Librarian's web 2.0 manifesto

I went trawling You Tube for database tutorial inspiration and came across the following video Called the librarian's 2.0 manifesto. It raised some interesting points about the implications of web 2.0 for librarians and libraries and how we deliver our services.

Flickr

This is fun finding such interesting images! The real fun is arranging them on the page!

Week 13 Finale

web20, socialmedia, usergeneratedmedia, consumergeneratedmedia

The thing I have learned is that Web2.0 is huge. The phenomenon has taken off world wide. It is not just a Western movement but has trancended culture and language. Web use has gone from the static information delivery of the Information Society to the information collaboration of Social Networking Technologies and this trend is gaining momentum. People like to share ideas, and businesses that understand that 'users add value', are changing their websites from sites that deliver information to sites that invite comment, feedback, and interaction.

Obviously, while there are many benefits to both people and business through Web 2.0, there are risks as well. People are always willing to exploit others or engage in socially unacceptable behaviour. However, I do not think this should be enough to deter the Library from engaging in Web2.0 technologies, just as the fact that some people are computer hackers does not deter most of us from using computers.

As for the type of social networking technologies we should be involved in, I think we should begin by making our catalogue as interactive as is practically possible. Blogs for various subject aeas and RSS feeds are obvious technologies for the library to adopt. I am sure if we put our collective minds together, we will come up with other ideas.

For me, this exercise has been a valuable learning experience. I will have to be careful that I don't become addicted to YouTube.

Week 12 Podcasts and YouTube

YouTube has been a great resource for alomost anything I wanted to find from Rondo Alla Turka played by two Polish super musicians on one guitar to Arsenic and Old lace in 12 parts and everything in between, including the two library videos I selected: Library Fines and Library Rap. Searching YouTube is easy and viewing the results is fun, there were a few pitfalls to be negotiated. Not all the library video results were good clean fun and I had to negotiate my way past some very questionable content.
Unfortunately, copying or embedding the videos into my blog has also been a cause of frustration. Following the simple instructions included for our enlightenment gave no joy. I tried placing the video inside my blog using the copy and paste code for the for "Embeddable Player.” I even noted that I'd need to use Blogger's Edit HTML tab when pasting this code. I even conferred with a colleague who was having similar problems, all to no avail. Then, finally, without rhyme or reason, success! That's technology for you, I guess.
Library Fines


Library Rap

Social Tagging 2

I struggled a bit with the concept of social tagging so typed 'social tagging' into the Technorati search box and found a wealth of links to blogs, sites and videos all eager to expound on the nature and use of social tagging.

What was even more surprising was the fact of how easy it was to find material on my topic of choice. To someonw who has staunchly championed the importance of controlled lists such as theLibrary of Congress Subject Headings as a means of ensuring targeted searches, I am surprised at how effective social tagging is. It is a far more targeted system than I gave it credit for. I have searched through Flickr, YouTube and and Technorati, using 'natural language', and I have been amazed at the relevance of the material that turned up. I can only conclude that my prejudice against 'unofficial lists' of terms is not altogether warranted. People seem to be instinctively tagging their work with keywords that other people use to search with. When I searched for 'word cloud' in Flickr, hoping to find a picture of one, I had several to choose from. The one I chose was a library word cloud containing Web 2.0 words.

Social tagging 1

I was rather fascinated by the Word Cloud from SHUSH! the Information Services Library blog:

academic access articles available book books browser business choose click company data database databases find first give good google help http information journal journals know library list login metalib might most news next online only other over page resources search select site terms than them think time useful using work

I then realised that the tags can be organised in different ways:
tag options
» view as cloud list
» sort by alpha freq
» use minimum: 1, 2, 5
» show hide bundles

This gives people a choice of how to view their search terms. That choice appeals to me.

Second life libraries and librarians

Libraries and librarians in second life: images from Flickr.

This is Jana Super Hero librarian. Ready to fend of the mind stultifying forces of ignorance:
At the reference desk: able to answer complicated reference questions in a single session!
Super Librarian: figting illiteracy.
Readers advisory: able to recommend another awesome novel for your reading pleasure!

More Flickr images about libraries from second life

Why are librarians in second life?


Hero librarian

Academic Avatar librarians
School library journal. Meet the new you. Alliance Library system

Another Academic Avatar Librarians Poster

Frankly, I am not sure quite why anyone would want to buy into Second Life. The concept seems like fun on the surface, but I think it requires a lot of unwarranted time and effort to keep up a meaningful presence. Besides, the technology is all a little clumsy at the moment and relies heavily on keyboard skills to communicate. Also, with the realities of our own campus consolidation and the demands of our real life personas as librarians, I am not sure where the time effort or inclination will come from to embark on such an endeavour.

