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So, as part of the 10 Things @ SPL, the staff at mpow is being asked to take a look at blogs. My introduction to the world of blogs came in 2002 when a friend of mine told me that he had a blog both on livejournal and Xanga. At the time, I had just moved to Seoul, Korea to live, study, and work for a year and the idea of keeping an online journal really appealed to me. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world that I could stay connected to friends back in the States by journaling my life in Korea. So I opened a Xanga account and started my first blog. I quickly realized that not only would blogging keep the doors open to people who were already my friends and family, but it would also open the doors to connections and friendships with people I would never meet face to face. Blogging ended up being a huge part of my life that year and it really allowed me to keep my sanity while I experienced an entirely new culture, place, language, and lifestyle. It’s ironic that even though I was living in a place so far from home, not knowing hardly anyone, I never felt more connected to people than I did that year when I became a blogger.
When I started my masters in information science, I realized that blogging would not only be a part of my personal life but it would also be a huge part of my professional life. I consider myself lucky because I worked part-time (while a student at UMSI) at the Ann Arbor District Library when they rolled out their new website built on Drupal. Blogs were suddenly a major part of the library’s web presence and the great thing is that the library empowered every staff member to contribute to the library’s various blogs if we were interested. I had the opportunity to contribute to the video blog mostly, writing entries promoting the video collection.
So, when I think about blogging and libraries, I think of all the possibilities. Libraries can use blogs to communicate and connect with their patrons in various ways, like this, this, and this. And the best thing about it is that patrons have the opportunity to participate in the conversation. Sure, most library blogs don’t get a lot of comments yet, but the fact that libraries with blogs are giving patrons an open invitation to express their thoughts on the library’s websites is a big deal imho. And speaking of comments, take a look at this entry from a blog I enjoy reading; it addresses the important question of how to handle the dearth of comments on most library blogs. I really think that blogs can help libraries remain vibrant in and relevant to their communities, but the reality is that libraries are still figuring out how to use blogs most effectively. It’s an exciting time!
So how about you, what kinds of blogs would you like to see from your library, whether you’re a library worker or a library patron? For those of you on staff at SPL, would you want to contribute to a library blog (e.g., book blog, video blog, research blog, technology blog, etc.)?
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2 Responses to “Thing 1: Blogs”
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Rich we are glad that you were at AADL, too!
Good luck and keep up the great work.
Josie
Thanks Josie!