Feed the birds....and information seekers

Well in order to keep even more information coming my way effortlessly way I have:-

• added feeds to my iGoogle page including some ABC blogs, ABS 4 L
  ibraries; JOL Blog etc
  
• opened a Bloglines account and added numerous feeds there, including the OPAL Training blog. I also chose some of my own feeds and also used Bloglines Quick Picks to select groups of blogs
• I have also added the ABC Offair blog, SLQ Website news, OPAL Training, ABS 4 Libraries and the JOL Blog to this blog.

I was pleased to finally come to some familiarity with feeds as they had mystified me for some time. I have had another blog for a year or so now and I did sign up to Feedburner to allow readers (if there are any out there) to follow my blog but I wasn't really sure how it worked from the other end, sounds mad I know. I did subscribe to follow my own blog through my iGoogle page and Bloglines and my feed button works so I was please about that.

The best thing about this gadget is that if you stick to one RSS Reader, you can check on all the latest news, opinion, events and innovations of interest to you on one site. The trick is to control yourself I guess and choose well. As I said iGoogle, although not a reader as such also allows you to show your feeds. I might stick with iGoogle as it includes the search facility, gmail and other gadgets I like to see regularly as well as my feeds. Bloglines doesn't look as friendly and it is just another site to check, whislt iGoogle does this and more.

Libraries that have active blogs can encourage patrons to keep track this way with both the library blog and other blogs or sites with feeds that address the information needs of each patron.

Now this has got me thinking...I could imagine Librarians offering an Personalised Online Reference Service(PORS), that is sitting down with individual patrons in a Reference Interview, determining their information needs and helping them set up an RSS reader and select sites and blogs in their area of interest to add to the reader. The patron then leaves the library with an online information service set up for them to follow at home or anywhere they may be. Any feedback on that idea?

BAM

Social Networking

I already use Facebook to keep in touch with friends overseas and family who are traveling but I also have 'friends' who are my children and their friends, much to their horror at times. It is a very easy application to use. 

I wonder how many "friends" a small rural public library could attract if we had a facebook presence. Unless we have people sign up as friends the effort will be wasted. I realise there are lots of young people from our local area who are "fans" of various local icons (eg local pubs, delicatessens, etc) so the library could try that angle on facebook. Many of these "fans" live away much of the year and enjoy staying in touch with their local community in a 'cool' socially acceptable way, even though what probably drives them is nostalgia for the little country town they love to hate. I think a lot of young library patrons and ex-patrons would become 'fans" creating quite a community and a place for promotion etc to the facebook age group.

Facebook like Twitter doesn't encourage lengthy posts but it does allow it if necessary as well as quick updates and announcements. Facebook also allows for messages direct to particular "friends" and hidden from others, which may suit to answer particular questions. Twitter is probably too limiting for Libraries. "What are you doing?" is just a nice warm and fuzzy way to stay in touch. 

BAM