Blogging

I haven't blogged much since finishing the Learning 2.0 course. We use a blog for one of the committees at work and I find that really helpful because it shows a progression of ideas and developments with technology. I also love reading blogs by others although I don't tend to comment.

Time is really the controlling factor but I'd love to use blogs with our customers. Hopefully we will have one soon.

Templates

Whilst it's terrific to be able to change the template for an existing blog and can really change the feel of it, I found it quite disappointing to discover that I couldn't access some of the third party templates and others didn't display properly or caused me to lose gadgets. Still, even a small change can make a difference.

I quite like some of the newer gadgets that have been added since Learning 2.0. It's just amazing to have the versatility available for blog pages. Have you answered my poll yet?

Social networking - a new identity for libraries

Social networking seems to me to provide the perfect opportunity for libraries to re-create ourselves, producing an identity that is modern, more accessible and more in touch with society. We need to promote our activities, enable more direct communication. So many times when you speak to members of the public, they say they don't have time to use the library. They don't have time to read, to watch DVDs, to have leisure time. So it seems that the more we can connect with them in their daily activities the better. So many people use Facebook and My Space and the like, including from the demographics we sometimes have difficulty connecting with. These networks, assuming we have 'friends' may also help to change social attitudes about libraries being uncool, boring..... While we're trying to be more accessible and easier to use, why not give the option of posting library materials to them; of having drive-through returns and pick-ups; or returns bins in shopping centres and train stations? Maybe if we can slot in more as part of a daily routine, we can draw in more customers and if that means that we are in fact increasing our online usage rather than visits to the library, so what? Perhaps that indicates that the measures we and our funding bodies are using are out of touch also. Libraries are such a great resource and filled with an incredible group of people who are so dedicated, passionate and inspired in their thinking.

Sharing extraordinaire

Online applications have so many potential benefits. What a great way to facilitate sharing of documents, ideas and presentations within the broader profession, and help save us all re-inventing the wheel all the time. We all have more work to do than we have hours in the day so anything that makes life a little easier is great. Besides, the greatest advances in our profession can be made through collaboration, where different ideas and perspectives can come together.

Also, we have networks set up for our documents within our councils but not the same access outside. I work part-time and sometimes need to access documents from home. Whilst I can copy the file(s) onto a memory stick or email them to myself, I still have to very careful to ensure I take an updated copy and save it at work. This way I wouldn't have the same worries about different versions of the documents. How wonderful to also not have to worry about different programs, or versions of the software and backwards compatibility. If we go to a conference or on holidays and only have internet access but not software we can still create professional documents where we can share experiences and thoughts with others.

All Mashed Up

Mashups are fun and it's amazing what you can do quite quickly and easily with them. What a great way of getting more out of your images and being able to create a more professional, integrated and aesthetically pleasing presentation. They would be great on our webpage and for promotional mailouts.

I was having so much fun with big huge labs that I played around some other "toys". One photo, received the jigsaw treatment....

...followed by a more passive approach - a frame.

I also love the idea of adding audio to photographs.

To Pod or Not to Pod, Casting is the Question

Podcasts could be another valuable way of communicating with our customers. It would be great to be able to record short sections of video from events the library runs to promote subsequent activities. Perhaps we could ask authors who will be coming to do talks to do a short interview that could be recorded and loaded as a podcast on our website for promotion of their talk. Or, when the Children's section are running a school holiday activity, they could promote with podcasts.

We could even record one of the Bookclub groups and add that to the website. It might be a good way of encouraging others who may be shy about attending to let them see what it would be like. It would also allow those who are unable to attend to read along and watch podcasts each month at their convenience. The only problem I forsee would be finding people who are happy to be filmed and put onto the web. Alternatively, we could get a small group of staff to do a discussion and run an online bookclub using a combination of resources.

It would also be good to use podcasts with our Local Studies section to have people come in and tell their stories of life in our Shire, gradually working through different time periods and events. What a great way of capturing and sharing knowledge.

Slamming!!!

Answer boards can be an amazing source of information. I've found them particularly useful when trying to find solutions to computer problems. It always amazes me that the information I need may come from someone on the other side of the world. The main problem I've found though is that some of the replies can be quite rude and completely unhelpful. A perfect example is the one most highly rated in response to a question of how to remove liquid paper from a shirt (see link from "Exemplary answers" page of the "Answer Board Librarians" wiki in this week's exercise. Interestingly, the reply from the Librarian that was actually very helpful didn't rate.

I think "slamming the boards" is a great idea because it's a way of reaching non-library users and of demonstrating to customers and potential customers that librarians are interested in meeting, and indeed exceeding, the information needs of our customers in ways that are more convenient and accessible. I think that many non-library users still view libraries as tedious, rule-driven, antiquated environments that are inconvenient to use. "Slamming the boards" is one way of showing that we are willing to bring the information to them at the time and in the format they want it. I do, however, think that we have to be careful with how we present to customers. They're interested in the answer to their questions, not how good the person who found it is. We need to maintain a balance.

I think it would be really good for our library to get involved in answering questions on answer boards but we would need to be sure we can staff it sufficiently to have timely answers with a sufficiently frequent presence to demonstrate our skills. I would also love to see us set up our own answer board for members of the public. This could be quite useful for students who would be able to find answers/guidance from questions asked by others. It would also potentially give us very useful feedback regarding our online resources (databases etc.) because presumably the customers would use those and be directed to them as part of the answer. They would be more likely to provide feedback about how successful they were in this interactive format.