Blogs
& Blog Use in Libraries (L4L)
- Background
- How blogs are being used in libraries
- Independent librarian blogs
- Some library-related blogs by topic
- Lists of blogs out there and a highlighted few
- How to start blogging
Background
What's a blog, you ask? Blog is the short form of "web log," which is typically a personal journal that is updated frequently and available to the general public. Characteristics of a blog include its journal form, informal style, and its representation of the author's personality. Topics sometimes include brief philosophical musings, commentary on Internet and other social issues, and links to other sites the author favors. Libraries are beginning to use blogs to share information about new materials or services, and as a way to encourage feedback from their patrons.
For a more complete definition and discussion of blogs, visit Wikipedia's Blog page or listen to Michael Stephen's SirsiDynix Institute webinar on weblogs and libraries.
How blogs are being used in libraries
Libraries are using blogs as a way to share information, to encourage feedback from their patrons, to highlight services or new materials, and more. Blogs can be wonderful marketing tools, and a fantastic way to become more "real" or "approachable" to your users. Here are some examples blog use in libraries across the country.
Ann Arbor District Library
AADL's homepage is now a blog where staff can share information on everything
from holiday hours to new resources on the web to construction or book lists.
They have an Audio Blog, Books
Blog, Video Blog and Media
Mentions blog just
to name a few where they share information about materials in their collections.
The beautiful thing about their site is that they encourage patron comments on
their postings.
Learning 2.0
Helene Blowers of the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County created an online training program for library staff to encourage them to experiment and learn about new and emerging technologies. It was such a popular program that she has now created Learning 2.1!
Marin County Free Library Blog
A way to share news and events taking place at the library.
St. Joseph County Public Library's SJCPL Blog
A way to share news about the library, including categories like "Musical Notes,"
"Movies & More," "Programs, Classes & Events," "To Read or Not to Read." They
include book jacket art in their lists of new materials and do a nice job linking
titles from there right to their online catalog.
Student Reflections on Night by Elie Wiesel
"This blog was first created to allow students at Cold Spring Harbor High
School in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, and at Lakeview High School in Battle
Creek, Michigan, to share their reflections upon reading the autobiographical
memoir
Night by Elie Wiesel." Created and moderated by a high school librarian,
and includes very thoughtful comments from students involved in the project.
A great prototype!
Waterloo Public Library Book Club Blog
A site for this library's book club that discusses books being read and encourages
people to participate in the discussion whether or not they are able to attend
the monthly book club meetings at the library. What a great way to reach people
who can't attend programs at the library!
WisBlawg - from the UW Law
Library
A Wisconsin blog discussing a variety of topics with recommended reading links
and "blogs I read." A nice example of communicating with a target audience.
Lamson Library: Plymouth State University
Casey Bisson of Plymouth State University has created an ambitious experiment.
He has overlaid blog software on an III catalog interface to share recently added
items in blog format via their catalog. This allows for the addition of tags
and more patron friendly ways of searching. Not for the faint-hearted, but what
a great idea.
Independent Librarian Blogs
Many librarians are out there blogging on their own time, sharing their views and opinions on current trends and sharing their passion for librarianship in their own way. There are several that are becoming quite well-known, as some of these authors were named in Library Journal's 2005 list of Movers and Shakers. Here's a short list of examples, and IMHO, the ones you should be paying attention to.
Feel-good librarian
"The Feel-good Librarian works at the reference desk of
a midwestern library." That's all we know! This anonymous writer shares her stories
of working at a reference desk, which will help you remember why you became a
librarian in the first place.
Information Wants To Be Free
Meredith Farkas (a.k.a. the queen of wikis), creator of the Library Success Wiki,
shares her thoughts on librarianship and a variety of social software and current
tech trends.
LibrarianInBlack
"Resources and discussions for the "tech-librarians-by-default" among us..." Sarah Houghton-Jan says it like it is and provides lots of links to cool tools along with her opinions on library happenings.
librarian.net
Created by Jessamyn West, a rural librarian "putting the rarin' back in librarian."
