Assignment 2 - Part A - An evaluative statement using documented experiences in OLJ

Part A – An evaluative statement using three experiences documented in the OLJ as evidence of meeting the learning objectives.

  

Three learning experiences documented for the purposes of this assignment.

1.  Select advice from five (5) letters of this A-Z list and consider how these may be applied to this library to help it embrace a Library 2.0 ethos. 
2.  RSS in action. 
3.  “Reasons why libraries should be on social media”, and draw upon aspects of these three libraries to illustrate each point. 

I chose to highlight the three learning experiences listed above as I felt that they were challenging and offered a wide range of experiences that were relevant to my workplace at the time. By completing these activities and in fact many of the others listed in the modules I believe that my understanding of social networking has been enriched as I become more familiar with these tools.

In conjunction with completing module three which was about Library 2.0 (Hay and Wallace, 2011) I completed the activity that required me to look at five letters of the A-Z list of social networking for libraries (Brown, 2010). . By completing this activity I was forced to look at the Library 2.0 in a different light and to think outside the square. By focusing on the aspects listed in the list provided by Brown (Brown, 2010) I will be able to ensure that the library in which I work stays relevant and addresses policies proactively.

In completing this OLJ activity I focused on Blogs, EBooks, Good Reads, Help and Zeal.

I chose to focus on blogging as I felt that blogging was a great way to extend the library beyond its walls. It is also a simple form of publishing which is ideal for a new social networker like me. It was an idea that I decided to implement in the primary school library that I work in. It has had a huge impact on the visibility of the library and has been a great way to foster social interaction between students and teachers. In the article by Casey and Stavastinuk (2006) libraries are being encouraged to revitalize the way we serve and interact with our customers. The blog has provided the perfect opportunity to do this.

EBooks appear to be the way of the future, and while my school is not willing to provide them YET, it was an area I felt the need to research further.

Good reads were also looked at as the school library is still seen as being the provider of extra reading materials for students to read and I felt that it was important to acknowledge this as often in the Web 2.0 culture that we now live this can be overlooked.

Help was relevant for me to write about as I have been learning where to go for help in understanding the Library 2.0 and then passing on this information to students and teachers.

Zeal. While visiting the University of Technology library I was totally inspired by the Mal Booth who demonstrated a passion and zeal for his library. It is that kind of zeal that I want to demonstrate in the school that I work.

The second area that I looked at was RSS feed. This proved to enlightening for me as I had often seen the RSS symbol on websites that I visited but had no idea what they meant, or how to use them. This is an area that is growing as more people try to remain informed of all of the latest updates on their favourite websites and news services.

The two RSS feeds that I subscribed to were at the State Library of NSW and ALIA. It has proven to be a great social networking tool and I have now subscribed to many more sites in this manner. It has saved me huge chunks of time as I am told when a site has been updated. I have also taken this a step further and conducted a professional learning session at school to show the other staff how they can use RSS feed to stay updated about the blogs within the school. Many teachers are now participating in this.

The third activity I completed was to look at the reasons why libraries should be on social media. To do this I looked at three different libraries and compared the ways they used social media.

As Farkas (2008) writes that the library needs to work towards meeting the changing needs of the user. With this in mind and following the advice given by Andy Burkhardt (2009) I compared the libraries and the social networking tools they used. This proved to be a worthwhile exercise as it forced me to look at the way we use social media in our library and how I can improve this sadly neglected area.

By completing the three online activities I was provided with the opportunity to research deeper into social media than I possibly would have by just reading the modules. Throughout this subject I have endeavored to document my learning and have experienced many more areas than the ones highlighted in this entry. These can be viewed in my OLJ.

References

Brown, A.L. (2010, January 22). A to Z of social Networking for Libraries. Retrieved from http://socialnetworkinglibrarian.com/2010/01/22/a-to-z-of-social-networking-for-libraries/

Burkhardt, A. (2009, August 29). Four Reasons Libraries Should be on Social Media. Retrieved from http://andyburkhardt.com/2009/08/25/four-reasons-libraries-should-be-on-social-media/

Casey, M. & Savastinuk, L. (2006). Library 2.0: Service for the next-generation library, Library Journal, 1 September. Retrieved from http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6365200.html

Drury, C. (2011, April 1). Module 3 – A-Z of Social Networking for Libraries. Posted to http://cathyslibraryskillsprogress.blogspot.com/2011/04/module-3-z-of-social-networking-for.html

Farkas, M. (2008, January 24). The essence of library 2.0? Retrieved from http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2008/01/24/the-essence-of-library-20/

Hay, L, & Wallis, J. (2011). Social Networking for Information Professionals [INF506 201130]. Retrieved from Charles Sturt University website: http://interact.csu.edu.au/portal/site/INF506_201130