The Machine is Us/ing Us

No intro needed frankly...

Web2.0 - PM Workshop Feedback

Facebook - discussion groups:

1. Students for library presence F'book
2. Students against library presence on F'book
3. Librarians for library presence on F'book
4. Librarians against library presence on F'book

Group 1:

• On F'book all time - wouldn't have to go anywhere else to get to library information
• Library pages on F'book look better
• More informal and user friendly
• Information through updates in your inbox - takes pain out of finding info
• Garner support to get changes to fines, opening hours

Group 2:

• SALF - William Hague wearing a baseball cap - libraries are not fun - fail to see what libs are offering by joining F'book
• Get RSS feed off website
• Changes to fines through F'book - but needs to happen through spirit of the masses
• Keep work and social activities separate - policing through F'book not good
• Bad fit between social use of site and professional personas coming onsite

MR - libraries ARE fun!

Inequality between power of individuals and power of any organisation - much more resources than individual - power inequality

Policing through proctors - worry that people will go elsewhere

Libraries will get onto F'book and people will go elsewhere

Are there other things we should be doing? Improving catalogue?

Group 3:

• Communication - being able to ask people for fines??
• Being where your users are
• Being able to talk to users in space they use
• Get to know who your users are - fans - are they on holiday so can't pay their fines??
• Information being more open - informal when people post queries
• Marketing - making more visible - making the Bod less scary - making librarians less scary :)

Not overwhelmingly compelling??

Best arguement is getting know your users - could do this by focus groups?? Decision makers should sit on the desk (and be trained first!) to get to know users!

Users aren't thinking what's in it for me - it's another way of getting info out

Group 4:

• Devalues the organisation - F'book is social network, about meeting up for coffee not discussing what library books they are borrowing!
• Advertising on F'book - some may be inappropriate
• Small libraries with small number of PCs may not want to have them used up with F'book
• Content - not dependable? Only person who has put info up
• What is wrong with a good library website? RSS Feeds, Library Catalogue

Less appropriate for academic libraries to be on F'book? BL is on there - is aiming to get people in from all walks of life!

Conclusions:

Is it such a bad idea?? For Staff Development - RSS Feeds, Pics of conferences, comments

But..... only members can access the information

Concern over privacy and caching from Google

Emma Huber - is this something to lose if we're invading social space? Bookswap will keep going.

From institutional perspective it's a billboard - telling people what is on - this is not an invasion of space BUT it would be an invasion of space if libraries think they will become friends with the users - users will ignore us:

Are we taking it all too seriously - it's a space you can ignore things! Shouldn't be so concerned about infringing about peoples rights.

Go back and bring social into everything we do? Look at catalogues and make everything we do more accessible.

Web2.0 is not just the technology it's an attitude!

Library Thing....

... is the dogs!! I have got to sort out my own books at home.... that way I'll never by duplicate Br. Cadfael's ever again....

Web 2.0 Day - AM

Hmmm. Interesting so far. Was interesting to hear from Ros Smith at JISC about their recent reports on e-learning. It makes me wonder if VLEs are being superceded by users preferences for using Facebook, IM, Skype and other more 'social' communication methods.

I really enjoyed Phil Bradley talking about Web 2.0. Very dynamic. I agree with his idea that we are using the Web in a different way - our computer is more dynamic and we make more use of 3rd party software on-line, applications. Made me realise what is out there - I thought I was up to date!! - and that, frankly, we should just be getting out there and doing it ourselves.

I'm also very impressed with Jane (VHL) and Emma (Linacre) for just going down the Web 2.0 route and experimenting. It's something I think we should be doing at a larger level, but also made me wonder if our users will really be interested in communicating with us by these methods. Early days yet, but nice to know at least some people in Oxford have taken the bull by the horns.

So far no-one has mentioned disability (guess I should have asked the question really!!). This is something I need to look into - how accessible are a lot of Web 2.0 applications.

Let's see what happens this afternoon. A chance to have a look at LibraryThing.com, Del.icio.us and other applications.

From small beginnings...

I'm hoping to learn more than I currently do about Web 2.0 initiatives and if I can and if I should use them within my current work.

With Web 2.0 initiatives are we blurring the work/life relationship? How will our 'customers' react to us using blogs, wikis and facebook profiles to promote libraries? Do they think it is not our place to make use of them?

Any thoughts welcome!