Concerns of Web 2.0 Tools in Libraries

There are some concerns about the use of Web 2.0 services and tools in libraries. Libraries should have some type of social media policy in place. For example, Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA created a social software policy where they define acceptable use parameters of social software for all users of their university library. Kooy and Steiner (2010), argue that even though social software policies are not common, policies need to be in place to help protect academic libraries from legal attack, to guide students in appropriate posting, and to bring confidence to academic library employees with regard to what behavior is acceptable. Some librarians also feel that with the increased use of Web 2.0 tools in libraries will lead to the death of libraries. Sullivan (2011) paints a picture of the academic library being dead. He suggests that because academic libraries opened the door to such technological resources that traditional academic libraries and librarians are an expendable luxury. I believe that Web 2.0 tools enhance what libraries have to offer and that they will never replace traditional library services. Libraries should do research on the Web 2.0 tools and services that they want to use to make sure they are right for their organization and that staff can make the necessary changes and updates to the programs when they need it.

Kooy B. & Steiner, S. (2010). Protection, not barriers: Using social software policies to guide and safeguard  students and employees. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 50(1), 59-71.

Sullivan, B. T. (2011). Death by irony: How librarians killed the academic library. Chronicle Of Higher Education, 57(18), A24.

PowerPoint Presentation...Social Networking: Twitter

Here is the PowerPoint Presentation I created titled Social Networking: Twitter. It explains what social networking and Twitter is. It also tells viewers how to sign up and use Twitter. The presentation also gives examples of why people use the social networking site.

Photo and Video Sharing Sites

Photo and video sharing sites such as Flickr and YouTube are popular with academic libraries. Flickr (2013) is an online photo management and sharing application whose main goals are to help people provide photos to people who matter to them and to enable new ways of organizing photos and video. YouTube (2013) was created in February 2005 and allows billions of people to discover, watch and share originally-created videos. YouTube also provides a forum for people to connect and inform others in various locations and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small. Research done by Power (2012) discusses how academic libraries can create different types of videos and upload them to YouTube to reach their users. Videos using various services such as ILLiad, finding course reserve materials, self-service circulation, and most importantly library tours are the types of videos academic libraries upload. Photo and video sharing allow patrons of academic libraries to “see” what is happening at the library.

Below is a Library Tour YouTube video I created about the academic library I work at. Check it out!

Flickr. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/.                                      

Power, J. (2010). Online library videos. Journal Of Access Services, 7(3), 186-190.

YouTube. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/.

Wikis

A wiki is a web page that can be viewed and modified by anybody with a Web browser and access to the Internet. Usually any visitor to the wiki can view and change its content if they desire. Some wikis allow you to change the settings to limit access so only certain people can view or edit the information in the wiki. There is the potential downfall for error or misbehavior when using wikis but they are great for collaborative work. Aquil et al. (2011) suggests that even though wikis “lack academic credibility” users should not avoid them but use the critical approach when using them and check the information given against another source. Many libraries use wikis just for staff use. They use them to keep staff updated on certain library information such as new policies or personal events among staff. Librarians also use them in their classes to engage their students and send out pertinent information such as assignments, study guides or lib-guides.

Here is a screenshot to a wiki I created. I used PBworks and it’s a portfolio I used as a requirement for graduation from Georgia Southern. Click here and it will take you to the wiki.

Also click here to go to a set of libguides on various Web 2.0 tools. One of the libguide pages is on wikis!

Aqil, M., Ahmad, P., & Siddique, M. (2011). Web 2.0 and libraries: Facts or myths. DESIDOC Journal Of Library & Information Technology, 31(5), 395-400.

Social Networking: Foursquare

Foursquare was founded by Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai who met in 2007 while working in the same office space at different companies in New York City. Working from Dennis' kitchen table in New York's East Village, they began building the first version of foursquare in the fall 2008. They launched it at South by Southwest Interactive in Austin, Texas in March 2009 (Foursquare, 2013). Libraries can use foursquare to engage their users and fans. Libraries can create an account and add their library as a venue. Once the account is created, useful tips and pictures can be added. Libraries can also add tags such as free wi-fi, popular DVDs, and books. These tags will help people find the library if they search for these tags in the library’s area. As users check in, it becomes a competition among them. They earn badges and receive rewards as they become the Mayor of the library. I am currently in competition with a student to become Mayer of the GSW Library. Some libraries give out rewards such as free food or drinks, reduced fines, or gift cards just to name a few.

Foursquare. (2013). https://foursquare.com/.

Chronology: Technology in LIS

Here is the Prezi I created for the Chronology assignment on technology in library and information science. Web 2.0 was a term coined in 1999. Web 2.0 refers to the interactive, user-centered design of the world wide web where users not only access the web content but at the same time generate the web content. The concept of Web 2.0 such as social networks, RSS feeds, blogs, streaming media, podcasts, Wikis, tags, mashups, etc. is defined and the possible applications in various library functions and activities.

