Unit 12, Social Software: Reading Notes

“Weblogs: Their Use and Application in Science and Technology Libraries” by Randy Reichardt, Geoffrey Harder

I was surprised to learn how little there is in the scholarly literature about weblogs. This sentence was particularly alarming: “No articles were found which specifically discussed the use or potential use of blogs in a science and technology library setting.” I think we need to do a better job of keeping up with technology and making our experiences and knowledge available through publication. We’re supposed to be leaders in information, and that means using new technologies and sharing what we’ve learned with the community.

This article does a great job of pointing out how blogs can streamline communication for libraries. I had never heard of a reference book before, and while I find the idea very pleasing in a luddite sort of way, I can see how that would be a difficult system to work with. I think that if a library is able to prove its relevance in the digital age, using tools like a blog as a communication method that can also provide evidence of how busy/understaffed/important the library is, it will be better able to argue for a bigger budget and more community support. Many people think of libraries as old-fashioned places filled with books and books only – whatever tools can be used to dispel that myth AND to more efficiently run the library should put into place.

“Using a wiki to manage a library instruction program: Sharing knowledge to better serve patrons” by Charles Allan

“Wikis are used by librarians to manage public services information, collaborate on and keep track of reference questions, and assess databases.” Such cool uses of wikis! I’ve only used them in classes as an undergrad. They were meant to be communication tools between students but, in general, we didn’t like using them as much as blogs and email – probably because there wasn’t a lot of explanation for how to use them. I think there’s a lot of potential there, though, for creating tools that are useful for staff and patrons at libraries. I like that wikis are so structured and yet dynamic at the same time. The ideas presented in this article are all really neat, especially the library instruction program. I hope we see more libraries making use of wikis in the future.

Jimmy Wales: How a ragtag band created Wikipedia

I personally find Jimmy Wales a little grating, but this was an interesting TED talk. I’m intrigued by his point that educators don’t actually dislike Wikipedia as we think. I hope he’s right, but I’m not sure – I’ve never known a teacher or a professor to encourage students’ use of Wikipedia, in spite of how obviously biased textbooks are, or the fact that students can use the site for information without using it a source in a research paper. Hopefully that will change as Wikipedia improves and its reputation as an unbiased source of information grows.

“Creating the academic library folksonomy: Put social tagging to work at your institution” by Xan Arch

Another really neat idea. The article casts libraries as “meant for discovery of information” and argues that folksonomies are a good way to fulfill that role. The idea of a list of reference links, cultivated by librarians, is very appealing. As part of a reinterpretation of librarianship, social tagging could be a very effective way of broadening the appeal and relevance of libraries in the digital environment. The article’s discussion of “gray literature” is interesting, especially for academic libraries.

These questions at the end of the article strike me as being important enough to warrant their own articles: “Should a library control the vocabulary or allow a true folksonomy to take shape? We are classifiers by nature, are we ready to give up the reins?” I think these issues are at the heart of debates about the place of libraries in the world today.