MetaBLOG: A blog about library blogs

Having surveyed the biblioblogosphere, I have identified some key characteristics of effective library blogs. These may be considered best practices for library blogs across the different types of libraries. Whether a blog is maintained for an academic, public, school or special library, these qualities must be present in order for a blog to be effective…

1. Updated Regularly – blogs that aren’t updated frequently fail to provide users with the most up to date information.

2. RSS Subscription – users cannot be expected to visit the blog regularly to check for new information. By including an RSS subscription option, the library ensures that their blog content will reach its target audience.

3. Subject categories and Tags – these features help to collect similar information in one place. Also, tags facilitate browsing by subject, which is helpful to users who aren’t sure exactly what they’re looking for.

4. Search Widget – keyword searching in blog content is essential, so that users can quickly and easily find what they’re looking for

5. Live hyperlinks – a blog post that provides no citation information or links so that users can find the information source is useless. There may be a fantastic piece of literature out there, but without proper citation or live hyperlinks, the post is just teasing users! We need to be able to actually FIND the information referred to in the post.

6. Clear access points – the library’s homepage must have clear and highly visible links to its blog. Users cannot be expected to use a service if it is hidden or buried in some obscure location. Next to the link to the OPAC search is a sensible place to locate links to library blogs.

7. Interactive – Web 2.0 ideals cannot be realized unless users are invited to participate in the library’s blog. Whether this participation occurs in the form of user comments on posts, contribution of reviews or posts or submitting comments via email, users must have a voice in library 2.0 technology.

8. Defined purpose and audience – blogs in libraries cannot be viewed as catch-alls for any and all information about the library. The best library blogs have an aim or purpose and a target audience, which is clearly articulated in the “about” page of the blog. A clear objective or purpose keeps the blog focused and ensures continuity in the case of multiple blog contributors.

9. Publicity – users must be made aware of the existence and purpose of the library’s blog. Many users are unfamiliar with web 2.0 technology, and may be reluctant to try it on their own. By promoting the library’s blog and informing users about its functions, the library will increase traffic and user contributions.

10. User Oriented – whether the library blog functions as a News and Events forum, informs about Materials and Resources, promotes Services, facilitates internal communication or performs any of the other myriad blog functions, the needs and wants of the user must be the primary consideration. Browsability, searchability and classification of blog posts are some of the ways that bibliobloggers can ensure that their blog meets user needs.

Special libraries operate under a different mandate than academic, public or school libraries. In the special library, the instructional role of the librarian is secondary to the role of knowledge manager and information broker. Special librarians serve a client base with specific information needs, and must provide efficient and effective reference service. Special library blogs reflect the unique mandate of the special library, but serve a similar purpose to the blogs in other libraries.

Randy Reichardt and Geoffrey Harder published an article entitled “Weblogs: Their use and Application in Science and Technology Libraries” which appeared in volume 25(1) of Science and Technology Libraries in 2005. The authors identify several applications for weblogs in the science and technology special library. These include:

• Managing teams and projects
• Reference desk communication
• Keeping librarians and scientists updated about new developments in the field

These applications mirror the types of blogs found in libraries as outlined by the ALA’s July/August 2006 Library Technology Reports. The ALA identifies similar purposes for library blogs and calls them:

• Project Blogs
• Internal Blogs
• Materials and Resources Blogs

Reichardt and Harder describe how the blogging phenomenon has been slower to catch on in special science and technology libraries, though they do not speculate on the reasons for this late adoption. They offer the following insight into the science and technology library blogosphere:

“With weblogs now providing coverage of issues relevant to science and technology librarians and their clients, we are seeing the beginning of a shift in the communication habits and patterns of these groups. Weblogs are providing an alternative to multiple electronic discuss list subscriptions and ever-increasing amounts of email, as well as a new mechanism for current awareness and professional development.”

