Bring IT to your library

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Bring IT to your library!

• OLA 2006 OLA/IT Roundtable Poster

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Do you have these ITs _at_ your library?

• Blog
• RSS
• Wiki
• Podcasting

Don't know what IT is or how to pick it?
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Blog software for libraries
Purpose, criteria selection Adrienne Butler
ODL

• Internal Communication
• Online information storage
• Tracking reoccurring reference questions
• Internal library concerns

External Communication Updating patrons on
library activities Communicating with patrons
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Criteria

• Define your library needs
• What server specifications?
• What features do you want included?
• Cost How much can you afford?
• Free IS an option!

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Library Needs

• One or more authors?
• One or more blogs?
• To host or not to host?

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Server Specifications

• What language do you speak? Perl, PHP, MySQL,
  Access/Oracle, PostgreSQL, Windows
• Your server software concerns any
  incompatibility problems with preloaded software?

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Blog features to consider

• Calendar
• Customizable Templates
• Search feature
• Spell-check feature for authors
• RSS feed

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Cost
Or, really, really cheap.
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Find Blog software

• CMS Review
• www.cmsreview.com/Weblogs/BlogDirectory.html
• Blog Software Breakdown
• www.asymptomatic.net/blogbreakdown.htm
• MicroContent News
• www.microcontentnews.com/articles/blogware.htm
• Sourceforge
• http//sourceforge.net
• Free Software Foundation
• http//directory.fsf.org/ (click on live
  communications then online journaling.

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A few Blog softwares available
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For more information on blogs

• Contact
• Adrienne Butler
• Oklahoma Department of Libraries
• abutler_at_oltn.odl.state.ok.us
• 405.522.3505

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RSS (Really Simple Syndication)
What are they and why would you want them? Jeff
Siddons Tulsa Community College

• a marketing tool for the library.
• a time-saving tool for people - it pulls all your
  regularly visited websites blogs into one
  place.
• a way to communicate updates to many people
  easily.

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What are they?

• It's a method of summarizing the latest news and
  information from a website . . .
• . . . that can be easily read and accessed by
  many news readers . . .
• . . . from your website.

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Content
Webfeed
RSS
XML

• Web feeds provide web content or summaries
• of web content together with links to the full
  versions
• of the content. RSS in particular, delivers this
• information as an XML file called
• an RSS feed.

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What are they?

• RSS feeds are just a special kind of web page,
  designed to be read by computers rather than
  people.

It might help to think of them as the free,
internet version of the old-fashioned
ticker-tape news wire machines.
RSS is an alternative to spam-type email. Sites
use it to notify users that a site has been
updated or a new news story is up instead of
sending email.
RSS is a family of web feed formats
a web feed is a document which contains content
items, often summaries or web-blog posts with web
links to longer versions.
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Web feeds XML
Web feeds work through XML to make Web
Syndication possible
XML Extensible Markup Language. A markup
language combines text and information about the
text. The extra information, for example about
the text's style or look, is expressed using
markup, which is intermingled with the text. The
best-known markup language in modern use is HTML
(HyperText Markup Language) one of the
foundations of the World Wide Web. An
example ltA HREF"/booksintro.htm"gtltIMG gt
Web syndication is a form of syndication in
which a section of a website is made available
for other sites to use.
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What exactly are these RSS files?

• RSS files are metadata. Until you've used them
  or seen an example, it may not be easy to
  understand what RSS files are, but they are easy
  to create.
• An RSS file commonly contains four main types of
  elements channel, image, items, and text input.
  These elements are easy to identify and code.
• A sample item in RSS
• (dont let it scare you they arent rocket
  science)
• ltitemgt lttitlegtMozilla Dispenses with Old,
  Proprietary DOMlt/titlegt
• ltlinkgthttp//www.mozillazine.org/talkback.html?art
  icle604lt/linkgt ltdescriptiongtThe Mozilla team
  has decided to forgo backwards compatibility with
  Netscape's proprietary DOM.lt/descriptiongt

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• In addition to facilitating syndication, web
  feeds allow a website's frequent readers to track
  updates on the site using an aggregator.
• Aggregators reduce the time and effort needed to
  regularly check websites for updates, creating a
  unique information space or personal newspaper.
  

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So who is doing it?

• Your library If you run your own website, its
  simple
• to use RSS feeds to display the latest headlines
  from
• other websites on your site! Then step up to the
  next level up use RSS to communicate in other
  ways.
• Be creative!

Cincinnati Public Library http//www.cincinnatili
brary.org/feeds/ Kansas City Public
Library http//www.kclibrary.org/rss/ University
of Oklahoma Libraries http//libraries.ou.edu/rss/
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How do I find these RSS feeds

• Look for the RSS symbols or acronym on the sites
  home page

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How can I read these feeds?

• You can download and install a news reader. Or,
  you can use a Web based reader such as My Yahoo!
  or Bloglines. Follow the instructions in your
  reader to subscribe to the feed of your choice.
  You will usually need to copy and paste the feed
  URL into the reader.
• Check it out

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There are many sources for RSS feeds

• U.S. Government RSS Library Featured Sites
• White House RSS Feeds
• Podcasts from the U.S. Government
• Science RSS FeedsNews about current weather,
  earthquakes, energy and the latest research...
• Data and Statistics RSS FeedsUpdates on Census
  and agricultural data and statistics...
• Environment, Energy Agriculture RSS FeedsNews
  on conservation, forests, farms, human nutrition,
  hazardous waste, toxic chemicals and trash...
• And many more . . .

