Blogs For Medical Librarians

Blogs for Medical Librarians Mayo Libraries 2.0 July 18th, 2007

David Rothman
Medical Library Geek (Community General Hospital – Syracuse, NY)
Published recently on MedLib technology in MRSQ, JHL & MLA News.
Co-creator, LibWorm LIS Search Engine ( http://www.libworm.com/ )
Blogger ( http://davidrothman.net and www.clrc.org/blog / )

davidrothman.net
7,000 Unique Visits in June 2007
900-1000 subscribers, mostly medical librarians
Most linked-to English-language MedLib blog
Currently ranked in the top 15 healthcare blogs

What’s a blog?
A blog isn’t an online diary anymore than a book is a 19 th -century English Novel .
CONTAINER CONTENT
NOT an “online diary” A blog is a particular kind of Web site.

What makes a Web site a blog?
Dated entries in reverse-chronological order
Interface that lets the blog’s author(s) easily and quickly create and update content - even with absolutely zero knowledge of Web geekery.
Other features that almost all blogs have:
Comments
Archives

Why call this kind of site a “blog”?
Web
log

Blogosphere : “… a collective term encompassing all blogs and their interconnections. It is the perception that blogs exist together as a connected community…” ( Wikipedia )
Biblio blogosphere : Encompassing library blogs (biblioblogs).
‘ Spheres

What’s the big deal?
Blogs make publishing easy, affordable and immediate for anybody .
Blogs fill niches (long tail, etc.)
More on this later…

Why Read Blogs?
Current Awareness
Immediate, no delays as in print
Personal, informal, friendly, trusted voices – not impersonal, monolithic institutions or publications.
Help filter the avalanche of new information

Every sort What sort of blogs are available? We’ll start with MedLib blogs.

Types of MedLib Blogs
By library staff, for library staff
By library staff, for patrons
By professional associations for members
By medical libraryfolk, for medical libraryfolk
By medical libraryfolk for laypeople

U of Michigan HSL Staff Blog

Google Scholar Blog (Dean Giustini )

The Krafty Librarian (Michelle Kraft)

T. Scott Plutchak

UBC Physio Info Blog (Eugene Barsky )

JMLA Case Studiesin Health Sciences Librarianship

Clinical Evidence, Searching Tidbits , and Other Minutiae (Becky Jerome)

Women's Health News(Rachel Walden)

NN/LM Blogs MidContinental Region , Middle Atlantic Region , Greater Midwest Region , South Central Region , Pacific Northwest Region , Pacific Southwest Region , Southeastern Atlantic Region

BHIC ( Siobhan Champ-Blackwell)

But why stop with MedLib Blogs?

Kevin, M.D.

Polite Dissent

Information Wants to be Free(Meredith Farkas )

Circ & Serve (Mary Chimato )

Where do I find more blogs?
LibWorm
Masterlist of MedLib Blogs
MLA-HLS Wiki list of blogs for Hospital Librarians
Healthcare 100
MedWorm
Always remember: “Popular” is a poor substitute for “authoritative” or even “high quality.”
Illustration of this: The New Kids on the Block had two albums go to #1 in both the US and the UK .

Masterlist of MedLib Blogs

Healthcare 100

Why start a blog?
Enhance communication among staff
Enhance communication with patrons
Community outreach
Professional development
Identity Management

What I get from blogging
Motivation to pursue current awareness
Opportunities to write for JHL, MRSQ, MLA News, JMLA and LJ
Opportunities to speak
Contact with like-minded others and prominent voices in LIS and medicine (e.g. Melissa Rethlefsen, Tom Easley, AMA News)
My work appearing in books and CE courses, reviewer/referee for CIL and HILJ.
Building a reputation
How else could such things have been accomplished as quickly?

Questions?

Thank you!
David Rothman
http:// davidrothman.net
[email_address]

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http://weblogs.elearning.ubc.ca	32
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Blogs For Medical Librarians

by David Rothman on Jul 24, 2007

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Blogs For Medical Librarians — Presentation Transcript