The story behind the huge 'Thank You State Library of Queensland' banner on the front page of Wikipedia (cross posted in INF206 facebook page)

AB

Top trends in libraries using social media

After reading AnnaLaura Brown's blog post about the top trends in social networking for libraries in 2010 I poked around a little and saw that her list for 2011 has come out! (lucky me!)

Which of these tools and trends has already impacted on your library or organisation?
I work in a primary school library so many of these do not impact our situation. That said we in the library are using Google applications with the students and the school is using Twitter to communicate with parents and former students

Which of these tools and trends have been discussed by people within your library or organisation as having potential in supporting its goals?
I do know that one of the teacher librarians is looking at using social media within the staff for collaborative purposes, specially using delicious

Which of these tools and trends have not yet hit your library or organisation's radar?
We are pretty closed to the uses of social media at my school. The school's line is that they want to protect the students and do everything in house. Personally I'd like to see more virtual reference and social media taught more in media studies for younger students. The sooner we teach children what is out there, how powerful it is and how to avoid pitfalls the more empowered they will be. IMHO.

-AB

Reading Detectives

Reading Detectives combines crowd sourcing, geo tagging, local history and the love of reading to create a very interesting project (cross posted in INF206 Facebook page)

AB

National Archives, Social Networking and New Media (initial thoughts)

Below is a chart to compare how different the National Archives of the US, UK and Australia are using social media.




All three are quite involved by having RSS feeds, are on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, do podcasting, allow some sort of tagging and have email newsletters.

Reasons why libraries should be on social media:

• Social media is instant, the information the goes global as soon as it is entered
• RSS feeds (used by all three archives in this post) allow users to receive information tailored to their needs
• Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter (used again by all three archives in this post) allow organizations two way communication with users.
• Flickr, podcasts and You Tube can provide a rich user experience with images and sound
• Crowd sourcing and tagging allow for users to contribute to the conversation and provide information the library might not have been able to collect before
• 2 out of the three archives in this post include some sort of social media policy in their web site. This might be because they want their users to feel comfortable being involved with the archives
  

Welcome Home

This video from T-Mobile UK has been making the rounds in the blogosphere:



It is so clever on so many levels. It all at once tugs at our collective heartstrings with the experience we have all had (coming home), plugs in some very talented singers with songs we all know and creates this space that makes us all stop and wish we would have been there too.

But the really clever thing about this ad (and lets not forget it IS an ad) is the use of social media. What do many people do these days when they see something interesting happening? They whip out their phones to capture the moment. They ring a friend to tell them about it. They add it to Facebook, Flickr, and yes, Youtube. And this ad engages those people. Look at how many watches this ad has had. (Over 5 million at the writing of this post) Then you can also follow the whole campaign on Facebook or Twitter. The whole campaign is interconnected and very popular.

But what can libraries learn from this? We obviously don't have the budgets to pull of something like this but I keep thinking about how interconnected this campaign is and how it allows the public (fans?) to participate, share and discuss the brand. Two things to note on their Facebook page; how many fans they have and how often they post on their own wall. If you think about it, those 32,000+ fans get an reminder of the T-Mobile brand at least once a day.

I keep thinking about how the whole idea is very simple, basically people want to be a part an exciting experience and then share it with their friends. And in 2010, the way many of us share is with a mobile device connected to our online social network. T-Mobile has really tapped into their market with this campaign.

(sorry, this post isn't really part of my normal OLJ task list for class, but I kept thinking about the video since I saw it and how they used social media in really exciting ways so I wanted to reflect on it)

-AB

Arizona State University 'Library Minute' Videos

I had a look at 5 videos from Arizona State University‘s ‘Library Minute’ presented by Anali Perry. Over all they were entertaining and very informative. It's clear that ASU is attempting to communicate with students in a more informal way. ASU describes these as 'one minute peeks into services and resources at the ASU Libraries. At the time of this post there were 27 Library Minutes which have been viewed many times. The most popular of the series is the 'RefWorks' video which has been viewed 3,325 times.

· The 5 videos I watched were

• · Mobile web
• · Top 5 resources for online students
• · Meet your subject librarian
• · Academic articles
• · RefWorks (a citation manager for students)

The Library also has a 'Library Channel' on the university web site. This blog has links to the Library's iTunes page, Flickr page, Twitter feed and also links to previously mentioned videos. The Twitter feed communicates news from the Library answers student's questions and the Flickr photostream primarily contains photos from Library events

But do these satisfy the 4 C's of social media as set out in the class reading?