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Want more help?
RSS For Non-Techie Librarians http//w
ww.llrx.com/features/rssforlibrarians.htm Amigo
s Website RSS Feeds what, why
howhttp//www.amigos.org/rss/ So what are you
waiting for? Now that you know what RSS feeds
are . . . its time to start using them!
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Questions concerning RSS

• Contact
• Jeff Siddon
• Tulsa Community College
• jsiddons_at_tulsacc.edu

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Wiki
What is it and how can you use it Adriana
Edwards-Johnson SWOSU

• A wiki is a type of website that allows anyone
  visiting the site to add, remove, or otherwise
  edit all content, quickly and easily, often
  without the need for registration. This ease of
  interaction and operation makes a wiki an
  effective tool for collaborative writing.
• One of the most famous wikis is Wikipedia
• http//en.wikipedia.org

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Uses for a library

• Book discussion group
• Teen group activities
• Library community events calendar
• High tech vertical file for local information
• Reference Desk handouts
• Staff training
• Library policy manual
• Professional networking (http//www.libsuccess.org
  /)
• And much more

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Whos using wikis?

• University of South Carolina Aiken Library
• http//library.usca.edu/Main/HomePage
• University of Connecticut Library Staff
• http//wiki.lib.uconn.edu/wiki/Main_Page
• University of Illinois _at_ Urbana-Champaign Library
  School (unofficial)
• http//www.gslis.org/index.php?titleMain_Page
• SJCPL Reference Department
• http//www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.
  php/Main_Page

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How do you get started?

• Decisions to make
• Type of information the wiki will contain
• Type of wiki software you want
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wiki_software
  
• Who all will be able to access change the wiki
• Limit access by IP Address, Domain, or server
  location (internal access only)
• Installing the software
• If you plan to host the wiki on your librarys
  server you may need help from your IT person.
  Sometimes installation can be hindered by server
  settings.
• Learn the wiki syntax

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Wiki syntax HTML What you see
Examples from http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
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Unique Wiki features

• Unlike other web tools wikis allow users to view
  changes made to the pages.
• So if there are problems or errors its easy to
  track user and make corrections.
• Wikis also come with a built in search function

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Need more information?

• Dee Knows Grotto
• http//www.deeknow.com/wiki/view.pl/WikiBeginnersT
  opics
• Evowiki
• http//www.evowiki.org/wiki.phtml?titleWiki_evolu
  tion
• How Wikis Work
• http//computer.howstuffworks.com/wiki.htm
• Wiki Science
• http//en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wiki_Science
• Wikis unplugged
• http//en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikis_unplugged

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Questions concerning Wikis

• Contact
• Adri Edwards-Johnson
• SWOSU
• adri.edwardsjohnson_at_swosu.edu

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Podcasting
What is it how to IT in your library Jason
Gonzales Muskogee Public Library

• A World Wide Web based form of
• broadcasting that allows anyone with a
• computer and/or digital media device (ex.
• iPod, MP3 player) to download and listen to
• content.

Users listen to exactly what they want, when they
want, and where they want.
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Podcasts Genres
SPORTS
ESPN.com Mix
POP CULTURE
ABCs Lost
SCIENCE
Science Friday
INTERNET
Inside the Net
FINANCIAL
Cramer Radio
PARENTING
NEW MUSIC
Mommycast
Blue Grass Talk Radio
NEWS
NPR
TALK
TECHNOLOGY
P.O.V.
Radio Leo
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Supplies needed

YOUR OWN LIBRARY PODCAST
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Why Podcast?

• Use a podcast as an inexpensive way to market
  your librarys services!
• A library podcast can consist of anything,
  including upcoming events, material reviews,
  interviews, information on services, general all
  around library promotion.

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Further Podcast Information

• Secrets of Podcasting (basic book on
  podcasting) by Bart G. Farkas
• Real Beginners Guide to Podcasting
• http//www.podcastfreeamerica.com/the-real-beginne
  rs-guide-to-podcasting
• iTunes 6 (free software for searching listening
  to podcasts)
• http//www.apple.com/itunes/
• Yahoo! Podcasts (directory of podcasts)
• http//podcasts.yahoo.com/
• Audacity (free software for recording editing
  podcasts)
• http//audacity.sourceforge.net/
• Podomatic (free site to host your podcast)
• http//www.podomatic.com/

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Podcasts Refence Page

• ABCs Lost
• http//abc.go.com/primetime/lost/podcasts/
• Blue Grass Talk Radio
• http//www.bluegrasstalkradio.com/
• Cramer Radio
• http//www.thestreet.com/tsc/podcast
• ESPN Mix
• http//espnradio.espn.go.com/espnradio/podcast/ind
  ex
• Inside the Net
• http//twit.tv/
• Mommycast
• http//www.mommycast.com/
• NPR
• http//www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_directory.p
  hp
• P.O.V. with David W. Torrence
• http//joelcrowservo.podomatic.com/
• Radio Leo
• http//www.leoville.tv/radio/
• Science Friday

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Questions concerning Podcasts

• Contact
• Jason Gonzales
• Muskogee Public Library
• gonzales_at_eok.lib.ok.us