According to Blake Carver in his article, “Is it Time to get Blogging?” in the Library Journal, adding a blog to a library web site can add currency and freshness. It can encourage patrons to return and it can transform a site into a dynamic learning community.
However, Steven Bell in his article, “Where the Readers Are” in the Library Journal, says this is only true if a blog is regularly maintained. Keeping a blog fresh is critical for success. Libraries that use blogs should make a commitment to update regularly. If you provide what’s important to the users, i.e. focused news, information and ideas, you can grab their interest and keep them looking for more of the same.
Michael Stephens, in his article in the September/October issue of Library Technology Reports, claims that by using a weblog, a library can have a rich, dynamic, multimedia tool and Web presence at little or no cost. They can also allow for well-organized categories of information with an easier interface for staff than using HTML or page-creation software. In addition to that, there is the capability of creating conversations with users.
A search on Google (using the search terms library weblog) returned 604,000 hits on 24 November 2007. Not all of these are information/education based – some are personal journals. Libdex (user-generated worldwide index of library home pages and online catalogs) maintains a list of library weblogs by country, by and for information professionals as reported by individual libraries. This list is quite long (although nowhere close to 604,000) and is likely not complete, due to the self-reporting input.
OK – but …What are some specific uses?
Many libraries have added a blog to their web presence. Most have taken the form of a news service,a collection of links to other Web sites, a series of book reviews, reports of activity on a project, a photographic or video record of an event or activity, etc. Most Weblogs display material for the current month or the current week, with older material being archived on the site for browsing/searching.
From a user’s point of view, the term blog doesn’t necessarily have an appealing sound and from a public perspective it may still be misunderstood. However, some library users may be noticing a very cool new page at their library which has all the best news. Since you don’t have to call it a blog, library patrons may not even know it is one.
The next couple of posts show some examples of uses of blogs by libraries and librarians today. Many of these are used in combination within one weblog, but they are equally valid individually. I will try to evaluate the examples.
