Have been having some thoughts about blogs. The exercises have been fun but I think I need to reflect just how blogs can be useful; how they might be used as an information resource and their validity in the wider information environment, and the ethical issues of blogosphere (see I'm developing a whole new vocabulary!)
How do I think the blog could be useful in my library?
I was impressed to see how other libraries had used their blogs to display current information about hours and services particularly during our current snowdays! Yet they also provide a space for more static information about hours, admissions and collections. All this with a functionality that makes the blog quick and easy to update. I like the way it allows the display of more information then can be put on a poster such as upcoming WISER sessions and their content. The opportunities to subscribe to pages encourages feedback. This can only help us improve our services by creating a co-operative community of readers and researchers.
The blog is a great way of getting the library out of the library. It can extend access to resources and services when hours and space are limited. More importantly it promotes the brand that is your library. It's a highly visible way of validating your value as "information provider" and information professional providing, of course, that you avoid comedic flippancy, incorporate good design and keep it current. I feel virtual space can enhance and increase the use of physical space and the role of the librarian.
How might blogs be useful as an information resource?
I think it is useful in the immediacy of opinion expressed and the currency of events. described. It can react far more quickly then printed sources. I think qualitative judgments about the speed and value of the immediacy of the blogsphere are still up for debate. It is for our readers and researchers to decide about the quantity, quality and bias, and the consensus of opinions expressed. They must be able to identify highly personal accounts and propaganda. How, though, do these things differ from the pamphleteering of the 17th and 18th centuries, the opinionated accounts of the nineteenth century reviewer and the letters of "disgusted of Tunbridge Wells"? As information resources I am sure they will reflect new trends of thought, currents of opinion and commercial fads.
I like the way that the blogosphere democratises and globalises information. This can only be positive in a world of intolerence and ignorance. I am an optimist I know! I'm sure someone will comment on the negative impact of the dissemination of unsavoury information. I like the sense of community; however esoteric your interest you are not alone - someone else surely shares your passion. Of course, all this raises fundamental questions about TRUST (very topical!)
How do I think the blog could be useful in my library?
I was impressed to see how other libraries had used their blogs to display current information about hours and services particularly during our current snowdays! Yet they also provide a space for more static information about hours, admissions and collections. All this with a functionality that makes the blog quick and easy to update. I like the way it allows the display of more information then can be put on a poster such as upcoming WISER sessions and their content. The opportunities to subscribe to pages encourages feedback. This can only help us improve our services by creating a co-operative community of readers and researchers.
The blog is a great way of getting the library out of the library. It can extend access to resources and services when hours and space are limited. More importantly it promotes the brand that is your library. It's a highly visible way of validating your value as "information provider" and information professional providing, of course, that you avoid comedic flippancy, incorporate good design and keep it current. I feel virtual space can enhance and increase the use of physical space and the role of the librarian.
How might blogs be useful as an information resource?
I think it is useful in the immediacy of opinion expressed and the currency of events. described. It can react far more quickly then printed sources. I think qualitative judgments about the speed and value of the immediacy of the blogsphere are still up for debate. It is for our readers and researchers to decide about the quantity, quality and bias, and the consensus of opinions expressed. They must be able to identify highly personal accounts and propaganda. How, though, do these things differ from the pamphleteering of the 17th and 18th centuries, the opinionated accounts of the nineteenth century reviewer and the letters of "disgusted of Tunbridge Wells"? As information resources I am sure they will reflect new trends of thought, currents of opinion and commercial fads.
I like the way that the blogosphere democratises and globalises information. This can only be positive in a world of intolerence and ignorance. I am an optimist I know! I'm sure someone will comment on the negative impact of the dissemination of unsavoury information. I like the sense of community; however esoteric your interest you are not alone - someone else surely shares your passion. Of course, all this raises fundamental questions about TRUST (very topical!)
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