Wikis in the public library

Since the advent of the wiki I have been keen to utilise the tool in the Local History area. To this end I have done little more than think and dream. However now I see from the Montana History Wiki that it is indeed possible and how it might be designed.

Thinking about it, it is not so much the technology that stops us initiating this project but the practicality of engaging our community. I have one serious hesitation in the local application of this technology and that is that most people with historical contributions will be of an age where they are hesitant or even down right terrified and incapable of contributing online. I guess one solution could be to line up several computer savvy volunteers who might transcribe the additions or corrections or whole entries for those unable to contribute for themselves.

Looking at the Montana wiki again this seems to be an issue for them as there are very few areas of the wiki that have been edited recently giving one the feeling that it is a staff created venture. Now this is a fine format for historical information to be presented online although a website is perfectly functional for this as well. if we do not engage the community enthusiastically to contribute we may as well save ourselves the trouble of delving into the new format.

Great potential but without great marketing and people power to enable contributions and the review of contributions, it remains a tool of great potential.

BAM

How to break a Librarians heart

This comes courtesy of my loving son number 1. Enjoy... but it does make me cringe a bit too .....
http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/librarians.png

Change of image due to template restrictions - Help wanted!

There has been a change of image in the blogosphere for me as the previous template I had selected did not fit my cartoon in (see link in post above). I pasted the image in and it didn't fit the template, thus the change of template. I saved the cartoon as an image and inserted it into the post but the saved image didn't appear large enough to read clearly. I gave up and used the hyperlink. Right now I am more interested to know how I might have changed the template or designed my own to fit the cartoon in. Any help would be appreciated. Ta very much

BAM

Tasman Cliffs

Sea Cliff
Originally uploaded by Gomerama

The image on the right is one I found on Flickr that may help explain some of the inspiration behind a painting I recently completed (above). On a very wet and wild day touring around the Tasman Peninsula I was awe-struck by the colour and shapes of the rugged cliffs which surrounded us. My attempt at representing this structural beauty reflects the light on the day, bright yet wet, and the dark, wild crevices we found ourselves in. The photo of the painting is not great quality but it does the job.

Audience focused blogging in libraries

How about blogging for a client audience? Well I as with any service the more it is tailored to the needs of the consumer the more successful it will be. Looking at the ACT Public Library Blog show how the use of the tags in a blog allows visitors to select which blog posts suit them the most. However you have the whole library blogger community reading the posts and comments of all the various categories of users and the list of categories becomes very long and disconcerting.

Teen blogs I guess are the most obvious audience focused blogs to make as young people are among the heaviest technology users. Look at Wired 4 Teens @ Mosman Library- nice and clear ad clean yet funky. There are quite a few categories of posts but not too many to be useful.

I suppose there is scope to determine which categories of users are interested in a service tailored to their needs - it could be a ScFi Book blog for example for ScFi updates generally and in the library. It is kind of like a Alert Service via blogs. Ummm could be interesting.

Lifelong Learning exhaustion

What do you think about Lifelong Learning? - wow this is something I struggle with and against (not sure which is more appropriate) almost every day. I love to listen, read, think, discuss, wonder out loud and learn on a wide range of topics... so much so that it is exhausting. I think it is largely the product of my own nature, yes but also the tsunami of information that tantalizes us now days. It so possible to indulge ones interests in a myriad of areas today. There is so much information so readily available, at various levels of complexity. Maybe it is a work related hazard for Librarians. I am finding information on subjects that interest me all the time, too much information to digest; too much information to act upon. I find it excruciating to decide which topic I want to spend my very limited time on. I know I am too inquisitive to ever stop this binge that I seem to survive on but it probably indicates more than ever the value of information specialists (ie Librarians).

PS I feel like the poor donkey

Blog dissemination

What do you hope to learn from the program? One of the key aims for me in the Licence 2 Test Drive programme is to learn how to get and increase the audience for a blog - how do real people actually find you on the web and how do you increase your chances of being found? There surely is no purpose to the whole exercise unless we master this. In my other blogging attempts I have put my blog on various blog lists (I need more help/tips on this one) but it seems one must also
1. spend sufficient time commenting on similar blogs hosted by others and
2. frequently update your blog to keep the interest of your audience.

Like everything else planning before hand will make the success of the blogging adventure more immediate and this must include planning to maintain and develop ones Library2.0 efforts. One surely has the potential to reach many more patrons using just a few tools but human resources are at the core.

Library blogs

Can you see a use for blogs inside the Library? We have been imagining a library blog to use for -
Library News;
Staff reading lists and recommendations;
Links to interesting book/author sites;
Library trends;
Collecting patron feedback through comments;
"You wont believe this" - reference questions;
DVD/CD Recommendations;
There are so many possibilities.....

What other blogs have you discovered? What do you like about them?
Have a look at:
Readers in the mist
OR
Shelf Talk
OR
Sutherland Shire Library News
OR
Reading Room Blog Even incorporates the webopac into the library's blog.

So much to think about.

Introducing me

Even though I am not absolutely new to blogging, it seems more and more that we are being pushed and pulled by every new gizmo that pops up on the internet. We are encouraged to get on board and utilize them to reach out to our Library patrons where they are, in the manner they feel most comfortable with. Well, as much as it makes sense on a logical marketing level, on the human level I surmise that many of us find it exciting yet draining. However this approach worked so well for Obama that I guess if it works as well for the Library sector it will be a good thing. Well here we go on the steep learning curve. I expect I will see you all at the top!