Greetings students!
I've been enjoying reading all the blogs this week. Some of you seem to be new bloggers and some of you seem to be experienced ones -- a good mix -- and while some of you may be scratching your head wondering why I would possibly want you to blog, I assure you that at the end of the class you will see some value in it. (If you don't feel free to express that to me in an upcoming blog response!).
The major idea of a blog is a personal publishing system with a very important component - the ability for the general public (or restricted users in some cases) to post comments. Feedback! Contribution!
Contribution is a major backbone of the Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 experience. The ability to communicate about and provide content.
Let's take a look at Amazon.com (one of my favorite web pleasures although my bank account doesn't agree with me). When I am searching for a new book to purchase on a favorite topic, I generally browse a specific subject that I find in a keyword search. I narrow down my choices by type of materials (this case a book), and at the bottom of every product page is a list of CATEGORIES that the product belongs to. This is all very similar to a library catalog (OPAC). I can click through the different subjects. I can see other titles that are similar to the one I'm searching for. And, for someone like me who loves reading feedback, I can read REVIEWS! I want to know what other people who have read the book I am considering spending $30 on thinks about it. Was it valuable to them? Wouldn't it also be nice to have a feature in the library OPAC that connected REVIEWS to the item you are searching for?
I do the same thing with hotels. Let's look at my choices. 10 years ago I could go to the Internet and search for hotels on expedia.com, find out information about the property, etc. It is a good possibility that I could even find a webpage for the specific hotel with photos, maybe reservation information, and description of amenities. Today however I can go to TripAdvisor.com and find out other people's opinions on hotels, restaurants, museums, places to visit, etc. In the past two years, feedback in the form of reviews are popping up everywhere! Even on websites like Walmart.com! One of my favorite places to visit is Seattle, Washington. Take a look at the TripAdvisor page for Seattle. Some of these hotels have hundreds of reviews. I can do my own research from opinions and advice from real people, instead of from a book which may or may not be outdated or accurate. Another good example that I use often to find local restaurants, parks, and other places is Yelp.com.
Okay, some might argue that it's gone too far. We have Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Some die-hards update their status on these websites every 15 mins, providing information that many of us don't care to know. Yes, it can get overwhelming but it is also pretty amazing how much life has changed just in two years.
For instance, yesterday there were Tornado warnings in the Long Beach area. I heard something that a tornado had touched down and was curious where that might have been. So... I went to twitter and searched for tornado and there were already 1000 tweets talking about the weather in Southern California. Some places say that Twitter has become the new "emergency notification system." If you aren't familiar with Twitter, don't worry - we will be talking about it this semester.
Basically the Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 sums up to: People SHARE information with other people, with us.
Blogs are just another way to do that, to provide a platform for someone to share about a specific topic and for others to put in their $.02. In a library environment, it gives the library a human aspect, opens up ideas about new services and really tries to connect the library and the community. Kinda like what I'm trying to do in this class. Hmm...
Something to think about!
Some of my favorite library related blogs are:
LibrarianInBlack.net
TameTheWeb.com
TheShiftedLibrarian.com
LibrariansMatter.com
TheUbiquitousLibrarian
Here are some examples of how Universities use blogs in their libraries:
Ohio Universities Libraries News
Yale University Library News
Hunter Library News
Example of Teen Services Blogs in Public Libraries
WorthingTeens
Know of any you would like to share?
8 comments:
I think it's interesting that you brought up the importance of categories. As humans, we naturally categorize things, so why not incorporate that into the way we search for information. It makes things so much easier since categorization is one of our brains' first instincts anyhow.
I have tried and tried to make sense of this blogging business, but have been so far unsucessful. As per a requirement for this course, I created a blog post. Now I am unable to add a comment to another's blog post or even add a continued contribution to my own blog post. And I am getting rather quite bitter and frustrated about this.
Okay, well, that worked. And yet my classmates' blogsites are different.
I enjoy learning something new although the process may have some difficulty, but it is worth it to be successful in the end.
I like the contribution that Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 provide, and it is nice to have that in the library information field.
I have some experience that is similar to yours; not in your topic, but in the real estate topic. Currently, I am going to buy my first home, and the property that I made an offer on is a short sale. I knew nothing about short sales. So, I went on google and found the website: http://homebuying.about.com/ I love reading feedback from professional real estate agents. They answered my questions relating short sales.
As a tool of library services, Web 2.0 and library 2.0 have already made a impact on the relationship between libraries and end users and I expect to see more in the future.
Hmmmmmmmmm i have a comment for this but it is so delicious I have decided to save it for my blog. Human aspect huh?
Hello I did not know that was a tornado in long beach. I have been working a evening job and when I get off work I just hope it's not raining before I can get home.
I have been working in the library at LAC campus and found a small amount of learning about categorization. Before when using the library I would just go to the librarian and ask where to find the material I needed for school or research. Now it is enjoyable to understand the learning of how to look up books and see how it work from the other end. I did not even realize we were living in the existance of web 2.0
Charlotte
p.s. hope I get this blog thing down before class is over.
blogging is fun. It is very interesting for people to read.
i like to blogg about many different subjects
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