Blogging In The Library Revised Oct 16

BLOGGING IN THE LIBRARY NYLA presentation 2007

What is a blog?
Blog is short for Web Log. It is a website where content listed in reverse chronological order.
A blog is a collaborative space either stand alone or within a website that visitors can post comments, link to, add to, or just read on a weekly, daily, hourly basis.

Why have a library blog?
Blogs can improve your results in search engine rankings.
Blogs and blogging software make updating information on your website about programs etc. much easier. You don’t need to know html or complicated formatting.
Blogs can be used to keep people (both staff and customers) informed about progress on construction, closings, etc.
Blogs can be used to share information among departments, different locations.
Blogs can put a human face on your organization.

Types of Blogs
Personal blog
Business blog
Internal
External

Public blogs
Treat like newsletter
Professional
What is your image?
Must be maintained. You can’t make a blog and then leave it.
Who will be posting? What is their authority to be the voice of the library to the public, PR department, library director, etc.?
Comments: are you going to allow comments, who will respond?

Internal Blog
Mission Statement – why start an internal blog?
Clear guidelines – what do you expect to accomplish with this form of communication?
Etiquette – what is and is not acceptable on a professional blog.

Blogging rules
Make a commitment, must keep blogging
Have something to say.
Have Mission Statement.
Clear guidelines.
Etiquette.

Why blog in a library?
COMMUNICATION!!!
In a multi-location system or even a system with two people, communication is key.
What can the administration do to foster communication?
Make it open to all employees
A professional forum
Foster internal customer satisfaction

Examples of Good Blogs
http://www.waterborolibrary.org/blog.htm
http://www.aadl.org/
http://papercuts.tscpl.org/
http://findlaylibrary.blogspot.com/

Examples of Good Blogs (cont.) Library Construction
http://www2.sls.lib.il.us/MVCC/construction/
http:// lndlibrary.blogspot.com /
http:// bradfordcountylibrary.blogspot.com /
http:// newjmslibrary.blogspot.com /

“ Bad” Library Blogs
What’s a bad library blog? (From Walt Crawford)
Short version: A blog that nobody in the community has any use for and that the librarians or other staff find painful to update.
Even then, that’s not so much bad as pointless and a waste of time.
A library blog that states an explicit mission and leaves that mission wildly unfulfilled–e.g., “We’ll provide weekly updates on new activities” as part of the banner on a blog that gets updated once every other month.

Examples of “bad” blogs
http:// bcplstarkefloridachildren.blogspot.com /
http:// www.nassaulibrary.org/rooseveltblog /
http:// sgvlibrary.blogspot.com /
http:// blog.johnedwards.com

Blog examples from other agencies
http://www.nea.gov/bigreadblog/ National Endowment of the Arts reading blogs
http://www.loc.gov/blog/ Library of Congress
http://mcrecycles.blogspot.com/ “Talkin’ Trash” the Montgomery County, MD Solid Waste Services Department blog.

Software and other technical issues
http:// www.ojr.org/ojr/images/blog_software_comparison.cfm blog software comparison chart.

Resources
Blogging and RSS: a Librarian’s Guide by Michael P. Sauers, Information Today, 2006 ISBN 9781573872683
http://www.usa.gov/webcontent/technology/blogs.shtml Federal government website about blogs in government.
Scoble, Robert and Israel, Shel, Naked conversations : how blogs are changing the way businesses talk with customers, John Wiley, Hoboken, NJ, 2006.

Contact Information
Nancy J. Weiss
[email_address]
718-990-0780
Bonnie Hodes
[email_address]
718-990-0780
89-11 Merrick Blvd.
Jamaica, New York 11432

Blogging In The Library Revised Oct 16

by bhodes on Oct 16, 2007

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Blogging In The Library Revised Oct 16 — Presentation Transcript