An example of a science and technology library blog is found at Harvard’s Rowland Institute. According to the library home page: (http://www.rowland.harvard.edu/resources/library/index.php)

“The Rowland Institute at Harvard is dedicated to experimental science over a broad range of disciplines. Current research is carried out in physics, chemistry, and biology, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary work and the development of new experimental tools.”

The library serves clients working in experimental sciences at the post-doctoral level. Thus it may be considered more a special library than a traditional academic research library, which serves a broader range of clientèle. The Rowland Institute Library Blog is maintained by the institute’s librarian, Garret Eastman, and is accessible through the following URL: (http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/rihlib/)

The intended blog coverage is stated in the “About” page of the blog, in which Eastman claims: “Here I will post links to websites, articles and resources of interest to Rowland scientists as well as material about issues concerning science libraries.” Thus we may understand the intended purpose of this blog to be two-fold, covering:

• Materials and Resources
• News and Events/Current Awareness

The blog is easily accessible from the library’s homepage, via a button on the sidebar. Blog posts are archived by date and category. The 11 subject categories assist users in locating relevant information, as they collect posts on similar subjects for browsing. Additional subject access is provided through a search widget, enabling keyword searching of blog content. The blog is equipped with a subscription feed, which helps users to stay connected without having to visit the blog website to check for updates.

The difficulty with using this blog comes from the fact that Eastman often does not provide active links to material he discusses. An example under the subject category “Weblogs” cites an article in Nature about blogs as an emerging communication forum in the sciences, but provides no link and no other citation information to locate the article. This is a problem that arises in many other posts also. Additionally, some links that are provided take users to authentication screens demanding passwords to access the information.

Many of the posts publicize the research efforts and successes of Rowland Institute scientists. In a way, this serves the “news and events” function of the blog, but it is likely that the Rowland scientists are already aware of their own publication efforts. A more helpful post might highlight related research efforts in other labs across the country and internationally. This would help Rowland scientists connect with colleagues working in related areas of the field, and keep them up to date on current developments.

The Conferences and Grants & Funding archives are particularly helpful to the research scientists at the Rowland Institute. Including this information helps keep scientists updated about funding and upcoming conference opportunities, and highlights the achievements of their colleagues at the institute in these areas. Also, the RSS subject category gives users links to valuable information about RSS feeds, and also to scientific publications that provide RSS feeds for their content. RSS is a valuable tool for busy researchers, as it enables them to keep track of new developments and publications. The inclusion of RSS tutorials and links to RSS feeds is one way that the library at the Rowland Institute provides information literacy instruction to its clients.

All things considered, the blog at the Rowland Institute Library is a good example of how blogs can serve users in special libraries. If I were a scientist at Rowland, I would subscribe to the blog’s RSS feed and use it to keep abreast of new developments both in my field and within the Rowland Institute.

The results of a survey of library bloggers were published in the December 2007 issue of Library Journal. In an article entitled “The Bloggers Among Us”, Meredith Farkas reports that 23% of survey respondents blogged as a means of keeping in touch with patrons and user groups.

The ALA’s July/August 2006 Library Technology Reports notes that library blogs take a number of forms, including:

• Library News Blogs – to keep patrons informed about library news
• Marketing and Promotion Blogs – to promote library events and programs
• Materials and Resources Blogs – to inform patrons of new and interesting library materials
• Service Oriented Blogs – devoted to a particular library service (eg: gaming for youth)
• Project Blogs – to keep users informed of a new project (eg: new building construction, library expansion)
• User-Specific Blogs – focused on a particular population and the services targeted to this group (eg: seniors, teens, families etc.)

