blogbrary: blogs and their place within academic libraries

Blogbrary

Blogs and their place within academic libraries
http://first-we-blog.blogspot.com/ by Joanna Romansic

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The Big PictureTheres no going backAccording to OCLC's study released in 2007, as much as 90% of us have been using the internet for over four years (De Rosa et al., p. 1-2).

Its Blog!OCLCs study also stated that 46% of those surveyed worldwide used blogs in 2007, compared to 16% in 2005 (De Rosa et al., p. 1-2).Origin of blogs. How it all began and why they are important to us.

Academic Library as the heart of the universityAn academic libraryLibrary is becoming less of a physical space and more of an information universe"This parallel universe provides us with constant feedback, resources, monitoring, information, connections, education, and interaction. It can be individualized and personalized, and we can interact individually or collectively with it. (Eisenberg, 2008).

Students will go to the library if they see it as a quiet place to study and a community within a communityA blog can redefine the library as a communityThis study looked at how effective blogs were within academic libraries.

How Did She Do It, You Ask? (Methodology)One on One interviews with five different academic librarians They were the main contributors to their blogsTook a nonscientific, subjective look at the blogs

Sent out list of questions that focused on three areas:The Blog as a ToolThe Practicality of Maintaining a Blog in an Academic LibraryThe Evaluation of each blogs effectiveness

Scope/LimitationsThe sample size is made up of Two law librariesOne medical school libraryOne undergraduate library

Because of the small sample size, the study was confined to a simple questionnaireEven though I would have preferred face-to-face interviews, they were done over the phone and by email

The Libraries StudiedNorth Carolina State University Library http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/news/libraries

Looked at one of their six library blogs.Promotes speaking events at the library, calls for students to participate and creates a positive community through events like Fabulous Faculty SeriesRun by a communications employee.

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The Libraries StudiedUniversity of Chicagos DAngelo Law Library http://lib.typepad.com/dangelo/GWU Medical Center Himmelfarb Health Sciences Libraryhttp://www.gwumc.edu/library/blog/client/They have a playful site mixing medical resources and announcements with calls for art show submissions.

Announces events at the library and new databases. Fun and lively tone. For example, theres a LeBron James post.

The Libraries StudiedCatholic University Mullen Library News and Eventshttp://www.lib.cua.edu/newsevents/The postings are very short and there are hardly any photos. Unlike the other blogs, there are little to no current event postings relating whats going on in the news with library resources

Georgetown University Law Library http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/blog/Includes announcements on new databases and instructional workshopsIncludes postings on Presidents budges.There is a separate feedback blog that is updated infrequently

The Blog as a ToolOther types of Web 2.0 used by libraries studied A total of 60% of the libraries use IM or chat for reference.40% use social networkingUniversity of Chicago uses Twitter as a recruitment toolNCSU uses Twitter for library announcementsOnly one of the five libraries uses social bookmarking through AddThis

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The Blog's Purpose Within an Academic Library


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Making Announcements4

A Forum to Comment on Recent Developments in Legal Information1

Building a Web Prescence1

Communication1

Syndication/Organization of Outgoing Information1

To resize chart data range, drag lower right corner of range.

Blog as a ToolMeasure of Interactivity

Practicality of Maintaining a Blog40 % of the libraries have all of the librarians update the blog, but that doesn't necessarily mean it is the blog with them most postings. The blog with the most postings, NCSU, has one person updating the blog.

Practicality of Maintaining a BlogImpression of Blog SoftwareAll of the librarians were ambivalent about their blog software

2 out of 5 of the libraries use BlogCFC, an open source software. This was not stated as ideal for Georgetown University Law Librarys bloggerSaid many would prefer TypePad or WordPress More stable features

Only University of Chicago uses pay software, Typepad. Said it is not intuitive

NCSU, which register the most posts a week, even dislikes their software, Roller and B2Evolution and are looking to switch

Evaluation of Blog by OrganizationThere is contrast between blogs purposes and what they would like to see improve

Also, the blogs receive virtually no comments but only 60% want more interaction

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What Would You Like To See Improve In Your Blogs

What Would You Like To See In Your Blogs?

