the wonderful world of Wikis

Wikis are a part of web 2.0 that I am relatively familiar with, having joined several Oxford library ones and viewed others.I even created a wiki for the Sackler some time ago, but didn't do much with it, so this inspires me to re-visit it and see if we can develop something that will aid communication among a large number of staff working at different times at our issue desk.

I also use wikipedia quite frequently to find all sorts of information, and I have noticed that Wikipedia entries are usually among the first few hits on any google search.
This time, I looked at the entry for Sackler Library, and was pleased to see it is accurate, and even more pleased that I was able to edit the page myself, adding a few bits of information such as number of staff and size of holdings as well as changing the website URL to reflect the Bodleian Libraries name change.
I then had a look at a couple of other entires, one for a favourite TV show and another a politically sensitive issue, and was impressed with the quality of the discussions between contributors about accuracy, content and so on.

I warm to the whole idea of this very democratic means of sharing information but still have some doubts about how reliable any given entry will be,but for a quick and easy first search on a topic it is very useful.

T-Wit T-Web2.0 Things 15 and 16 Twitter

Well, I have got a bit behind on 23 things again, but now have time to post about my experience of twitter.
I have to admit that my preconceived idea of twitter was that is one of the more "lightweight" and trivial areas of the web 2.0 world, probably fuelled by media stories of celebs and politicians tweeting their every change of outfit to the waiting world.
However, after signing up and giving it a try, I now see it does have a more meaningful side and is yet another method we can use to keep in touch with colleagues and our customers.

One of the first things I searched was "Sackler Library" and I was astonished to find someone had very recently tweeted a photo of the blossom peeking up over the wall opposite the library entrance in St John Street.There were also mentions of our namesake library in the US.


I soon realised there is a more seroius side to twitter and signed up to follow the BL, Bodleian and penguin books as well as some favourite authors, actors and comedians.
As ever, there remains the question of finding time to log in and read their latest tweets,but I am becoming a fan...though it remains quite disconcerting that total strangers have signed up to "follow" me on the basis of a single "tweet" !

Thing 14 LinkedIn

I first heard of Linkedin when it sent me an automated e-mail asking me to join the network of one of our readers,so I had put a short profile on already.I also knew that if anyone googled my name, the linkedin profile was one of the hits.
So, it was bit of a surprise when LinkedIn didn't recognise my previous membership and I had to create a new profile.
Overall, I am not that enthusiastic about the site.There were very few professional networks for librarians, and most of them were US-based,or had very few members.
I can see some advantages for sharing professional information, and perhaps finding people working in the same field but it doesn't strike me as a very useful web 2 application compared with the others we have looked into so far.

Library space versus "my" space:Does Facebook have a place in an academic library?

I joined Facebook several years ago, having set aside my reservations about privacy and given in to the urge to find out what friends and colleagues are up to at any given time, as well as sharing my own thoughts, photos and so on. I now login most days to keep track of people, and have been surprised by messages from old school friends who I haven't seen in several decades (that's what you get for having a memorable surname...very few Bruders in this neck of the woods...)

However, I am also aware of the ongoing debate as to whether libraries should get involved in what is essentially a social space for our readers.Initially I thought not, but am now coming round to the idea of facebook as a good way to keep any of them that care to sign up as "fans" informed of changes, new resources and so on.The only downside I can think of is the need to login regularly to maintain the page/group and the risk of negative feedback and disappointing numbers of "fans" ! I won't let this put me off and plan to ask for permission to set up a Sackler Facebook page shortly.

I have been reading other 23 things blogs on the topic and was very surprised to learn (from James at O.I.L. posting an interesting item on the demographics of social networking sites) that my own age group (ie mid 30's to mid 40's) are the biggest users of sites like Facebook. I had been labouring under the illusion that over 40's were in a minority and that social networking was the preserve of "digital natives" ..what an eye -opener.

I also found a link to the "Alexa" ratings for the world's most popular websites

http://www.alexa.com/topsites

and as you can see, Facebook is second only to google in the rankings,with other networking sites very close behind.

i-pod, you- tube, we can all find something out there

This post is a little overdue ..partly becasue it is very easy to lose a chunk of time browsing those pods and tubes...

I have been aware of both podcasts and you tube for some time , but had yet to download anything or subscribe to a site.
I used the suggested sites to search for podcasts and was amazed at the sheer numbers of hits matching my search terms in both podcast alley and podcast.com. I was unable to resist "the dancing frenchman" which is no more or less than what the title suggests :) but also found some interesting uses of podcasts by libraries around the world,including "the library minute" from University of Arizona, giving regular updates to library users in the form of a short video.
I have listened to BBC podcasts via iplayer but not subscribed to anything up to now.
It was amazingly simple to add subscriptions to google reader using the relevant icon on the BBC site.
Finally, I browsed Oxford University podcasts and listened to part of a lecture by one of our readers in the classics faculty.
I am now inspired to download some podcasts to the mp3 player on my phone and can absolutely see their potential as a means of disseminating information to readers that they can listen to (and hopefully remember!) at whatever time suits them.

I have been using you tube on and off for a while,and as others have said in their blogs, it is all too easy to while away the time looking at nostalgic videos of childhood TV programmes and long-forgotten tunes.However, in the interest and spirit of "23 things" , i did search for "library" and found various items posted from around the world...virtual tours of library buildings being a good example.

I can't resist posting a link to one of my favourite you-tube library -related videos here:
Mr bean consults a rare book....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwOrp6Q7kCE

Overall, the search process for podcasts and you tube postings could be compared to a giant virtual car boot sale...sifting among all the sellers for "gems" to take away.
I have enjoyed this process very much and can defintiely see how both can be added to a "portfolio" of means of communicating with library users.