Social Networking: Twitter

Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging real-time information network that connects you to the latest information about what you find interesting. All a user has to do is simply find the streams you find most interesting and follow the conversations. Twitter is composed of small bursts of information called Tweets. Each Tweet is 140 characters in length. Connected to each Tweet is a rich details pane that provides additional information, deeper context and embedded media. You can tell your story within your Tweet, or you can think of a Tweet as the headline, and use the details pane to tell the rest with photos, videos and other media content. (Twitter, 2012).

Many libraries that have Twitter accounts use them to engage their users and spread information. Librarians can send “tweets” to interesting articles, share tips on the library and how to find things, discuss certain issues, and make announcements and updates. An example of an library using Twitter is the Yale Science Libraries. They use their Twitter account to post links to current news articles and to library resources (Dickson & Holley, 2010). My library uses our Twitter account to update users on library hours, closings, as well as events. To sign up for a twitter account visit https://twitter.com/. I’m also doing my PowerPoint presentation on Social Networking: Twitter so check back on my blog for it.

Dickson, A., & Holley, R. (2010). Social networking in academic libraries: the possibilities and the concerns. New Library World, 111(11/12), 468-479.

Twitter. (2013). https://twitter.com/

Use of Social Networking Sites in Academic Libraries: Facebook

Social networking sites are starting to play a very important role in helping academic libraries reach students with the services they offer. According to the Oxford English Dictionary Online (2012), they define social networking as the “use or establishment of social networks or connections; (now esp.) the use of websites which enable users to interact with one another, find and connect people with common interests, etc. (freq. attrib.)”. Popular social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Four Square are popular among college students and play a very important part in their lives. These sites are a good way for academic libraries to reach their audience at no cost to them. Libraries can use this approach to reach their students, faculty, and staff to encourage library usage. They can also use them to engage users by embedding them in classes, collaborating with student organizations, and using them on the library website.

Facebook is one of the most, if not the most, used social networking site out there. Facebook was launched in February 2004 as a local networking application at Harvard University and rapidly expanded to other colleges in the United States (Wan, 2011). When Facebook first started, all you had to have was a verified university or college email address. This was something that made it different from the then popular social networking site Myspace. In September 2006, registration opened for anyone with a valid email address (Wan, 2011).

There are multiple reasons why an academic library would want to have a Facebook account. Greeting students on their own turf is exactly the direction staff at Washington University’s John M. Olin Library decided to take when they hired Web Services Librarian Joy Weese Moll to communicate and answer questions through a variety of new technologies including Facebook (Charnigo and Barnett-Ellis, 2007). Brian Mathews, information services librarian at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia also created a Facebook profile in order to “interact with the students in their natural environment (Charnigo and Barnett-Ellis, 2007). Facebook has become one of the main communication tools for students. Academic libraries can create a fan page where people that like the page can be updated on library hours, services, events and provide feedback to library staff on issues. I created a fan page for The James Earl Carter Library on the campus of Georgia Southwestern State University. We use it mostly to let students, faculty, staff and alumni know when we are open, closed, when we are having a special event and to post pictures of those events or changes that are made to the Library. When academic libraries set up Facebook accounts it is good to have a formal policy in place.

Click here to see James Earl Carter Library’s Facebook page!

Charnigo, L., & Barnett-Ellis, P. (2007). Checking out facebook.com: The impact of a digital trend on  academic libraries. Information Technology and Libraries, 26(1), 23-34.

Oxford English Dictionary Online. (2012). Social networking. Retrieved from http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/183739?redirectedFrom=social%20networking#eid1393 54807.

Wan, G. (2011) How academic libraries reach users on Facebook. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 18(4), 307-318.

What is Library 2.0 and Web 2.0?

Libraries are changing. Their main focus is to reach its users with the resources that it needs. Library 2.0 is usually any service that reaches it users successfully. It does not have to be new or online. Library 2.0 was first generated by Michael Casey and published in his blog, Library Crunch in 2006 (Gross & Leslie, 2008).  Library 2.0 is a transformation of library services. It deals with the way library services are delivered to the users and allows the services to operate in an interactive collaborative atmosphere driven by the needs of the users. It also encourages synchronous social interactions between library staff and its users (Aquil, Parvez, Siddique, 2011). Web 2.0 tools are a good way for libraries to reach the level of service called Library 2.0.

Web 2.0 is a term first coined by Tim O’Reilly in a conference brainstorming session between O’Reilly and MediaLive International. According to O’Reilly, Web 2.0 is “the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform” (Harinarayana & Raju, 2010).  A simpler definition of Web 2.0 is “a space that allows anyone to create and share information online – a space for collaboration, conversation, and interaction; a space that is highly dynamic, flexible, and adaptable” (Harinarayana & Raju, 2010). Web 2.0 includes web based services such as social networking sites, wikis, blogs, social bookmarking, photo, and video sharing sites. The creation of Web 2.0 has caused libraries to change.

References

Aqil, M., Ahmad, P., & Siddique, M. (2011). Web 2.0 and libraries: Facts or myths. DESIDOC Journal Of Library & Information Technology, 31(5), 395-400.

Harinarayana, N. & Raju, N. (2010). Web 2.0 features in university library web sites. The Electronic Library, 28(1), 68-88. doi: 10.1108/02640471011023388