Edublog Award winners

Kathryn Greenhill writes about the 2007 Edublog Award winners on her blog, Librarians Matter…

Meebo widget

David Lee King posted about the use of the Meebo widget in the Topeka library catalog and then posted again about the responses to his post about using the widget.  All interesting conversations.

Creating a useful library catalog

A colleague of mine at work forwarded information about this to our reference librarians, but I just read about it on Jenny Levine’s blog: the idea of using Meebo’s IM widget in the library catalog to create a user-librarian interaction at the point of need. Our library has gone back and forth about using IM at the reference desk for years, without actually doing anything. We have a student population of mostly residential students, with no distance learning component at all. Never seemed like IM would be necessary in our library.

However, I can see the benefits of using IM or chat in the library catalog, even on a residential campus. Questions about using our library catalog are probably the second most frequent interaction at the reference desk, behind searching for journal articles. If students could chat with a reference librarian while they were having difficulties in the catalog, we could help the students at the point of need, rather than interrupting their research and having them come down to the main floor or over to the reference desk to ask a question. The Meebo widget could be a great solution.

Connecting the dots

Good post on Infoblog about best Web 2.0 practices and the library catalog.  The idea of cross-promotion within the library by way of library catalog is a good use of Web 2.0 technologies to manufacture interest in the library and what we are doing.

Future of web services

Insightful post by Library Chic:  the future of web services is NOT the library website.  She dares speak the thought no one names.  I’m not too sure librarians are ready to hear this, especially at institutions where they have spent lots of time (read: $$) invested in redesigning and assessing their websites.  She makes some valid points about content being key and the design not so important.  If we can embed our content directly in the users’ paths, does it matter if they ever come to our website?  OR, is it more important that the user gets what they need and is the happier for it?

Library Video tour example (SUNY Potsdam)

Library 2.0 Technologies

Today I am at RRLC, at a presentation by Sara Greenleaf of Hobart & William Smith Colleges.  Sara’s presentation is available on SlideShare and is chock full of good resources on 2.0 technology. 

This makes me think some more about trying to develop some staff and faculty training on 2.0 technologies; maybe with an Information Management twist. 

Library 2.0 definitions

The LIS Wiki is a great encyclopedia by librarians, for librarians and it has an entry on Library 2.0 which is always being updated and serves as a good primer for those new to the term Library 2.0 and all its various meanings.

Video on social networking

Great video about social networking from the folks at Common Craft.  This would be a  neat intro for a workshop or class for beginners.

Common Craft (Lee & Sachi LeLever) create all kinds of videos on Web 2.0 topics for the non-techie web user.

Podcasts not meeting the hype?

I have to admit, reading this story was a bit depressing, considering the investment of time we are putting into podcasting here at my library.  Yahoo! is closing down its podcast directory and rumors are it is because of low interest and the closing of their entertainment divisioin…