Library 2.0 in (more than) 15 minutes: Session 2

Today, we are going to briefly talk about RSS. If we have time, we will also discuss social tagging.

From AmbientLibrarian:

RSS
Really Simple Syndication. RSS is a technology that allows users to stream "feeds" into news aggregators (or feed readers) in a simple text format, to make it easier to keep up with many online resources. Examples of web-based news aggregators include Bloglines and Google Reader.

First, let's look at some library and library-related sites that offer feeds.

The Library of Congress is not necessarily known to be quick to change...yet, they have RSS:
http://www.loc.gov/index.html

Booklist:
http://www.booklistonline.com/

News aggregators are a convenient way to keep up with updates from several different Internet sources. To enjoy this convenience, try signing up with Google Reader.

On to tagging. Again, from AmbientLibrarian:

Tag
In relation to Web 2.0, a tag is a label given to a resource (such as a web page, image, photo, blog entry, etc) by a user to describe that resource.

One of the most well-known sites to use tagging (and possibly the first), is del.icio.us. Delicious is a social bookmarking site that uses tags to save and organize bookmarks on the Web. You can also easily share your bookmarks.

Another cool site that uses tagging is LibraryThing. LibraryThing lets you (anybody) catalog books online.

OK, play time!

Library 2.0 in 15 minutes: Session 1

Welcome to a quick post about Library 2.0. I'll just be using this as an outline to share what I'm calling "Library 2.0 in 15 Minutes," inspired by Helene Blowers 23 Things (or Learning 2.0).

Those of us interested in helping libraries adopt Library 2.0 need to read Participatory Networks: The Library as Conversation (http://iis.syr.edu/projects/PNOpen/). This report was created for the American Libary Association by the Information Institute of Syracuse, of Syracuse University's School of Information Studies. Don't worry, there is an Executive Summary!

Here is what I want to share from this report today (and my own personal thoughts):

"Knowledge is created through conversation. Libraries are in the knowledge business. Therefore, libraries are in the conversation business.”
(Lankes, Silverstein, and Nicholson 2007, 4)

"Library 2.0" is a convenient way to describe a lot of the new technologies (blogs, wikis, etc) that make it possible for us to engage users online. However, the important part of this "movement" isn't the new technology--it's the user. Libraries have been about serving the user long before computers were even in the buildings. This is just the next evolution.

Today, we're talking about blogs.

Libraries that use blogs:

Darien Library
Hennepin County Library Bookspace
Marin County Free Library
Williamsburg Regional Library

Librarians who blog:
ALA TechSource
David Lee King
The Shifted Librarian
Stephen's Lighthouse
Tame the Web

Of course, there are lots, lots more!

Now, you try it!

https://www2.blogger.com/start



Reference:
Lankes, David R., Joanne Silverstein, and Scott Nicholson. 2007. Participatory networks: the library as conversation. Information Institute of Syracuse. Commissioned by the American Library Association Office for Information Technology Policy. Available at http://iis.syr.edu/projects/PNOpen/ParticiaptoryNetworks.pdf

Do public PCs allow for blogging posts?

Not a very exciting post...Just making sure everything will work if I try to show it to someone else. I think that blogging could be a great tool for reluctant writers in adult literacy programs. Or, for library professionals interested in the new technology.