websites are missing is the customer service aspect many libraries pride themselves on. Blogs can be made more personal, posts can speak directly to the library users, and can even provide opportunities for comment.

For example: Librarian posts: Hey everyone! We are having a workshop tomorrow on ____, it is about ____, and may interest anyone that has an interest in _____. Then event happens. Then patrons go back to the post and comment on what they liked or didn’t like about the workshop. Not only does this provide feedback to the library and its staff on what went what and what didn’t, but it also provides its patrons with a sense of inclusion and connection.

Blogs are easy to set-up, and even the inexperienced librarian can learn to use one. Blogs can be used for academic libraries, public libraries, and school libraries, and have success in more than one way. If you aren’t familiar with the concept of a blog, and what they are all about, this article by Darlene Fichter does a great job of explaining why and how you can use blogs to promote library services.

Libraries using Blogs

As I said before, numerous libraries are using blogs as a method of promoting their services. The Regina Public Library in Saskatchewan actually uses more than one blog as a means of connecting with their patrons. In total they have 13 blogs, ranging from the areas of business, to a ‘teen zone’. This library’s use of blogs should be considered a leader in social media and web 2.0 technology. The main link for all the blogs can be found on the homepage, and is hard to miss! The blogs are easy to navigate and accessible even by users with little computer experience. The blogs are a great fit for this library and cover all materials (such as movies), genres (such as mystery), and age groups (such as youth). If I were a patron of this library I would definitely use these blogs, and they should be considered as a model for other public, and even academic libraries. A suggestion would be to include another blog or two focusing on other age groups, such as seniors. Overall, these blogs are great, and other libraries may want to check them out to see how positive a service web blogs can be for a library.

A wiki, a what?

roenj — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 02:42:39 +0000

During my first few days at SLAIS I kept hearing this term ‘wiki’. Wiki, wiki, wiki, everyone was talking about wikis. About a week went by and I was in my carpool heading home from a day of classes, and one person in the car says “and what is a wiki!?”. At which point, I said something along the lines of “oh good, it’s not just me that has no idea what anyone is talking about”. Luckily someone in our car pool knew what was going on, and she was able to fill in the gaps (all of a sudden Wikipedia made a whole lot more sense). Anyways, so this is how I found out about a wiki. Basically a website/blog like web page that can be edited by administrators or the general public. As the term went on, it turned out wikis became very much in handy. They made group projects SO much easier, I can’t believe I never knew about them during my Undergrad. If there are any Academic librarians out there–this should be a topic for instruction!

So how can wikis be of use to libraries?

Well, wikis are great places for public discussions, book reviews, book lists, and book club gatherings. They are great additions to library blogs, and are so easy that even those with low levels of computer skill could use them with ease.

Some good sites to register for free wikis are: WetPaint or PBwiki. There are also numerous other free, and fee based wikis.

For some libraries it may not be the concept of wikis that is the issue, but finding staff members that have the knowledge and hands on experience using wikis. As well as finding staff with the time to moderate them. Staff should have experience using the wiki, as well as have the confidence they can teach others about them if needed. Luckily, wikis are pretty easy to navigate and librarians with little or no experience could spend a couple of hours playing around with one and figure it out pretty quickly.

A good example of a forward thinking library currently using wikis, as well as other Web 2.0 technologies, is the UBC Health Library. Their wiki is actually known and acknowledged worldwide. It is a place for health librarians to share information related to their profession. Their wiki allows for professional collaboration through an incredibly simple tool. One of the issues I have with this wiki however, is that although it is a wiki for the UBC health libraries, it seems almost inaccessible to get to from a UBC library web page. Maybe it is because I am attached at the hip to Google, but I just can’t seem to navigate to it from anywhere but a search engine or the URL itself. So this is a problem. But, the value of this wiki definitely outweighs this small problem, and anyone capable of using a search engine can find it. For someone who may have never used a wiki before, it is pretty easy. It is VERY similar to Wikipedia (even has the same aesthetics). The wiki has its own table of contents, and topics are even sorted alphabetically. So, once you actually get to the page, the navigation gets much easier. Tools like wikis should have been implemented years ago for health professionals. I am not completely sure of the specific tools or services offered at the UBC health library, but if they are similar to other medical libraries, the day to day tasks probably revolve around answering health care professionals’ questions. A wiki is great for this, as it allows professionals to seek advice, or pose questions to others in the same or related fields. While at the same time, still having librarians sitting back and moderating. If I was a health practitioner or professional, I would definitely want to use this service. Even if I had little time in my day, this tool would be worth taking some time to utilize. My main suggestion is to provide better navigation. Maybe I am just an outsider on this one, but I can’t for the life of me figure out how to get to the wiki from a UBC web page. This wiki however, is most definitely web 2.0 in action!

