Social Networks

I am so glad that this is the last section as I have been extremely busy trying to find time to do this exercise and to meet my work deadlines at the same time. However, I think I will miss learning all the latest technology and having so much fun testing it.







I have been enjoying using the Facebook and other social networks to help me to keep in touch with my friends and to share my activities with them. It is a fun way to keep in touch when you are busy and sometimes you can pick up some long lost friends through you friends' networks. I get' invited' to make new friends a lot but I always decline it. I suppose it is now just another way to meet people from everywhere in the world. Building networks with people you don't know can be a hidden opportunity or danger. Depends on how you handle it.








I find it interesting that all these organizations try to look like and identify themselves as individuals and put on a very personal voice on Facebook/Myspace. Putting the Library on some of the social networks definitely can raise our profile to a bigger audience. It can also invite people to have a look on our page and they may be surprised that we talk their language and we provide them with the stuff they need and want. It is also a very good way to tell people what is going on in the Library. However, I think we have to be careful with the client groups that we are targeting. Working on 'live' reference always make me wonder that there seems to be a narrow group of clients using the service. May be we can have a 'youth' librarian to provide specialized service and to talk and listen to this niche market.








With all these new marketing tools that we are using now, how are we going to cope with the new increasing demand with new markets and new clients? It is always good to have a network of regular library clients to listen and talk to. They can also provide valuable imput to our services. However, are we going to provide a forum to allow our clients to answer to each other for support? There are a few issues to think about. I know there is a State Library NSW naughty client group in Facebook. They have over 100 members and I think they are mainly teens and young adults. They share all the naughty things they did in the Library including how they got kick out!!!




The Second Life Library looks so glamorous! I love to go there to have a wander around. Virtual library is a very interesting concept and it will get a lot of attention if it is different than a traditonal library. I can't see any point for anyone to visit the virtual library if it is just like any library in the world. I am hoping I can do some real reading and may be playing some online gaming with someone when I get into the vitual library. I don't mind to have some conversation with a virtual librarian who would show me around include the hidden chest with library treasure! What about showing our ML Original Materials stack in the Virtual Library? I would also love to check out our Offsite Storage warehouse and see how it operates! There are so many possibilities with virtual library and I think it all get down to the situation of our budget.

Online applications

One of the best things about using the Internet is all the free online applications and tools. You don't need to pay for many useful tools anymore because you can just download them. The only thing you need to worry is your download limit from your supplier and not giving away too much personal information when you sign up. No one would think we can now just DIY all those 'professional' work before. I am excited about some of the tools and they are now my favourite toys.


Google Doc is one of the website we recommend to clients when they want to use our PCs in the Reading Rooms to create a Word/Excel document. Overall, they are happy to use it ( I suppose they have no choice!) and I think it is straight forward and easy enough to use.



I am not sure about using these online tools at work. We got our own software provided by IT and I think we have some policies of getting approval from IT to use online applications. However, I love to use these tools for my personal use as it saves me a lot of money. Otherwise, I think sharing your documents, presentations and projects with your colleague is part of your everyday's work life and it is great to be able to do it easily with a online tool. Converting document to a different format eg. html, pdf is also getting more and more common now and it is handy to know there is a tool out there for me to use. The time saving factor is the motivator for us to use all these online tools.

Mashups

This is my friend's photo on Flickr and I got her permission to publish it on my blog. I like it as it looks very calm and soothing.

I think we can use some of our interesting photos in our collections (copyright free ones) to let our clients to create their own posters, bookmarks etc. I think they will love it and may be we can also make some money by offering some fancy printings for their creative works!

Podcasts

Podcasts is very much like online video or radio and you can get audience's attention by engaging them to watch or listen the files. I like the subject options offered by ABC and you can choose the subject or area of interest. Very easy for me to browse and check out the art or lifestyle files. I think it is because I think like a librarian!

I love to get the RSS for new update in case there is some interesting one out there. However, Some podcasts are very long and boring. I would not like to download them on my PC/ipod to waste my memory. I think if you want to use this function in the Library it has to be something interesting and enjoyable. I don't mind to listen to an interview of Paul Brunton but I don't want to listen to a promotion of a library service. I don't mind to listen to a chapter of Harry Potter but I don't want to listen to the new stationary you can get from the Library. I don't mind to watch a celebrity chef to cook but I don't want to listen to the lending policy of the Library.

Answer Boards

It was quite fun to see how librarians can slam the boards and get recognized for the high quality work. I think it is a good way to show all the online users that getting information is more that what you can find on Google and asking around and let the blind leading the blind! So many times I have came aross with some new generation of clients who think google is the whole world of information! They think the only reason they cannot find what they want is they haven't searhed Google properly!

It is good to see librarians being pro-active out there and there is definitely a role for us in the knowledge market. I think we need to have a look of our current services and may be re-package them with the Web 2 technology. A lot of people out there still think library is just a repository of books but we now offer a lot of very exciting services. Web 2 'look' and design can help the new generation to feel comfortable with us and it can also introduce and promote libraries' new image.

Answer Boards can be used for client to comment and share view on our exhibitions, new books or any new acquisition eg. new database. I think it would be a bit 'risky' to use the function for comment on services and facilities as it can create more issue for us. We can also use the Answer Boards to answer some very common and popular reference queries that we got all the times.

Social bookmarking

I had a look and done some searches on del.icio.us and found it very easy to use and fun to read. It is just like bookmarks/favorites but you can share it with anyone in anywhere. I think it can be used as a function of Intranet for staff with 'common interest' or as a quick finder for reference tools/phone no/policies etc.. It can also be used as Internet links for reference/library services and facilities queries for staff and clients. One thing I like (and could be a problem) is that you can use any tag name as the subject heading. It is more user friendly and easier to search for clients and some staff. The RSS Feed is great too as I get notified when there is a new update. They works very well together.





There is a lot of potential of using this tool in libraries. The question is how are we going to agree on the tag names (except using the LCSH)? We have been quite rigid in how we set up our records and indexing and the bookmarking will probably need to set up with 'formal' and informal' tag names. Another issue of using bookmarking is the number of tag that you can set up. It can be quite frustrating when there are a lot of tag names to go through and still cannot find what you want! The approach of bookmarking from Cleveland Library and Sutherland Library are very different. Cleveland Library uses a traditional library approach while Sutherland Library gives you pages of tag names to choose. I think I would prefer something in between.

We all stand together

Nice music from Paul McCartney with very creative frog cartoon. Enjoy!

I think cartoon is the way to go for storytelling and young audience.

High school students is one of our major client group and we do have a good collection of HSC materials and some special services for them. However, from time to time, some students do not behave appropriately in the Library and disrupt other clients. May be we can use cartoon as an information tool to tell them how to behave in the State Reference Library?! I think it will work if the cartoon can make them laugh! Trim definitely can play a role in it.