LIBR 246-12: Web 2.0 and Social Networking Tools (Fall 2008)

1. How has your view of social software changed since starting the course?

In Into a New World of Librarianship Michael Stephens discusses the most important traits librarians 2.0 should have for make libraries “socially and emotionally engaging” centers and therefore ways for successfully implementing these technologies.

The key institutional barriers I can think of are: the inability to explore these technologies during work time, restrictions in IT polices that relate to security issues which prevent access to some sites and downloadable applications, and time as it relates to barriers (since priorities are already set within the regular workflow). I also believe the additional barriers of personal attitudes that relate to how we adapt and incorporate technological change are also important.

Most libraries have policies in place to carry out the patterns of service and use. Polices that rule the online environment are as important as those that govern the physical environment. Global networks are already part of our social, educational, and professional lives. In order to protect the rights of users and institutions, libraries should explicitly recognize the responsibilities individuals have when interacting in online environments. Through the adoption of regulations libraries will be able to protect the rights of users, staff, and institutions.

This is to let everyone know that I attended Mary Ellen’s Elluminate training session this morning and she was terrific. I became familiar with some of the applications I never used like sharing moderator privileges, taking over a classmate’s desk top, (Shawn took over mine which was scary!), and she even stayed later to teach me how to do a Web Tour. I highly recommend to make the time to take the tutorial.

It was exciting to browse a wide range of vodcasting and screencasting examples, including those provided in our readings; although I was disappointed to find many inactive hyperlinks within Udell’s article. I must admit it was very tempting to try some of the many applications promoted such as “how to use Linky in 90 seconds”! What a powerful medium this is for teaching and learning purposes, and how self-explanatory the web can become, too.

This is an example of the few cases of study I found about Web 2.0.

Cox, A.M. (2008). Flicr: A case study of Web 2.0. Aslib Proceedings New Information Perspectives, 60(5), 493-516. Retrieved November 13, 2008 from Emerald. This article is available through SJSU King Library.

This paper looks at Flickr from three different perspectives:

1. Analyzing the history, the technical development, and the features of Flickr within the Web2.0 theoretical framework to show whether this site holds any novelty or not.

Which library uses of Flickr do you think are most engaging and why?

Podcasts can be used to make archival content more transparent, to orient them towards their users while attracting new prospective users, as well as to contextualize documents. Some interesting applications can also include:

• Providing concise and engaging information on the strength of the collections within each finding aid. It could be interesting to add an audio dimension to the digitized materials allowing for a “story” to be shared through the content.

I’m referring to the list of libraries and related tools and resources on podcasting by Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki. The resources providing general advice on podcasting could be useful in the light of our exercise.