The Regina Public Library uses Blogs for many of these purposes. This is my favourite example of library blogging so far. Check the RPL homepage here: http://www.reginalibrary.ca/index.html

Check the RPL blog page here: http://www.reginalibrary.ca/all_blogs.html

The RPL publishes 13 blogs, plus an RSS feed subscription that notifies users of changes to the library website. Of the 13 blogs, 10 fall into the “Materials and Resources” category. Two of these cover A/V materials, one for movies and the other for CDs. The other 8 Materials Blogs cover various genres of print materials, including Romance novels, Mystery, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Horror, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Non-Fiction, Business resources (both online and print) and one blog devoted to Prairie History sources, covering mostly genealogy resources. By devoting a separate blog to each genre, the RPL ensures users can customize their blog feeds to suit their interests. This means that users do not have to wade through all the materials and resources blog posts to get to information relevant to their needs. The Materials and Resources Blogs all group posts into subject categories. This is helpful for the users who wish to browse information on a particular topic, for example reviews or new materials.

The remaining 2 blogs published by the Regina Public Library are User-Specific Blogs. The KidSpace Blog (http://www.reginalibrary.ca/blogs/index.php?blog=10) keeps users informed of materials, programs and events geared towards children. The TeenZone Blog (http://www.reginalibrary.ca/blogs/index.php?blog=11) updates users about programs and materials geared to adolescents. These two user blogs also provide homework help in the form of links to online resources with curricular connections. For example, in the KidSpace Blog, users can link to resources related to the main subject areas, including Social Studies, Reading and Language, Geography, Math and Science. The KidSpace Blog also provides links to age-appropriate Dictionaries, Encyclopedias and Databases, so children and parents can connect to information via the web.

All blogs are easily accessible from the library’s homepage, via a large and clearly marked icon next to the catalogue search button. The blogs all invite comments and reviews from users, and all archive by month, rather than by subject tags. Each blog is equipped with a search widget, enabling users to search for particular topics in the blog, which mitigates the difficulty patrons might have locating information without tags.

Of all the biblioblogs I’ve seen, the RPL blogs are the most user-friendly. The separation of the blogs into specific genres or target user groups prevents the information overload that comes from trying to cram all the information into a single blog. The blogs all have links back to the RPL’s homepage, so it is impossible for novice users to get lost in the blogosphere abyss. The Regina Public Library should be congratulated for their contributions to the biblioblogosphere!

It is clear that many libraries are using blogs to reach out to users in new ways. However, blogs in libraries serve a professional development function as well. In an earlier post, I referred to a quote from a teacher librarian that differentiated between Library blogs, which contain useful information for users, and Librarian blogs, which are more philosophical and address broad issues in librarianship.

There is a type of blog that lies between these two examples: The professional resource blog. In her article published in the Winter 2008 issue of Young Adult Library Services, Beth Saxton outlines the ways librarians use blogs to reach out to one another and support each other in professional development:

“Blogs highlight best practices and current issues in many areas, including marketing, programming, and integrating new technologies into the library.”

According to Saxton, these professional resource blogggers “act as a filter, by selecting material and embellishing their posts with their own experiences and opinions.” By subscribing to a few blogs in professional development, librarians have access to new resources and ideas, and are also able to tap into their colleagues’ experiences and expertise. Professional development library blogs help librarians to cultivate the collegiality that is required in our rapidly changing profession.

One example of such a blog has already been mentioned, but it is a good example of how blogs serve this collegiality function in librarianship. Peter Goodwin’s blog, “Information Literacy Meets Web 2.0″ is a wonderful professional resource for librarians who wish to integrate technology with their information literacy curriculum. Check out the blog here: http://www.infolitweb.blogspot.com/

Goodwin’s blog serves as a fine example of how one librarian’s efforts help connect others to a wealth of resources. Goodwin offers links to other blogs with interesting content. He links to relevant documents, such as UNESCO’s IL primer, professional literature reviews, and online resources such as the Visuwords online graphical dictionary. On his blogroll, Goodwin states: “I am starting this blog as a new way to communicate with Business School staff.” Thus, the author articulates the purpose of the blog as supporting collaboration and communication among staff members. The wonderful thing about the blog as a communication medium, however, is the fact that Goodwin serves as a source of information and resources for a much wider audience. Because the blog is universally accessible, Peter’s efforts on behalf of his fellow staff members actually benefit many more library professionals!

