Libraries Using Web 2.0 Effectively

I checked out the library websites highlighted on Infopeople's 23 Web 2.0 Things list. I was immediately drawn to Seattle PL because I wanted to see their MySpace page for teens. In our library, teens and other young people access MySpace constantly on our public access PCs. They love it, can't get enough of it -- it really does seem to be a community experience for teens in particular. But would they ever in a million years go to the library's MySpace page? Maybe. They're going to the physical library building, so why not in MySpace too? I guess the key would be to identify what would draw them in. In our bricks-and-mortar library, it's free internet access and a chance to hang out with their peers in a welcoming environment. What would a library MySpace page have to offer?

At RCPL we are using hosted blogs to post events, staff picks, our library weblog, and soon a director's blog, all of which allow library users to subscribe via RSS. We also use a hosted wiki for internal staff schedules and some procedures. We have a couple of podcasts and webcasts available, too (accessible under our About Us page under the Professional Contributions header). And as I mentioned a couple of posts ago, we have set up a photostream in Flickr.

I think it's important for the library to get out of its own building and into the greater community. I also think this is true of our online presence -- the library should go beyond the confines of its own website and server and become visible in web communities like Flickr, MySpace, Second Life, YouTube and others whenever possible.

In fact, look for Redwood City Public Library's listing in Wikipedia soon!

Flickr Mashups

This is the name of my favorite author, assembled with images from Flickr using the mashup website Spell with Flickr. How it works is better explained here, but in a nutshell it works by grabbing data from other web sites that allow this kind of borrowing. (Flickr is a prime example of a website that's big on sharing.) The ransom-note like assemblage of images you see above are not actually saved on this blog's server -- they're being pulled into the browser directly from Flickr.

This particular mashup is mainly just a fancy toy, but it shows the huge possibilities out there for sharing live data on the web.

Flickr

Thanks to the initiative of Michele, our Electronic Services Librarian here at Redwood City Public, our library recently created a photostream on Flickr and added a very nice-looking dynamic link to it from our website. I've posted several photos there which I took at recent library events such as our recent Harry Potter book release party and our Summer Reading Club grand finale event, Bookstock 3. Here's one of my favorite photos from the latter event:


Caption: "This young lady is delighted with the beautiful face painting provided by Project Read volunteer Karen"

One reason I find Flickr and our library's presence there exciting is that it takes our library's online presence beyond the borders of our own website and server, and puts us "out there" into the greater community of the World Wide Web. Call it a form of "virtual outreach," if you will. Something interesting happened when we went live on Flickr: a few members of our community immediately found us and began commenting on our photos and posting their own photos of our library. How cool is that?

Please take a moment to visit our Flickr space.

the webcast

I just went back and reviewed the materials from Helene Blower's webcast, Web 2.0: What Library Managers Need to Know, to refresh my memory. Here at RCPL we watched it in our all-staff meeting via the archive around a week after the live webcast.

I think the thing I appreciate most about Helene's approach to Web 2.0 in libraries is that she really does see the need to infuse the learning process with a sense of playfulness and exploration. The concept of creating a "learning blog" is especially brilliant -- it makes the whole process seem a lot less like a classroom and more like a test drive.

something fun

I ran across this quirky homegrown library video on YouTube a while back:
"Betty Glover Library Workout Tape Ad"



Ahh, the good ol' days. Check out all the classic equipment and technology! I love this video -- it always leaves me with a smile.

aurora

6:00 a.m. Waiting for my coffee and the (not-so) new millennium to finally kick in. Is Web 2.0 "the new black," as they say in fashion? Will it widen the digital divide, or will it bring us closer together? I'm looking forward to finding out.

Check this out: InfoPeople's 23 Web 2.0 Things Blog
Here's the list of the 23 things.