Week 3 - Social Networking

Over the first few weeks, I've become excited about blogs and wikis and the possibilities they present for me and my library. I'm not as comfortable with the social networking products.

While I know many of my students use Facebook and MySpace, I don't see as much benefit as I do with the earlier Web 2.0 methods we explored. I'm not altogether certain that my traditional-aged students would welcome my presence, and I don't think the benefits of creating a Facebook library presence would outweigh the work involved. I think we would do better to continue to improve our library's webpage. In the case of Brooklyn College Library, it felt like they just had two homepages to maintain.

When I got to the LinkedIn portion of the assignment and began to think more about using it as a tool to connect me to librarians instead of a tool with which to reach out to students, I began to feel more comfortable and to see possibilities.

One concern that I still have about using LinkedIn as a colleague-connecting tool is that it seems like it could create a big sucking void that I could lose myself in. I don't know if I have the self discipline to spend a little time visiting my colleagues pages. I'm afraid that once I started exploring, I would get nothing done the rest of the day.

Week 2 - The Great Wiki Experiment

This week was a little trickier than Blog Week. Of course maybe that simply has to do with juggling the class wiki, the class blog, my wiki, my blog, and the instructions for the week. I find I keep closing the wrong windows and having to work my way back into these sites.

I see blogs as more of a personal statement/reflection that you open up to the comments of others. Wikis allow collaboration to create a site. I see blogs working well for keeping patrons abreast of what is going on in your library (new databases/services, changes in hours, etc.), and my favorite part is that patrons can give you feedback! It's an easy way to assess how you are doing. Wikis work better for creating/compiling information - expecially in areas where you need or welcome the expertise of others. In my library, we are preparing to hire a reference librarian for the first time in almost five years. I created my wiki around hiring a new librarian - questions to ask and to avoid, parameters of presentations that candidates are required to give, and other creative techniques for trying to find the best person for the job. You can check out my wiki at: http://hiringnewlibrarian.wetpaint.com/.

RSS Feeds at my Library

I can see a number of uses for RSS feeds at my library - keeping up with news from the major library associations, subscribing to TOC feeds from some major journals to keep up with the publication of book reviews for collection development, keeping up with news from the specialized associations in my subject areas. I can definitely see the benefits of the library creating an RSS feed for our patrons. It seems like such a simple way to notify people who choose to subscribe about library news (this database is down/back up, look for this new feature on our website, here is a great search tip, sign up for our workshops, etc.) Both from a marketing angle and from an educational angle, this is a clever way to reach our patrons and to keep ourselves informed.

First Post

MLA's webcast on Library 2.0 was inspirational. An online class was available as a follow-up to practice using these tools - so here I am.