I use my Twitter account to help keep up with events and news in my area; in fact, I have plans to take my mother to an event that was posted on Twitter. Had I not been following this particular Tweeter, I wouldn’t have thought of it.
This is one example of how Twitter and Facebook can be tools for reaching out to your public and making it aware of events or collection highlights – whether in a library or museum setting. This takes time though, and I believe that the time element may be the most challenging one in a climate of hiring freezes and budget cutbacks. (Following up on reference and reader’s advisory requests can be challenging enough without adding blog posts or daily Twitter updates to the list!)
This investment was one of my main thoughts in reading articles and watching video regarding Web 2.0 as it can apply in a library setting. Implementing a Twitter, Facebook, or another of our social networking platforms takes time, effort, and thoughtfulness.
Organizations need to consider whether or not adding a Web 2.0 feature to their online services is worthwhile: Is there an audience? Is there a return on investment? As librarians, I think we sometimes assume everyone is as enamored of current technology trends as we are, but we really should look to our patrons and at metrics to decide.
On the other hand, as a library patron, I do believe that more can be done to make our online offerings (especially catalogs) better and more appealing to the end user. It’s just a matter of figuring out what works and what is worth our time.
Below are the links I used for this assignment. The Shifted Librarian’s video is my favorite, although Tim O’Reilly’s article is quite good:
- http://www.blyberg.net/2006/01/09/11-reasons-why-library-20-exists-and-matters/
- http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html
- http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2007/02/07/think_library_20_as_you_watch_this.html
Thanks & happy reading,
R.D.
