Library 2.0 Opportunities

What are my thoughts about library 2.0? Well, I think that library 2.0 shows a lot of promise and potential in so far as this is an idea (or is that ideal?) that we should be aiming for. The fact that library 2.0 is all about collaboration between the library and its users is really great. While I have read that library 2.0 isn't necessarily dependant upon using new technologies, I disagree- if you implement library 2.0 you would have to be using at least one new technology otherwise we would be up to library 99 by now! The fact is, that only in the past ten years or so has the "web" taken off and with it we are able to utilise new technologies in order to promote and provide library services. I think that all of the tools that I've looked at in the previous tasks have a lot of potential. Sure, there are a few issues that may come up when using services such as facebook when it comes to a persons privacy- for example, is our personal information safe in the hands of a corporation that cares only about profit? Here's another look at each of the technologies now that I have completed all of the tasks.

1. Blogs- A great tool for quickly communicating to people. They are so easy to set up and add to that it would be really disappointing if libraries didn't use this tool to communicate with their customers.
2. RSS feeds- This has been around a lot longer than a lot of people would suspect. Ever since the early days of the web there have been programs available on the internet that allow people to have information on their favourite subjects sent to them when they log onto the internet. I don't personally use feeds much, because I can simply navigate to the web sites or information sources that I want to view (I don't like being distracted by having a lot of clutter on the screen).
3. Image sharing- After looking at this concept I desperately wanted to get a digital camera! It makes you feel a bit left out if you don't have a camera, but for libraries services such as flickr are great because the photos aren't stored on your own website & thus don't take up disk space.
4. Social bookmarking- A definite way to avoid losing your favourites list when your PC crashes! A great way also of having your favourite websites accessible from public computers (without having to carry a notebook around with you all the time!). A great way of finding information on a certain topic if your library has a subject specialty.
5. Wikis- A useful way of implementing a "virtual whiteboard". Although, I am worried about the potential for virtual vandalism.
6. Podcasts- One word- Awesome. Finally we have an alternative to "the box" for entertainment. The only thing to worry about here is I guess copyright.
7. Myspace & facebook- Most people these days don't have their own web sites, they have a "myspace" or "facebook" site. It definitely makes communication with others easier, as you don't need to know about html to create a myspace or facebook page. I think that it will be difficult for libraries to put themselves into the myspace arena as it requires a lot of ongoing maintenance.
I think library building design should also take note of the web 2 phenomenon. Providing wireless hotspots where possible and allowing people access to power points for their laptops are two examples of how this could be done.
If people use the tools and concepts that make up library 2.0 then I think that the customer base for libraries will rise exponentially in the future.

Where do I stand on the library 2.0 spectrum? I think I stand somewhere in the middle at the moment- I think that it would require a lot of commitment to advance further along the spectrum.

I think that web 2.0 is definitely relevant for me, as even if I am not creating any web 2.0 content, the tools discussed above make browsing the world wide web an exciting experience. Is it relevant to the library? Yes, as the internet has become a popular tool for the population of the sutherland shire it's a great way to communicate with people at their leisure. Is it relevant to our customers? Yes, because most people now use the internet & use the catalogue online.

I think that sutherland library has been using web 2.0/ library 2.0 tools very effectively and efficiently. A blog is a main part of the library's home page, the blog can be added as a RSS feed is people wish to do that, a lot of sutherland library's photos have been added to the flickr website, social bookmarks have been created and vodcasts of a prominent author talk are available to download. Hopefully the web 2.0/ library 2.0 tools will allow people in our community feel more confident in communicating with the library.

Libraries & Social Networks

Social networks appear to be a good opportunity for people to get connections and perhaps make more friends. Having a look at the "myspace" library web pages for a few American libraries makes me think that myspace & other social networking sites are definitely an extroverts tool. Before having a look at these library myspace web sites I must admit that I thought myspace was a tool for individuals only. For individuals, myspace is a great way to promote yourself. For example an authors myspace web page could have a blurb about the author, a photo, contact details, a list of interests, links to their blog entries, sound & video clips (from YouTube of course!) as well as comments from their "friends". So it appears from looking at this that sites such as myspace are a useful mesh of many different "web 2" technologies. Libraries then can use myspace to mesh these technologies together also. While it is possible to add these technologies to a blog, using a web site such as myspace is a viable alternative. Some people may say "well so what, most of the stuff that you can do on myspace you can do on your own web site". And that may be a valid point, however there is a consistency to the way information is displayed on myspace between different users, whereas with an organisations own website, the look is going to be a lot different.
Personally, I don't have a problem with libraries joining myspace. Good luck to them I say. I think it's just another tool of communication that is available. And if a library has the time and resources to allocate towards getting a myspace profile they may as well go for it.

Do I think that Sutherland should have a myspace profile? Not..... yet. Looking at other myspace profiles for libraries, I have come to the conclusion that a lot of time and effort needs to be put into creating a myspace profile. And then it needs to be maintained. It's no good creating a profile and then never logging in ever again! Even if you had one person willing to create it, they cannot maintain it all by themselves- what about when they go on holiday. So the idea would definitely need some discussion at least. If Sutherland were to have a myspace profile then I would suggest us taking an idea or two from the other libraries that have myspace profiles and aim to friend some Australian authors. This shouldn't be too hard as at least once a year there is an author talk held at Sutherland library. Of course it should also include links to the blog. I think that the best thing that I have seen a library do on myspace is include a "Library Search" dialog box on the page. Quite neat.

YouTube

My experience of YouTube has been quite an interesting one. One thing I can say after using "YouTube" is that it can be a real time waster (or should I say that it really eats up your monthly download limit!). Still I had a great time using it. Video (that is smooth and not stopping and starting all of the time) on the world wide web is still a relatively new thing and a great toy to play with. I had a play looking at some computer game footage (because I enjoy playing computer games) and some movie trailers. If I had a bigger download quota from my ISP (Internet Service Provider) I would have happily looked at quite a lot more video clips. But here we come to my main problem with using YouTube. The fact is that even a small video clip can take up quite a lot of your download quota. So I would suggest that if you intend to add a "YouTube" video to your website, make sure it is a relatively short one. Or, if it isn't short, split it up so that people can watch it in two (or more) parts.

After having a bit of a look at YouTube, I thought that I would pick a video of a golf shot. Here it is.
Click here:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKcBTaTed0Q to see a good golf shot.

I choose this video because I am a golf fan (if you haven't guessed that already) and I was amazed that this golf shot actually happened. The golfer in the video hit the ball onto a hill at the back of the green and it stayed there for a few seconds and then it rolled slowly back down onto the green and into the hole! Incredible.

The main thing I didn't like about the site was the way that it was organised. You get the feeling that there is a lot there but you have to know exactly what you are looking for in order to find it. The browsing interface could have been a bit more user friendly.

I don't really see anything here that is of much particular use to libraries in particular, although I was intrigued with the "channels" tab. Under the channels tab, it appeared that people could have their own "YouTube" website where they could post their own videos. It appears that Barack Obama's YouTube website is very popular. People are then able to subscribe to these pages. Perhaps (I guess this goes in hand with the RSS) for libraries it would be good if that had their own channel page that people could then subscribe to??