Another example of a professional development blog is found in Steven Bell’s “The Kept-Up Academic Librarian”. (Check out the site here: http://keptup.typepad.com/academic/) This blog’s stated purpose is: “Helping academic librarians “Keep Up” with news and developments in higher education.” The blog includes links to items in the news media relevant to higher education, and the links to other blogs are particularly useful. The blogs in Steven’s subscription list include a number of other professional development blogs, such as Information Technology News (http://itnews.johntelford.com/) and LISNews (http://www.lisnews.org/) Blogs serve this connectivity function in libraries, linking librarians with resources and groups that can support their professional development.

I believe it is important for information professionals to subscribe to a few blogs via RSS. This way they are constantly updated and informed of new developments in the field. One of the problems, though, is how to find those “perfect fit blogs” that are subscription-worthy. Bloglines has just the solution, and you can find it here: http://www.bloglines.com/public/QuickLibrarianSetUp

Bloglines has found a list of blogs that are relevant, regularly updated and authoritative, and conveniently compiled them for all information professionals to peruse and subscribe to at will. The blogs included in the bloglines subscription range from individual blogs like The Shifted Librarian or The Free Range Librarian, to institutional blogs like LISNews or Information Technology News. This is a great place to start for librarians looking to take advantage of Web 2.0’s connective potential. Blogs like these link librarians and resources, and help to build an international community of professionals.

We’ve seen how blogs can be used to market the library and inform users about new programs and resources. But I wonder how they might work in a curricular context; that is, how does a blog fit into library instruction?

According to Priscilla Coulter and Lani Draper in their article “Blogging into Them” (Journal of Library Administration. (2006). v.45(1/2)): “Blogs have been used to prompt student reflection, critical thinking and collaboration with considerable success in a variety of educational settings.” The authors of this article implemented blogs as part of their regular face-to-face Information Literacy instruction. The IL blogs were promoted during the instruction sessions, and faculty members were encouraged to promote the blogs to students as a source of research support.

Information posted on the blogs included research tips on using Boolean logic, wildcards, databases and remote search strategies. Blogs were also used to promote new services and materials available to students. While this type of information, conveniently available online, seems like it would be useful to students, the survey conducted at the end of the pilot project yielded disappointing results. In fact, 61.5% of students surveyed did not use the blog at all, and 40% suggested that better marketing would help increase awareness about the service.

Coulter’s Information Literacy blogs are part of the Stephen F. Austin State University, Steen Library. Here is a link to the library’s homepage: http://libweb.sfasu.edu/

Take a look at an example of one of the IL blogs posted by Coulter: http://sfasumsri.blogspot.com/

The first criticism I can offer is that the blog is not apparently accessible through the library’s homepage. I searched under subject guides, programs and services, departments and finally resorted to searching “blog” in the site search widget. Nowhere was I able to connect to the IL blog! This is probably the main reason this pilot project received such poor student participation.

The blog itself, accessible through the URL in Coulter and Draper’s article, is a useful resource. It includes tips on searching, notifies students of new databases and library materials, provides research guides and tutorials on RefWorks. Posts are archived by date, rather than by subject tags, which makes for difficult browsing.

In terms of user participation, there were no comments on any of the blog posts, which reinforces the conclusion that student participation in this project was low. Again, this is probably due to the lack of marketing and accessibility through the library’s homepage.

Additional criticism may be leveled at the lack of the RSS feed subscription button. As James Farmer admonishes in his blog (http://blogsavvy.net/how-not-to-use-blogs-in-education) “Ignore RSS at your peril!” Students must access this blog directly to check for updates – a task made even more difficult by the fact that this blog is not accessible from the library’s homepage!

