Evaluative statement
"Delicious as a social bookmarking tool"
This activity demonstrated to me that not all social networking tools can be relied upon to consistently work, or to be sufficiently user friendly. This fits learning objectives 3 and 4, which is the ability to examine and evaluate the various social networking technologies on offer. My experience with delicious was disappointing, as I am a fairly savvy user. It has the potential to be a very useful tool, but is of little value if it is too difficult for the average user to navigate. By utilising the INF206 Facebook forum, I discovered the lecturer had already suggested an alternate platform.
The Diigo platform was far easier to navigate, with a simple widget on your browser which can be clicked when you find a relevant web page. I was already utilising Pinterest for hobby webpages, which is a similar platform to Diigo but is tailored to interests. Another tool which I have come across is Stumbleupon (to be truthful, my husband recommended it to me!). It works in the reverse of delicious or Diigo; users select areas of interest to them, then Stumbleupon recommends a variety of webpages which might interest the user. You select a thumbs up or thumbs down to indicate whether you liked the page or not. This tool would be a great resource for librarians to recommend to new Internet users, as it does a lot of navigation for you and is very easy to use. A downside would be that most of the available areas of interest would not be considered academic, and librarians would need to give some form of information literacy education to new users who have no skills for vetting reliable sources of information.
“Effective library website design“
I enjoyed this activity as a means to document what I had thought for some time, that the local council’s public library site was very ordinary. I believe it fits the second learning object, of understanding the concepts and practice of Library 2.0. I examined their social networking presence for the second assignment, so I had a firm understanding of where I believed they had room for improvement. It was interesting to develop set criterion for evaluating library websites, and I decided to apply these by examining a library whose online presence impressed me during the second assignment, Libraries ACT:
- Promotion
The top of the page has a banner which scrolls
through nine different pages, all advertising the libraries’ services, such as
story time and their eNewsletter.
- Ease of navigation
The page is well set out, with large buttons and an
uncluttered look and feel. Scrolling down reveals a more detailed menu, which is
split into categories.
- Content
The content is appropriate and relevant to their
audience (the general public).
- Segmentation
The site is segmented in
a logical manner. The “Connect” section is particularly well done, with the
Libraries advertising their social media presences at the top of their page.
- Reference services
Formal references
services, such as those at tertiary institutions, do not appear to be a focus
for the Libraries. Instead, services are more tailored to younger students.
- Feedback
There are numerous
options for contacting the Libraries, but not a specific area titled Feedback.
Their Facebook page does contain feedback from users, and every contact is
acknowledged.
- Analytics
The site has no user
count visible to visitors, so it is not known if the Libraries track the site
usage or not.
- Connectivity
No
issues have been encountered during my visits.
“Reasons why libraries should be on social media”
I think this may be the most pertinent issue of all!
If libraries don’t know why they need to be on social media, it follows that they won’t bother, or will do so in an ineffective and half-hearted manner. This post demonstrated my understanding of social networking technologies like Twitter and Facebook, and my understanding of some of the issues in adopting a social media presence. I enjoyed revisiting the libraries that I had examined for assignment 2, as I found them to have appealing social media presences, which can only assist their users.
Once I eventually complete my degree and begin my information career, I am certain I will encounter resistance to adopting new technologies, such as Newcastle Region library appears to display. It is useful to have an understanding of “what’s in it for them” in case I need to put forward a business case to convince others who may not see the value or potential of social media.
Reflective statement
I thoroughly enjoyed looking at how libraries are currently embracing social media, some with a great sense of fun (thanks to Kirsty Butler for sharing this one!) which surely can only enhance their reputation with their users. As I am undertaking web design next semester, developing criterion for library websites was particularly relevant to me and showed how it is possible to critically evaluate a website against set standards and to demonstrate and substantiate why I believe it is lacking.
A discovery of particular interest amongst the modules was QR codes. I had seen them in various places and knew if you scanned them information was contained within, but I had no idea what they were called, or how they worked. It is very interesting to ponder their potential uses in libraries, as they have certainly been embraced by a lot of companies as a fast and cost effective means of communicating information to their consumers. A quick scan of the journal literature available on EBSCOHost reveals QR codes in libraries is certainly being discussed, with an article I located detailing why libraries should adopt QR codes (the conclusion being that QR codes are free to use and rapidly gaining popularity - much like social media!).
In considering how social networking will impact my future career as an information professional, I had not given any thought to how user privacy can be adversely affected. Previous subjects in this degree had touched on the information professional’s responsibility to guard their user’s privacy, so I understood why it is important. In researching the proposal for assignment 2, I came across an article by a librarian who had given it serious consideration and was hesitant to introduce social networking, fearing the commercial companies hosting the various platforms did not have user best interests’ at heart. It is certainly something I will be taking into consideration before recommending any social media platforms in future.
Another positive impact of studying social networking for information professionals is the understanding that new services being introduced to an information service need to have a usage policy. I presently do not work in a library service, and while the company I work for has a LOT of other policies, I have not seen any social media policy (other than plebs like me are not allowed to use social media at work!). I came across the National Library of Australia's (NLA) social media policy while completing an OLJ task and also used it in assignment 2 (I even shared it on the INF206 Facebook page, as I thought it was really useful). It is interesting to get a glimpse of how structured and formalised the use of services need to be in information organisations, and how potential issues need to be addressed and decided upon before introducing a service like social media. I also thought it was fantastic that the NLA released their policy using a Creative Commons license, meaning smaller information agencies can adapt and adopt the NLA policy, rather than having to spend the time and resources creating their own.
I have enjoyed INF206 and feel that using a Facebook page is a far easier, more user friendly and engaging approach to student interaction than the CSU Interact forums. It was interesting to note that technologies like Second Life exist, though I found it to be more of a tool for recreation than study or information provision.
The question of why libraries need to have a social media presence was really demonstrated to me this morning as I was making my breakfast; I looked at the milk carton and there was the Facebook logo right on the side and one of those QR codes as well. If a dairy company like Devondale has a Facebook presence, it seems very obvious to me that every information agency needs to as well!
Finally, it is heartening to see that my chosen profession is (mostly) moving with the times, to remain absolutely relevant in this new information age.
Cheers and adios :)
Melissa
(P.s. apologies for the font inconsistency in places here - it is fine in the creation window, but then goes strange on preview. Technology = occasionally a pain in the you-know-what).
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