A to Z of Social Networking for Libraries

Learning experience three (3):

Tamworth City Library (TCL) is currently considering integrating social networking technologies into its library services. The following five (5) criteria from the the A to Z of Social Networking for Libraries offers advice for moving towards a library 2.0 ethos.

A-active: in order for your library patrons to view you as being serious about your social networking and for it to work for you and your library, you need to use it on a regular basis.

To ensure progressiveness TCL must consider the need for social networking services to be continually monitored in order to stay relevant and the time required of staff. Parkes and Walton (2010, p. 87) agree social networking practices in libraries need to keep active to prevent them from becoming a static resource.


F-Facebook: having a presence on Facebook with a fan page or a group is a must. Facebook is so popular now that it is expected.

TCL has not yet adopted a Facebook fan page, however library staff are using their own profiles to connect with the local community and are spreading the word about services and programs through existing community fan pages such as local radio stations. More than 20 million people connect with pages every day (Facebook, 2010), creating a library fan page will create a virtual online gathering place for the local community. Development of a information policy is essential.


T-Text messaging: Is your library using it yet?

TCL currently uses the SPYDUS library management system, which offers an optional text messaging feature. If TCL were to adopt this feature it will potentially simplify the delivery of reservation and overdue notices, provide an efficient way to advertise upcoming events and services and deliver direct notification on new resources of interest.


V-Video: whether on YouTube or elsewhere, use video to enhance and engage with your users via social networking.

Embracing video through the TCL library website could offer tutorials on using the library catalogue, databases or reserving items, provide a tour of the library for someone who is hesitant about visiting, or even capture author talks and story times for those who can’t make them in person. Video could also be posted on library social networking pages.

Z-zeal: is your library staff exciting about the possibilities that social networking can offer your library? If not, you will struggle to make it work for you.

Ensuring all library staff are on board with the social networking movement is possibly the biggest challenge TCL faces. The fear of technology may be overwhelming for some, highlighting the importance of Web 2.0 training, development updates, participation in planning and development and positive feedback.

Reference:


Brown, A., L. (2010). ‘A to Z of Social Networking for Libraries’. Retrieved 10 December, 2010, from http://socialnetworkinglibrarian.com/2010/01/22/a-to-z-of-social-networking-for-libraries/

Facebook. (2010). Facebook fan page manual. Retrieved 10 December, 2010 from http://www.box.net/shared/9e5jiyl843

Parkes, D. & Walton, G. (2010). Web 2.0 and Libraries: Impacts, technologies and trends. Cambridge: Woodhead

Second Life: A Virtual World

Learning experience two (2):

At the start of the session I took the first step in experiencing a multi-user virtual environment and joined Second Life (SL). Initially I was sceptical of the practical use of this web 2.0 tool as I found the interface hard to use as it differed to the windows layout I’m more familiar with. The orientation I experienced was very basic.

After overcoming initial frustrations I immersed myself into SL and explored further, discovering a rich user-centred experience offering interaction with other avatars, virtual environments, travel, searching functions, customization of your own avatar and more. Numerous features made these functions more realistic. Voice over internet protocol (VOIP) extended the social and communication experience, blurring the line between SL and reality. VOIP however does require a headset to eliminate static and background noise from transmission, creating a barrier for those who don’t poses such hardware. Alternately a chat function is available to communicate with avatars publicly and privately.

The search function allows the searching of people, places, events, groups, wikis and land sales. In exploring SL I discovered many professional library organisationsl including the ALA, State library of Kansas and the University of Texas. The search function whilst useful did require considerable navigation and needed to be expanded for detailed information.
The SL wiki (2009) explains how providing a virtual world experience requires a highly graphic intensive platform. This may be a potential problem for some users as intensive graphics uses a considerable amount of bandwidth to communicate with the SL server and requires a compatible PC and connection, impacting on equal access to SL.

During the session I participated in two (2) SL learning experiences both providing further insight into the virtual environment of SL. The learning experience bought together students from many geographical locations to participate in a central learning experience. During the session the VOIP offered instruction and stimulated conversation within the group through a combination of chat, IM chat and VOIP. Unavoidable VOIP problems plagued both sessions with instruction needing to be repeated causing confusion, distraction and time delay. The use of slides helped to follow the session and provided insight into the future of e-learning in SL.

For libraries SL offers many possibilities including:

- Re-engaging 'at-risk' teenagers back into education and training by providing an interactive learning experience

- Hosting a conversation partners program to assist community members improve their english

- Book group discussions with members from isolated communities

- A virtual e-book library

- Potential to excite library staff about web 2.0 intergation through team building exercises in SL.

- Conferencing or training with staff spread out over a regional area

Avatar Kmcphe08 in SL at the CSU-SIS learning centre preparing for a virtual learning experience.

Class group gathered in a virtual world location.

Example of the blur between reality and virtual worlds. NB the notes in the till are correct Australian currency.


References:

Lag- Second Life Wiki (2009). Retrieved December 14, 2010 from http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Lag

Delicious - As good as it sounds!

Learning experience one (1):

Delicious is a great social networking tool for bookmarking anything online from websites of general interest to tools for professional development. What makes it social is the ability to network with other users and share your bookmarks by adding others to your network, becoming a fan off another user, sharing you new bookmarks through your twitter account, email and RSS. This essentially builds an online community and opportunity for collaboration through the sharing of bookmarked resources through the inbox feature provided and tagging.

I found one of the most functional features of delicious is the ability to access your bookmarks regardless of your physical or geographical location or the computer you are using. In addition to this you can save bookmarks anywhere, anytime not matter what sort of device you are using.

I believe the downloadable delicious tool bar to be the key to successful and continuous use of delicious. Without the tool bar bookmarking and tagging an item becomes a much longer process where a user must visit the delicious page, login to their account, click ‘save a new bookmark’, cut and paste the URL, enter a title, followed by tagging. Most users who are bookmarking an item want to do it quick and fast, the tool bar allow a quick one to two step process for easy bookmarking.

Delicious offers many useful functions, such as:

• Search (Bookmarks and users) including advanced search options.
• Tag clouds to help build collections.
• Display options such as opening a bookmark in a new window.
• Refining/display tools such as date, alphabetical, bookmarks per page.

For libraries the ability to bookmark in a central location could be priceless. Delicious may provide a platform for Information and reader services librarians to collaborate online information resource and services to minimise the time spent searching the internet to answer the same question twice. This may be on a localised level of collaborating and sharing within an organisation or even on a global scale.

Smaller organisations may choose to create accounts for focus group such as family history, children’s services or even current events and hot topics. From here these resources could be made available on a library website to allow patrons to access the resources themselves.

It's all food for thought!