Blogs are a valuable tool that have the potential to extend information literacy training beyond the traditional face-to-face instruction in research skills and resource use. Blogs are a way for librarians to share information and engage in conversations with users, to answer questions and seek feedback about the usefulness and relevance of information literacy instruction. The blog at SFAS University has the potential to achieve these outcomes, but because of a lack of effective marketing, it fails on all fronts.

It is interesting that not many libraries are making use of blog technology in their information literacy instruction. Indeed, the blog at SFASU was the only one I found with a specific IL instructional focus. With the potential for reflection on and extension of IL training sessions, one would expect that blogs would be integrated into the academic library’s IL curriculum. Why this is not happening is unclear.

What is clear, is that librarians are blogging ABOUT information literacy in droves! One particularly interesting blog by Peter Goodwin is entitled “Information Literacy meets Web 2.0″. http://infolitweb.blogspot.com/

This blog is a review of Web 2.0 technologies being used in information literacy instruction. Goodwin reviews literature, covers conference proceedings, and archives posts by date. He offers relevant insights and links to online resources. This blog is definitely going on my subscription list!

School libraries are unique, and likewise, school library blogs differ from other biblioblogs. In a May, 2007 article entitled “Mattering in the School Blogosphere”, American Libraries summarized the results of a survey about school library blogs. According to respondent Alice Yucht, an educator with over 40 years of experience in classrooms and school libraries:

“School librarians work under very different conditions than public, academic or corporate librarians. School librarians are considered educators first, librarians second…it’s important to recognize the difference between school library blogs, which usually function as a venue for practical and local info, and school librarian blogs, which are often more philosophical discussions about information literacy and curriculum issues.”

Link to Alice’s blog here: http://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/

So school libraries are admittedly different than other types of libraries in terms of their user groups and their mandate. The question is, how do they use blogging as a tool to meet the needs of these users, and to fulfill their educational mandate?

According to a 2002 article by Noah Shachtman in Wired:

(http://www.wired.com/culture/education/news/2002/06/52992)

“Teachers at every level from elementary school to MBA are trying to bring blogs into their classrooms. They’re finding the most success when they use the blog as a “classroom management tool” ­– a way to broadcast homework assignments, keep parents informed, and provide links to research materials.”

Since the publication of that article, school library blogs have evolved into much more than classroom management tools.

In the article in American Libraries mentioned above, Rob Darrow, a biblioblogger from Clovis Unified School District in California, highlights the many uses for school library blogs:

“Blogging is a powerful information tool and should be incorporated into every school library. It can be used to highlight collaborative lessons, new books, events in the library, student reading events…we have only just scratched the surface.”

Link to Rob’s blog here: http://robdarrow.wordpress.com/

An article entitled Making Connections with Blogs and Wikis, appeared in the Fall 2006 issue of the California School Library Association Journal. Author, Doug Achterman articulates the importance of blogging in the school library:

“In a school setting, blogs are ideal for sustained conversations involving an entire community…the site allows students to connect to each other and share their reading experiences in an authentic way, in language that is their own. The blog also affords opportunities to advance information literacy goals.”

Looking at Coquitlam’s Dr. Charles Best Secondary School’s Library, (homepage: http://www.bestlibrary.org) we see a library blog that serves its users in a variety of interesting ways.

Link to the blog here: http://www.bestlibrary.org/best/

The library website is actually a network of blogs on different subjects. The main page provides links for students to homework resources, online encyclopedias, dictionaries and links to teacher and departmental blogs and web pages at Dr. Charles Best Secondary School. Additonally, the site provides links for teachers to a number of resources including handbooks for integrating computers into the classroom, database search tools and guides for effective searching. Links to book reviews, bestseller lists, RSS news feeds and online resources organized by subject provide students, teachers and parents with all the help they need.

The site is large, and navigating is made difficult by the lack of a “home” button on all the pages and blogs within the site. I found myself constantly using the back button to navigate to the main page. Students and teachers with specific needs could certainly find links to helpful resources through the Library’s blog. However, I wasn’t able to locate the categories to sort posts. Searching the blog was possible, using a search widget, but browsing blog posts by subject is often the best way to find information, especially when the information need is not fully defined.