• · Collaboration- The Library Channel on You Tube includes videos made by other organizations and ASU students (see the Silent Dance video)
• · Conversation-The Twitter feed is definitely a two way conversation between staff and students
  
• · Community-The videos on You Tube invite students to be a part of the library community with their friendly tone
  
• · Content Creation- All of the sources I viewed (You Tube, Twitter, Library Blog and Flickr) contained content that could be helpful to students, staff and other libraries.
  

In conclusion, ASU library has embraced web 2.0 technologies in an effort to communicate with and received communications from students and staff. In this respect I find their efforts to be a success.

Notes from Mod 3 readings

Notes from Module 3 reading, these are just random thoughts jotted down while reading:

• For me, libraries have always been a source of 'long tail' materials. I have some slightly, um, diverse tastes and growing up, the big public library downtown had many books on dead poets, the witch trials and surrealist artists. (not the kinds of things you find at a local bookshop) This article highlights that strength. Libraries need to promote this feature not just in the LIS community, but also to our customers.
• Web 2.0 means more collaboration but also brings up security issues, how do we ensure customer privacy?
• 'If we keep our content locked up on our own web sites and don't get it out there for people to use as they want to use it, then our content will fall by the wayside.” Jenny Levine, The Shifted Librarian
  
• I wonder how the copyright laws in Australia would apply to libraries that allow for down loadable music?

Casey, M. & Savastinuk, L. (2006). Library 2.0: Service for the next-generation library, Library Journal, 1 September. Retrieved from http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6365200.html


-AB

Personal Learning Network

My Personal Learning Network on Prezi

Above is a Prezi I created to reflect my Personal Learning Network. It contains Web 2.0 sources, organisations I participate in and work (both current and past). It was created using Prezi. I found Prezi both powerful and frustrating at the same time. The end result is a reasonably slick presentation. It is a very interesting tool that could be a nice alternative to Powerpoint.

After collecting the information for my Personal Learning Network I was quite surprised at how many sources I have. I probably don't take advantage of them as much as I should, what with working full time and studying part time. I do collect and share information but I haven't been producing as much as I should.
Also, I probably need to be more involved in 'real life' connections, but again with work and study my time is very limited.

In regards to the Utecht’s 5 stages of PLN adoption, I am probably somewhere in the middle of stage 3 'know it all'. I have more than 30 blogs in my 'library' folder in Google Reader 10 or so library Twitter feeds I watch and a few libraries as contacts in Flickr. It gets to be a bit overwhelming at times. This exercise has helped me to see that I need to find ways to better organise the information coming in so that it is more manageable.

So for 2011 my New Years resolution (and I don't normally make New Years resolutions) will be to

1. Explore ways to better organize the information I consume
2. Find ways to connect with actual people in my industry in person
3. Produce and share more online

-AB

A-Z of social networking (initial thoughts)

This post will explore some of the points suggested by AnnaLaura, the author of the blog The Social Networking Librarian. This post titled The A-Z of Social Networking for Libraries, is concise list covers tools and ideas that any librarian wanting to jump into the world of social networking should consider. Below are some highlights:

A-Active, Libraries need to be active when participating in social networking. I can think of more than one blog that I have stopped following because they stop posting for weeks and weeks. The professional groups that I get the most out of in my personal Facebook feed probably post more than once a week. This keeps them in my mind and also in my feed.

J- Joomla- I must admit I had not heard of Joomla before. Joomla is an open source content management system. It allows anyone to create and manage a web site. Here is a video of how it works



Libraries with no or little online presence could find this system helpful


K- Koha- Khoa is one of the many open source ILS, Others include Evergreen and OLE. These systems can give a library the power to control this system and add or modify according to their needs. From personal experience I have found that getting a corporate ILS to change something (like adding user driven tagging) can be time consuming and frustrating.

M- Mobile- Libraries need to think about how their customers are using mobile technologies. The latest Horizon Report identifies mobiles as one of the most important technologies organisations needs to focus on. I belive that Trove needs a mobile app that I can use with my phone's bar code reader (and I've told them so!)

S- Slideshare- Slideshare, for me, is one of those things that I find myself at but never go to as a destination. I don't even have an account with them. But, I really love it when I can see some presentation that was at a conference I could not make for one reason or another. This could be useful for promotion or professional development opportunities. Here is an appropriate example:

Social Media in Libraries: What are Libraries Doing?

View more presentations from Lau Andrea.