I was also disconcerted by the idea that a second life library could be as easily sabotaged by a cloud of flying penises as a press conference. Part of my library tasks at the moment is to consolidate the Churchlands and Joondalup WA Acts of parliament. There are a lot of Acts. It reminded me that in a real world, people need legislation to regulate the behaviour of society and to ensure the protection and safety of all. Just because it is a fantasy world is no reason to believe that people will only behave well. The real worry for me is that Second Life has little or no regulation and lays itself open to abuse as a result. The flying penises might have been funny on one level, but the fact that such inappropriate behaviour was allowed opens the door for even more outrageous, or abusive behaviour. It provides a challenge for others to behave in even more extreme ways. Second life is a world where any sort of behaviour is possible, either for good or for bad and that is not a reassuring thought.

Flickr

I gained unauthorised entrance to the stacks at the Bibliotheque Nationale Paris and stood in wonder at the sight. The Librarian, who was on guard, was implacable. I did not have the requisite authority to enter the hallowed portals of his library. I had come too far to be turned back without a word in my own defence. On hearing that I was also a librarian, he allowed that I could stand on the step and gaze to my heart's content.

This Flickr photo is better than the one I took through the small glass paned door leading into the room.

The reference wiki

One application for a library wiki is to set up a reference query wiki.

When students come to the reference desk with their search queries, I often wonder whether other librarians have had to field similar questions. If I encounter a query from an different subject area to law, I am not always sure that I am using the best search strategy. It would be helpful to be able to look up a reference query wiki to see if others have also encountered the same question, and to learn how they dealt with it, including which databases they used, and how successful they thought their search was.

Not only would reference librarians be able to improve their searches in unfamiliar subject areas, but people could add comments and hints on how to target a search better. This type of wiki would be an enormous help to librarians new to reference work.

This would be a collaborative means of improving our search practices and delivering better service to our students who come with reference queries.

RSS feeds continued

Set up an RSS feed in Bloglines
It took some tweaking, a little thinking outside the box, and an element of dogged determination, but in the end persistence won out. I am finding that, rather than providing a step by step procedure, on occassion, the 23 things instuctions merely point in the general direction. It therefore requires little leaps of imagination, intuition, or, in a few unexpected instances, commonsense to figure out where I am supposed to go next. However, there is now a database search RSS feed silently growing in my Bloglines Newsfeeder along with all the other feeds which are inexorably increasing in number.

What I have learned
In the interests of time, choose the full text option for a database search before selecting it as an RSS feed.

Questions

How useful is an RSS feed for a database search?
For researchers: excellent.
For Lecturers: good.
For students: fair, depending on how early they begin their assignment research.
RSS feeds on the whole: they have great potential.
Where can I see RSS feeds being used?
RSS feeds are useful for anyone who has an area of interest where they want to be kept informed of the latest developments or research.
Do I think this technology would engage students?
If marketed correctly it would. I think the library should sell the concept to students. One way of doing this is by including the technology in our Information Literacy classes.

RSS feeds

Discovering RSS feeds.
I did indeed discover RSS feeds. The instructions were easy enough to follow and I went mad subscribing to a whole lot of fantastic looking feeds that I have subsequently had scant opportunity to look at. Not only that, I have had the devil of a time trying to figure out where my blog was so that I could do my belated weekly entry. Anyway, I am now merrily blogging away.

As for my personal RSS feed subscription, the number of feeds is growing nicely. In particular, my understanding of management practices is increasing by the day thanks to my Dilbert feed -- a valuable source of professional insight I am finding.

Library blogs

Beginning to blog
I breathe a sigh of relief that I have made it this far. This is week three of Web 2.0 and I have not begun my week 2 assignment. I kept telling myself that I would begin once I had finished my Law tutorial classes. Then I told myself I'd begin once the Camtasia clips of the Law tutorial classes were rendered. Next, I convinced myself that I'd definitely make a start once I'd placed the Camtasia clips in the L drive folders, written the the scripts, composed descriptions to go into the guide web page, and posted the videos and descriptions off to Maureen to link to the guide web page. Finally Maureen and Agnes told me to just get on with it. So here I am, blogging ... or babbling. The point is, I've begun my great Web 2.0 journey, and though I have a way to go to catch up with the quick starters, I am now in the race. My goal now will be to gather momentum and complete the course on time ... not an inconsiderable challenge as far as I am concerned.