The library’s blog invites student participation in the form of comments, book reviews, and email feedback to the blog administrators. In this way, it lives up to Achterman’s ideal for a blog as a forum for sustained conversation between all members of a community.

The Dr. Charles Best Secondary School Library blog is really the center of a network of school blogs. It serves as a portal connecting students, teachers and parents to an array of information and resources available online. It is an inspiring example of the potential applications for blogs in the school library.

According to Meredith Farkas’ survey of librarians who blog, “nearly two-thirds of respondents currently work in academic or public libraries…academic librarians remain over-represented.” (Library Journal, Dec. 2007) Farkas believes that this trend reflects academic libraries’ requirement that their librarians publish in the professional literature. Indeed, 22% of respondents to her survey reported that writing practice was a major factor in their decision to blog. However, given the strong service ethic within academic librarianship, there must be other factors that motivate these academic librarians to blog.

Morag Boyd and Abigail Bordeaux, in their survey of Web 2.0 in academic libraries, point to blogs as “a marketing tool for the library.” (The Serials Librarian. (2007). v.52(3/4)) Bordeaux, an electronic resources librarian at Binghamton University, helped to establish a “news and events” blog for the university library. (http://library.lib.binghamton.edu/mt/librarynews/) This blog replaced the “news and events” webpage. The librarians hoped that using blog technology would “make the page easier to maintain and encourage more frequent updating.”

The ALA’s July/August 2006 issue of Library Technology Reports outlines many types of blogs used in libraries. Three seem to be particularly relevant in the academic library setting.

1. Library News Blogs – to keep users informed about what’s happening at the Library
2. Marketing and Promotion Blogs – to promote library events and programs
3. Materials/Resources Blogs – to highlight parts of the library’s collection

Our own University of British Columbia Law Library maintains a blog that fits into all three of these categories. (http://weblogs.elearning.ubc.ca/lawlib/) This blog is accessible from the Law Library homepage, (http://www.library.ubc.ca/law/) and archives posts by date and also under a number of useful headings. The new books archive contains the greatest number of posts (108), which leads me to believe that a primary purpose of this blog is to notify users when new materials become available. Additionally, though, the blog provides news and announcements from the university that apply to law students, and publicizes information literacy training in database searching.

Within the information for Graduate students archive, the blog provides links to useful academic resources, such as databases, subject guides and information about thesis submission. It also provides links to housing resources to assist students in finding accommodation while attending UBC. In this way, the Law Library Blog extends library services beyond the traditional roles of academic support.

The Blog invites comments, and each post is followed by a comments link. This link is tiny, and may not be immediately apparent to the novice user. However, several posts include comments containing additional information, presumably from blog readers.

Surprisingly, the UBC Law Library blog does not include the RSS subscription button that usually appears on blogs. This means that users must visit the blog to check for new information, rather than having updates sent directly to them in an RSS feed. James Farmer’s post on Blogsavvy (http://blogsavvy.net/how-not-to-use-blogs-in-education) outlines his summary of “How Not to use Blogs in Education”. One of the points he makes is that blogs in education ignore RSS at their peril. He notes that:

“Without RSS blogs would pretty much just be extensions of geocities pages. Your learners are NEVER going to surf each others sites everyday and the majority of them won’t even go to that funky web-based aggregator you set-up.”

This might be something for the Blog administrator at UBC’s Law Library to consider as a way to improve user access.

This is my first foray into the world of weblogs. In this new forum, I plan to explore the ways that libraries are using Blogs as communication tools. My focus will be on the use of blogs in Public, Academic, School and Special Libraries.  At the end of this investigation into the use of Blogs in library settings, I will have formed an understanding of the various applications of this technology and an opinion about its place in the library.

Emily Tufts

LIBR 500 – Foundations of Information Technology