-AB

RSS feeds (initial thoughts)

I'm a big fan of the RSS feed. I collect information from a variety of sources and with RSS i can have it all in one one place. (I currently use Google Reader)

But how can libraries use RSS?
I found this interesting blog post from The Moxie Librarian who covered some of the basics (new additions to the catalogue, upcoming events, local interest stories) but then suggested some note worthy ideas. What about having an RSS of library media releases? Or library closings? Or job openings? Hold notifications?
The Library of Congress in the US has an extensive RSS page. I was surprised at some of the topics on offer. They have the sections about news and events, but there are also feeds for librarians and teachers, digital preservation, poetry, copyright news and the latest additions to the Library's gift shop.

I guess the lesson is to not limit to your thinking and to talk to the different departments. Each department knows what their customers are asking for on a regular basis.


Public Library RSS Brainstorm:
Here are a few ideas that came to me after reading through some of the RSS information
1. Teacher feed- new books related to the curriculum, author talks, summer reading programs
2. HSC feed- new additions, local talks, pod casts, study tips
3. Parent feed(s)- information about new books, events, and news just for parents. These could be tailored for particular age groups
4. Book group feed- what's happening with the Library's book groups, books they are reading, groups that have openings, reviews from book group participants
5. Staff pics- books selected by the staff with links to the catalogue

-AB

Podcasts

After reading the Module 2 I found out that the CSU library has a series of its podcasts. The very first podcast is about how students can access library services while doing a prac. That's so handy because I'm hoping to do my prac this year. Nice when things come together.
A podcast that I am particularly fond of is Adventures in Library Instruction. It is light hearted but so very informative. (I laugh and learn every time I listen) It is because of this podcast I now have a QR code on my business cards.

-AB

Delicious (initial thoughts)

I have reactivated my Delicious account. My first thought about how this type of bookmarking service

1. Tagging could be powerful for groups. A library could encourage staff to tag interesting articles with an agreed library tag to share with the group.
2. The cloud computing aspect means that if you find a great link at home, it can still be shared at work.
3. Links can be emailed to colleagues
4. searching by tags can lead to new information sources


-AB

Mythbusting in Social Media Marketing is a talk being presented by the Social Media Club Sydney. Sadly I can't go to this one but I've been to their talks before and they are worth going to.

AB

Notes from Mod 1 readings

Notes from reading for Module 1 (these are just a few notes jotted down while reading)

• "People may skip an obvious technical improvement because the new way does not feel right or comfortable, even though it is more utilitarian.
• "We adopt new technologies largely because of what they do for us, but also in part because of what they mean to us. Often we refuse to adopt technology for the same reason: because of how the avoidance reinforces, or crafts our identity. "
• "We announce our identity by what stuff we use or refuse. "
• "Groups or individuals will reject all kinds of technologically advanced innovations simply because. Because everyone else accepts them. Or because they clash with their self-conception. Because they don't mind doing things with more effort. "
  

So basically people will only use technologies when the technologies fit in with how they see themselves, not solely because the new thing is better, faster, stronger, etc. Technologies are as much about personal taste as they are about advancement. So while libraries are wanting to add new gadgets (blogs, RSS feeds, Kindles, down loadable audio books, etc) are they looking into if these technologies fit with their client base or are they just creating white elephants?

This whole discussion might begin to explain my personal aversions to Apple computers and the music of the band Tool. On paper I should like both. I like good design and tactile technologies. But it was only in the last year that I bought my first iPod (and that was only because I bought a car with an iPod dock). And I seem to like every festival where Tool is on the bill I like all of the supporting acts, but every time I listen to Tool it just doesn't click with me. Neither click for me. So here in this article I have some support for the things I don't just 'just because'.
Cool.

-AB

Kelly, Kevin. (2009) Ethnic technology, The Technium: http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2009/03/ethnic_technolo.php

Entry 1

A. What is social networking:

In 2010, social networking consists of a variety of technologies that allow people to connect and share (although I would argue that the backyard BBQ is also a form of 'social networking'). Some of these spaces have a theme or topic like Flickr (for photography) or LinkedIn (for professionals) while others Facebook and My Space are for general socializing.

B. Social networking technologies and sites I use:

Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Linkedin, You Tube, delicious, Google chat, Google Reader (which I would consider 'social networking' because you can share links with others), Windows Messenger and I have a Wordpress blog (but it has been pretty quiet at my blog since I've gone back to Uni).

Over the years I have been on a number of social bulletin boards (craft ones, a wedding one and one for ExPats). I have also contributed to Wikipedia and have used wikis for work and other personal projects.

C. What I expect to learn in INF206:

I'm very interested in technologies and how we in the library industry can use them to our advantage. In INF206 I am hoping to gain a deeper understanding of social networking tools by looking at them with a critical eye. I'm also hoping to learn about the future of social networking and connect with others who are interested in this subject.

-AB