Jessamyn shares her thoughts on a variety of topics, and it is obvious she is
passionate about librarianship.
The Shifted Librarian
From Jenny Levine. Her goal is to "help us librarians become as technologically
adept as our users are so that we can deliver services to them and in their preferred
medium and platform." Lots of posts about cool tools and how you can use them
in libraries.
Tame the Web
Michael Stephens focuses the content of his blog on libraries and technology.
He was formerly the special projects librarian at the St. Joseph County Public
Library and will be an instructor at the Graduate School of Library at Information
Science at Dominican University starting in August 2006.
Walking Paper
From Aaron Schmidt, formerly a reference librarian at the Thomas
Ford Memorial Library now director of the North Plains Public Library in Oregon. Posts on a variety of topics, but many are related
to techie info and use of techie stuff in public libraries.
Some library-related blogs by topic
Cataloging
catalogablog
"Library cataloging, classification, metadata, subject access and related topics."
General
Library Link of the Day
Provides a daily link for keeping up-to-date with the library profession. You
can sign up to have the link delivered to your email daily, rather than having
to check the blog.
Library Stuff
"The library weblog dedicated to resources for keeping current and professional
development."
LISNews.com
This blog is great for information on general library and information science
news. What is the latest hot topic in the library world? You'll probably find
someone here writing about it.
NewPages.com Weblog
"The alternative guide to new books, magazines, and music along with news & views
from the Net of interest to booksellers, publishers, librarians, writers and
readers."
Law
LibraryLaw Blog
"Issues concerning libraries and the law - with latitude to discuss any
other interesting issues. Note: Not legal advice - just a dangerous mix of thoughts
and information."
Reference
Digital
Reference
Exactly what the title states! (For fun, take a look at Ref
Grunt, too.)
Internet Scout Project Weblog
The well-known Internet Scout Project from UW-Madison has entered into the blogging
world with a great blog full of miscellanea. Very current with lots of variety
of topics. Great for reference librarians and curious people.
Neat New Stuff on the Net
Marylaine Block shares her latest finds on the 'net.
Technology
The
Handheld Librarian
"Librarians sharing news, applications, and ideas of interest with others working
with handheld computer technology."
Tame
the Web
A blog that focuses on technology and libraries.
Wisconsin
The
WLA Blog
The Wisconsin Library Association posts legislative info and other news WI
libraries need to know about.
Wisconsin Library Stories
News and updates about Wisconsin libraries, along with stories shared by library fans from across the state. From the Campaign for Wisconsin Libraries.
Blogs for Fun
Here are a few blogs created by librarians with good senses of humor. Just for fun, but also informational.
- The Laughing Librarian (my personal favorite!)
- The Lipstick Librarian
Lists of blogs out there and a highlighted few
The following sites have created lists of existing blogs. Once you're at a site, you can generally pick a country or topic to view blogs available for that region or subject.
- Bloglines: Top Blogs
- Library Weblogs
A highlighted few
Here's a short list of other blogs not necessarily library-related, but which might be worth keeping track of:
Ars Technica
The PC Enthusiast's
Resource
eHub
A "constantly updated resource of web applications, services or sites with a focus on next generation web (web 2.0), social software, blogging... and digital media sharing." Great way to keep up-to-date!
Gadgetopia
"Geek and you
shall find..."
Lifehacker
"Computers make us
more productive. Yeah, right. Lifehacker recommends the software downloads that
actually save time. Don't live to geek; geek to live."
Slashdot
News for nerds, stuff that
matters
How to start blogging
Interested in starting your own blog? There are free services on the web that will help you do just that. Take a look at these and decide what seems to work best for you. Remember, if you're going to blog, make sure you have something new to say!
Free blog services that will host your blog
- BLOGGER
- LiveJournal
- WordPress
WordPress is also open source software you can download and install on your own web server to host your own blogs. Read more about it.
Blog applications you can purchase
- Movable Type - host on your own web server
- TypePad - hosts on their web server for you
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