An interesting wiki: A wiki about wikis in libraries

Internet Gossip, a Few Days Later…

roenj — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:11:42 +0000

So continuing on with one of my previous posts regarding Internet gossip and the whole kerfuffle that went down with Amazon, this blog by Andrea James does a good job of deciphering the situation and how it played out. Plus it has some good additional links. In case anyone is actually still interested (for once I apparently have too much time on my hands).

Gibsons Library now on Facebook

roenj — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 17:39:38 +0000

Well, the Gibsons & District Public library, which I regularly visit and happen to work at is now on Facebook. Set up by the Children’s Librarian, it already has a whopping 65 members! Actually, this is quite a lot considering the town itself only has about 5000 people (not including surrounding areas), and the page has only been up an running about a month or two. In my mind it’s about time! A lot of web users are on Facebook, and from my work experience it seems those users are not using the library’s web page. There is a high probability that library patrons with a Facebook account may be more likely to access the library’s Facebook page rather than the library’s web page. And in my opinion, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, as a matter of fact, I think it is great! What better way to keep library patrons connected to the library all hours of the day! What if a patron hasn’t been in for a month and there is a workshop being offered they may like to attend? Without these social networking/Web 2.0 tools, how are we to inform our users? There is the old fashioned way, post an ad in the newspaper, etc., but how do we know a reader reading the newspaper actually saw that ad? Increasing numbers of libraries are on Facebook because they realize the value it has in reaching out to patrons. Libraries need to be proactive in their efforts to reach users, and utilizing social networking tools such as Facebook is a great place to begin

One of the problems I have with the library’s use of Facebook however, is that there is nothing on the library’s website telling anyone they are there! As a Facebook user myself, I rarely search for organizations. If I join a business or organization it is because someone invited me, or I somehow stumbled upon it. The library web page does mention their new book discussion blog, but yet, says nothing about Facebook. If a library is going to use social networking tools, there is two steps. First, set up the tool, and second, let people know it exists! Facebook is a pretty easy tool to use. You create an account, then it’s pretty simple, point and click. You can search the library’s name in the search box and it will return the group. You then click join, and there you go, you’re in!

One of the interesting things about the new Facebook page is who the person was that set it up. The children’s librarian is a young, on the edge, librarian. Not that the other librarians are not tech savvy or extremely skilled in their own areas, but this librarian is ‘with the times’, and likely knows what a “Tweet” is, and that delicious is not just an adjective anymore. A librarian like this is incredibly valuable and necessary to have, and it is becoming more and more important to have at least one staff member who knows what is going on in the social networking and Web 2.0 world. Without this, your library could fall behind. As professionals it is our responsibility to stay informed of changing technologies and new ways of distributing information. However, what if people don’t know where to look, or don’t know how to use these tools? It is not always our fault as professionals that we don’t know how to use Facebook. And for that matter, for many of us, who has the time to learn? I think it is important, as technologies and trends change, especially in the library world, to have staff members, or at least one of them, that have an interest in technology and social networking. Not only does it benefit library users, but it can benefit other staff with impromptu learning opportunities, and could spark interests some didn’t even know they had. But without these tools being utilized within libraries, where is there room left to discover?

RSS Feeds…Where have you been all my life!?

roenj — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 03:43:19 +0000

I can’t believe I am only NOW discovering how fabulous RSS feeds are! There are so many websites I want to be able to keep track of, and yet, who has the time? I got up to about 5 or 6 websites I was visiting as a morning ritual, and I decided it was time to finally take the next step. I figured out just how this whole RSS feed thing works. I discovered I needed a reader. So, I visited my trusty friend Google, and figured out just what exactly a reader was, and how I could go about getting one. I checked out Google reader, but then quickly found out my RSS feeds could be directed right to my iGoogle page. I have about five RSS feeds going to my iGoogle page right now, CBC, Scientific American, Publishers Weekly, People Magazine (must keep up on my celeb gossip too of course!), and the list continues. I am completely hooked. What better way to stayed informed and learn about interesting daily news without having to go looking for it! I still enjoy browsing the Internet and checking out various blogs and posted links I come across in my small amount of leisure time, but I am thankful that all my ‘regulars’ are all in one place.

My next step is to try and figure out how to set up an RSS feed for a library website. Many libraries could really help their patrons by having an RSS feed they could subscribe to, allowing them to stay informed of new books in, recommended reads, future events, etc. The library I currently am at is not quite on the edge enough (yet!) for a blog on upcoming library events. So we are not able to go down that route, so I am curious how to embed one right into the website’s home page. However, a news and events blog might be an easier way to start out. McMaster University, along with many other libraries are already utilizing this Web 2.0 tool, and I hope others will follow.

