Building the Social Library Online Meredith Farkas Norwich University

Meredith Farkas

Norwich University

Web 1.0: Democratized Access to Information

Web 2.0: Democratized Participation

What is social software? My definition: To be defined as social software, a tool must meet at least two of the following conditions: 1. It allows people to communicate, collaborate and build community online 2. It can be syndicated, shared, reused or remixed, or it facilitates syndication 3. It allows people to easily learn from and capitalize on the behavior or knowledge of others

Examples Blogs RSS Wikis Social networking sites (MySpace/Facebook, etc.) Social bookmarking sites Other online communities Instant messaging / VoIP / Webconferencing Podcasting Video blogging/screencasting Multi-user virtual environments and games

Blogs

RSS

Wikis

Social networking sites (MySpace/Facebook, etc.)

Social bookmarking sites

Other online communities

Instant messaging / VoIP / Webconferencing

Podcasting

Video blogging/screencasting

Multi-user virtual environments and games

Characteristics of Social Software

Easy Content Creation and Sharing

Online Collaboration

Conversations: Distributed

Conversations: Real Time

Capitalizing on the Wisdom of Crowds

Transparency

Transparency

Personalization

Personalization

Portability

What Can Social Software do for Libraries?

Disseminate Information

Disseminate Information

Disseminate Information

Disseminate Information

Disseminate Information

Get Feedback! Start a Conversation!

Get Feedback! Start a Conversation!

Get Feedback! Start a Conversation!

Get Feedback! Start a Conversation!

Get Feedback! Start a Conversation!

Provide Services to Remote Users

Provide Services to Remote Users

Provide Services Where our Users Are

Provide Services Where our Users Are

Provide Services Where our Users Are

Provide Services Where our Users Are

Provide Services Where our Users Are

Capitalize on the Collective Intelligence of Colleagues and Users

Capitalize on the Collective Intelligence of Colleagues and Users

Capitalize on the Collective Intelligence of Colleagues and Users

Capitalize on the Collective Intelligence of Colleagues and Users

Capitalize on the Collective Intelligence of Colleagues and Users

Strategies for Implementing Social Software

Avoid technolust

Will it improve library services? Will patrons use it?

Involve staff at all levels in planning

Encourage staff to play (and kick the tires!)

Consider barriers to use and break them down

Consider barriers to use and break them down

Seek out strategic partnerships

Consider maintenance and sustainability

Must be able to integrate into staff workflow

Training for staff and patrons

In marketing focus on the functionality

Be willing to experiment. Avoid analysis paralysis!

Start small and keep it simple

Questions? [email_address] AIM: librarianmer Links and presentation at http://meredithfarkas.wetpaint.com Questions? Just Ask!