Week #5 - Wikis

Wikis are very applicable to my workplace. An intranet based wiki would be a great resource for the information desk staff as it would free up space on the noticeboard and in the communications/day book. The possibilities are endless - but I imagine that it might include information on opening/closing procedures, passwords, databases and troubleshooting issues. It would be a very handy resource for part time and casual staff who may not be in the library on a daily basis or able to attend library meetings.

A wiki would greatly benefit our department. Our department receives queries on a regular basis, some of which are repeated and in terms of their answers, don’t change. A wiki would allow team members to search to see if a query had already been answered and the tools that were used in the answer, to add content (such as answers to new queries) and to edit existing content. A wiki has the potential to reduce the amount of time team members spend on queries and to get an answer to the customer in a more timely manner. It takes the knowledge (and answers) that we have in our heads and documents this information creating a rich resource for other team members and new staff.

I’m keen to raise this with my team,  I'm not sure whether the wikis should be hosted externally or use wiki software on our server. There are other issues requiring thought such as IT considerations, who contributes and edits what information, version control etc.

I looked at a few things on Wikipedia - I found the entries interesting and seemingly accurate but it still bothers me that anyone can create and edit entries.  The Information Today article provides insightful views on academia, Wikipedia and information literary - reference librarians probably have a role to play here too. 

Week #4 - RSS Feeds

I love the way news comes to you! I have used the RSS aggregator, Google Reader, for some time and here are a few RSS feeds that I’ve signed up to:

Top stories - Google
I love food - so SMH’s Table Talk
Powerhouse Museum - Photo of the Day
National Art School
Would love another opportunity to travel - so SMH’s Travel Blog
and a tennis RSS feed.

I have also subscribed to a Google News alert on the library where I work, allowing me to monitor media coverage on the library.

While I found it initially difficult to find RSS feeds, they are very easy to set up using Google Reader.

I love the way that RRS feeds bring tailored information straight to you, saving on hours of crawling the web - although as the feeds are personalised to one’s own interests, I find that I often spend hours reading them!

RSS feeds are a great way for libraries to promote aspects of their collections, services and events. They are also a good resource for Reference Librarians to monitor their library and for complex and ongoing reference queries.

I am finding the CommonCraft explanations really useful - thanks for including these presentations.

Week #3 - Photo Sharing

I am totally new to the world of photo sharing and like others am reluctant to upload pictures of my family but see the benefits of these communities to public libraries. I can see from my searching on Flickr that some libraries have really embraced the world of photo sharing and are using it to promote events such as author talks and Library and Information Week activities.

I recently visited Boston and I just had a trip down memory lane searching using key words such as Red Sox, Back Bay, the Boston Common, Faneuil Hall and Harvard University. There are some beautiful historical photographs of Boston Public Library on Flickr, just search for Boston Public Library in the search field.

Here is a photograph of Central Park, New York, that I uploaded on Flickr, http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrnnhr/5780027767/in/photostream. I can’t remember its exact location within the park but the picture reminds me of the great time that I had in New York and the beauty of the park in Winter. Although it was such a cold day, the sky is blue and there were many joggers, walkers and tourists enjoying the park.

Off I go to do more exploring on Flickr…

Week #2 - Blogs

Well, here I am writing my first blog entry about my adventures undertaking the NSW Public Libraries Learning 2.0 program.

It was remarkably easy to set up a Gmail account & blog webpage, which was a nice surprise. I’m quite excited about this program and hope that it will give me a better understanding of 2.0 technologies; how other libraries are using these technologies to promote their collections, encourage different user bases and encourage collaboration; and how I might apply what I learn to my workplace.

I was interested to see how the Southern Tablelands Regional Library (STRL) uses blogging to facilitate knowledge sharing of its history, the end result being a knowledge rich resource where staff and users collaborate through comments and questions. Successful blogging challenges the concept of the physical library, removes geographical distance and promotes accessibility. I might spend a bit of time now exploring how other public libraries use blogging to promote their collections and how successful these initiatives have been at promoting collaboration.