Write
a paragraph on your blog describing your understanding of Library 2.0. List
three Web 2.0 applications commonly used by Libraries.
Library 2.0 is a service derived from Web 2.0, which
has focused on the web services as a platform for information sharing and
collaboration, coupled with a user centred design. These aspects have been
translated to a library service model that reflects a new era in the way
information is presented and delivered to users. Library 2.0 attempts to engage
the customer in the design and implementation of various library services by
encouraging active feedback and participation. This facilitates the constantly
evolving and changing dynamic of contemporary service delivery while promoting
a participatory role for library users. This has been epitomised in the Online
Public Access Catalogue, with features aimed at greater user interaction and
participation with the system, such as tagging and reading or posting reviews.
In
addition, Library 2.0 provides a multi-media experience, with collections
including a wide variety of video and audio components to complement written
texts. Another application of Web 2.0 innovations in the Library 2.0 interface
is the inclusion of communication platforms such as instant messaging or wikis,
through which users cannot only communicate with each other but also library
staff. These also allow for professional development and collaboration, whereby
librarians from different branches can communicate through chat sessions. Wikis
on the other hand can be used to make library staff manuals or procedures for
various system or database applications readily available or even conferences
and meetings. Image sharing, another prominent feature of Web 2.0 has
facilitated promotional activities for libraries in particular, such as record
building projects that involve the community, author visits and special library
displays. By extension, video sharing can be used for training, promotion,
tutorials and lectures. These also often take the form of podcasts, through
which author talks, seminars or storytime recordings are distributed, which can
easily be viewed on many platforms, including mobile devices.
Web 2.0
Examples of Web 2.0 technologies which are widely used:
Blog (short for Weblog)
A blog is an online personal journal that enables the writer
to write, reflect and comment daily- it is the most common web 2.0 tools. Blog
software includes Word Press, Movable Type, Blogger and Tumblr. Blogs are
generally used for News/Events, professional Development, Marketing, Newspaper
columns and TV shows.
RSS (Really Simple
Syndication)
RSS is software which can be used for delivering regularly
changing web content. Used especially by news-related sites, weblogs and online
publishers. Examples of RSS feed readers include Bloglines, Google Reader,
Feeburner and FeedDemon. The General uses for RSS are in Articles, Newsletters,
News and Events and Presentations.
Instant messaging
(IM)
A messenger that allows the user to have a live conversation
with people around the world via computers connected to the Internet, allowing
almost instantaneous responses. Features include Buddy Lists (Listing of
trusted friends and family), Chat Window (the window in which communication is
done) and Status Indicator (a notation of being, e.g. ‘At Lunch). IM services
include examples such as Yahoo, Windows Live Messenger and Skype.
Wikis
A Wiki is a Web Site developed collaboratively by a
community of users, allowing any user to add and edit content. Examples include
PBWiki, Media Wiki and Wetpaint.
Image Sharing
Websites such as Flickr and Picasa allow people to share
photographs online, with features that allow images to be tagged and browsed.
Video Sharing
A video hosting service allows individuals to upload video
clips to an Internet website. These sites are increasing in popularity, with
websites such as Youtube, Blip.TV, Google Video and Yahoo! Video becoming more
and more prominent among internet users.
Podcasts
A podcast is a multimedia digital file made available on the
Internet for downloading through an RSS feed. Podcasting is made easy through
software such as Audacity, @Podder, iTunes and Garageband.
Social Bookmaaring
Social Bookmarking enables users to save and organise links
to favourite websites to share with others. Organisation methods include tags
or descriptors. Examples of Social Bookmarking sites are del.icio.us,
BlogMarks.net, Digg and PHPDug.
Folksonomies and User-based
Tagging
These go hand in hand with social bookmarking, in which
subject descriptors and tagging make things easier to find. These functions
enable users to catalogue their own Libraries, organise their favourite
bookmarks, classify image collections and share their information with other
people. An example of a Tagging site is TagCloud.
Social Networking
Social Networking is the use of a Web Site to communicate
with other members of the site by posting messages, photographs, etc. Features
that users experience when Social Networking are: User profiles, friending,
groups, individual messaging, announcements, individual message boards, photos,
blogs or journals, searching and privacy controls. Popular examples include Facebook, MySpace,
Ning, LinkedIn and LiveJournals
Mashups
A mashup is a website which uses content from more than one
source to establish a new service. Examples of such websites include Google
Maps, Biowizard, Delicious Library 2 and Rivers of the World.
Widgets
A widget is an application that enables a user to perform a
function or access a service, using embedded codes in web pages to grant access
to the weather, news, time, polls etc. Examples include Polldaddy and SurveyMonkey.
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