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What Would You Like To See Improve In Your Blogs

More Posts2

More Interaction3

Blog Promotion1

Better Organization of Posts1

Include Pictures1


Chart1

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Blog's Purpose Within an Academic Library

Sheet1


Making Announcements4

A Forum to Comment on Recent Developments in Legal Information1

Building a Web Prescence1

Communication1

Syndication/Organization of Outgoing Information1


Evaluation of Blogs by Organizations None of the libraries effectively evaluate their blogs. Are the blogs priorities in the organizations?Only one of the libraries, NCSU, considers their blog a high priority People wanted something, said Roger Skalbeck of GWs Law LibraryMore support could = A more effective blog

Conclusions: Focused PurposeThe blogs are not being evaluatedMay benefit from surveying studentsWith no comments, they may still be reading the blogsWith no commentsOnly 60% would like to see increased interactionOnly one out of 5 of the libraries stated communication as their blogs purpose

Without focus or mission, library blogs are the New Coke of blog world

Conclusions: Administrative SupportSupport must be there to motivate staffNCSUs blog is priorityMaintained as PR toolbuilding communities for knowledge flow,
a small cadre of people must be committed to participation AND there must be evaluation (David Snowden, 2008)

Conclusions: More Interesting ContentA spoonful of sugar make the medicine go downMary PoppinsGive holiday shopping tipsGU Law Lib.Build on enthusiasm of presidential election to promote new Obama database resource-GU Law Lib.Have quizzes with prizes

Conclusions: Look at Most Popular BlogsWebs most popular blogs are technology relatedThis makes sense, but it also provides a challenge.What about television?What if the only people who watched it, knew how it workedMuch smaller audienceMake software easier

Conclusions: Focus More on Engagement Combine playful blogs, quizzes with informationMake it more like interactive television.Blog must be considered outreach as used as a tool to create a community within the library

References

Breeding, Marshall (April 2008). Automation System Marketplace 2008: Opportunity Out of Turmoil, LibraryJournal.com. Retrieved on March 1, 2009, from http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6542440.html Carvin, Andy, (May 22, 2006) What Exactly is a Blog, Anyway? Retrieved March 6, 2009, from http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/2006/05/what_exactly_is_a_blog_anyway.htmlCatholic University Mullen Library, (2009). Library News & Events. Retrieved February 22, 2008, from http://www.lib.cua.edu/newsevents/D'Angelo Law Library, University of Chicago, (2009). DAngelo Law Library Blog. Retrieved from March 8, 2009, from http://lib.typepad.com/dangelo/De Rosa, C., Cantrell, J., Havens, A., Hawk, J., & Jenkins, L. (2007). OCLC's Sharing, Privacy and Trust in Our Networked World. A 2007 report to OCLC membership. Retrieved from February 20, 2009 from http://www.oclc.org/reports/sharing/default.htmEisenberg, Mike (May 2008). "The Parallel Information Universe: What's Out There and What It Means for Libraries," LibraryJournal.com. Retrieved on March 1, 2009, from http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6551184.html FOX News Channel. (2008, November 10) Sarah Palin Interview. On The Record With Greta Van Sustere. Clip retrieved from http://www.takepart.com/blog/2008/11/11/sarah-palin-says-me-and-my-pjs-are-to-blame/Georgetown University Law Library, (2009). Due Process: The Georgetown Law Library Blog. Retrieved March 8, 2009, from http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/blog/GWU Medical Center Library, (2009). Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library. Retrieved March 8, 2009, from http://www.gwumc.edu/library/blog/client/NCSU Libraries, (2009). NCSU Libraries News. Retrieved from March 8, 2009, from http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/news/libraries

Rating Burner, (2009). Rating Burner for Blogs. Retrieved March 8, 2009, from http://www.ratingburner.com/

Snowden, David (July/August 2008). Everything Is Fragmented - Build CoPs for Knowledge Flow. KM World magazine. Retrieved July 25, 2008, from http://www.kmworld.com/Articles/News/News-Analysis/Everything-is-fragmented%E2%80%94Building-CoPs-for-knowledge-flow--49849.aspxWeiner, Sharon Gray, (Spring, 2005). The History of Academic Libraries in the United States: a Review of the Literature, Library Philosophy and Practice, 7(2). Retrieved on March 7, 2009 from http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/weiner.htm

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blogbrary: blogs and their place within academic libraries

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