So, some specific libraries using RSS feeds

The University of Florida’s George A. Smathers Library has multiple RSS feeds available for user subscription. In order to find the feeds, you do have to be knowing what you’re looking for, as the link does not pop out at you. When you enter the main site, you must scroll to the bottom of the page where the link reads “RSS”. You can then click on the link and it brings you to a listing of all the available feeds. The feeds range in topic from library events and important dates, to library news, as well as RSS feeds for specific collections, such as their African American or Comic book collection. Subscribing to a chosen feed is incredibly easy, and could be done glitch free by someone who has no experience with RSS feeds. A user simply has to choose the feed they would like to receive updates from, click on it, then choose the reader they want to use. For those with Google and and an iGoogle page, they can have the feed go right to their Google home page. The library itself does not offer a wide variety of web 2.0 tools, therefore the RSS feed is kind of on its own. However, because this academic library does not have a blog or wiki, having RSS feeds to keep patrons informed is great. The library does offer the social networking tool of chatting, through instant messaging, with reference librarians, but this is not really related to the topic of RSS feeds. The great thing about this library’s variety in RSS feeds is that they can appeal to more than one user group. Students can use one or more to stay updated on current events and news in the library, while the faculty also has their own RSS feed they can subscribe to for their own news and events. As a user, I would definitely use at least one of the feeds, probably the library news one, maybe the current events one, and maybe a couple of their feeds on specific collections. I think the RSS feeds themselves are great, they cover an incredibly broad range of topics and in total there are over 40 feeds available! They are even organized alphabetically for easy navigation. The one thing I would suggest for improvement is to have better access to the feeds from the main library site. Often when people sign up for an RSS feed, they were not even looking to sign up for one in the first place. These feeds could be a valuable tool for many of the university’s library users, and I am betting that many do not even know about them. By moving the link to get to the RSS feeds further up the page with a more distinctive link (maybe a button?), more users may take advantage of this valuable service. I should note however, that there is an RSS icon that appears in the address bar when you navigate to the library’s homepage, but this was not something I noticed right away, and therefore many other users may unintentionally miss this feature.

iGoogle

roenj — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 02:33:12 +0000

Oh how I love my iGoogle. It is like all the best things all in one place, perfectly customized to my liking. It is a mashup of knowledge, both useless and useful, perfected. It is such a great utilization of all the Web 2.0 tools I use on a daily basis. Before I really started using these tools (RSS feeds, YouTube, wikis, etc.) I never really had the need for something like iGoogle. But the more I used these programs, the more I found that it would just be easier to have all the sites I visit, and all the tools I use, all in one convenient place. And that was when I discovered iGoogle. I think I was actually late jumping on the iGoogle bandwagon, I know I was for the Gmail one that went by (I used to be an avid Hotmail user, but that’s another story). I found out about iGoogle when I got to SLAIS in January. I was shocked I hadn’t known about it sooner. I also found out about Google scholar and other tools Google has to offer. I guess I was hanging out somewhere under a rock during my Undergrad? Anyways, the more I used these tools the more I realized how useful it is having one ‘go-to’ place to find all my information needs and wants. I think it just may be the best thing since sliced bread… And now that I have actually learned about RSS feeds and how they work, my iGoogle page just isn’t big enough!

And on a side note, iGoogle is not just for personal use. The library I work at uses iGoogle to organize its favourite links, most visited websites, and as a short-cut for Gmail. It’s a great tool when you need to do a quick search, or need to flip back and forth from the e-mail in box and library catalogue while on the reference desk.

Internet Gossip

roenj — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 03:17:44 +0000

Well, this may not be a Web 2.0 topic on one specific social media tool, but it is a topic on the effects they can have as a whole. Through Twitter earlier today, I read an article that spoke of a “decision by Amazon to remove adult titles from its sales ranking” (Publisher’s Weekly, 2008). My Twitter feed was on over drive, people were outraged! Then, about 5 or 6 hours later when I went back on Twitter I started reading threads saying “Amazon spokesperson says a glitch caused #amazonfail, not a new policy” (Publisher’s Weekly). Now, this is something that before my days of social media (which wasn’t that long ago), I would have found out about a couple days down the road, but not now. Now I am on the cutting edge of Internet gossip! It’s like a game of telephone, but on the Internet. You know, the game where everyone sits in a circle, the first person whispers a word in the person next to them’s ear, and it goes around until it gets to the last person and the word is completely different? And it’s not like gossip you read in a celeb magazine either. This is real, first hand, caught up in the middle of it gossip. It’s kind of interesting to see the patterns of typical, face-to-face socializing trends arising in the online world of social media.