Community Building Through Your Web Site: Library Blogs and RSS Feeds

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Community Building Through Your Web Site
Library Blogs and RSS Feeds

• Michael Stephens
• Dominican University
• Tame the Web

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Word of the Year 2004

• Merriam-Webster Inc. reports that the word BLOG,
  defined as a Web site that contains an online
  personal journal with reflections, comments and
  often hyperlinks, was one of the most looked-up
  words on its Internet sites this year.
• http//www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/11/30/words.
  of.the.year.reut/index.html

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Blog Statistics

• Technorati now tracks over 27.2 Million blogs?
• The Blogosphere is doubling in size every 5 and a
  half months?
• It is now over 60 times bigger than it was 3
  years ago?
• On average, a new weblog is created every second
  of every day
• 13.7 million bloggers are still posting 3 months
  after their blogs are created?--

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Blog Statistics

• Technorati.com tracks about 1.2 Million new blog
  posts each day, about 50,000 per hour?
• Blog Finder has over 850,000 blogs, and over
  2,500 popular categories have attracted a
  critical mass of topical bloggers

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What is a Weblog? (Blog!)

• A Software tool
• Content management system
• Is organized chronologically by date (newest
  entries are usually at the top)
• Self-archives by date (done by software)

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What is a Weblog? (Blog!)

• Is updated somewhat regularly with relatively
  short entries
• Includes links, more links, and even more links
• Uses a unique URL (permalink) for each posting
• Provides an RSS feed that syndicates the
  content and lets you read posts in a separate
  reader called an aggregator

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Home Page
POST 4
Blah, blah, blah
POST 3
Yadda, yadda, yadda
POST 2
Blah, blah, blah

• ARCHIVE
• Date
• Category

POST 1
Yadda, yadda, yadda
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Exploring weblog features
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Basic blog layout
Blog Title
Blog Entry
Side Menu
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More details
Comments
Posting Time Permanent Link
Links to Post
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A close look at a post
Title
Graphic
Text
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Side Menu
Link Back
Older Posts
Archives
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Weblog features

• Dated entries
• Mission or goal statement
• Categories for posts
• Archives
• Lists of other blogs the author(s) reads
• Navigational links
• Contact info

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Requirements to Blog

• Blog software
• Server space a bit of programming
• Time
• Something to say - fresh content
• (Carver, 2003)

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Content???

• Create a Whats New Blog
• Happenings at your library
• Programs and materials
• Watch the News/Current Events
• Whats HOT

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Edit Blogs via the Web!

• No Muss No Fuss

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Public Library Web Sites

• 1990s Landscape of PL Web presence
• Static Informational Pages
• POLL Dreamweaver? FrontPage? HTML?
• Does content flow stop at your Web persons desk?

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Web-based Blog Editing

• Web forms menus
• Entries can be pasted in from Word, etc. (save as
  .txt to avoid formatting quirks)
• Multiple authors throughout library
• Blogger, Type Pad, Movable Type, Word Press are
  examples of blog software

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Lets Survey the Biblioblogosphere
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Types of Library Weblogs

• News from the library
• Project-based blogs
• Thoughts of a particular librarian
• Moblogs or Photoblogs
• (Clyde, 2004)

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Public Library Weblogs

• Library Sponsored
• Marketing Blogs
• Promote library services and programming as well
  as disseminating information a library's user
  population needs
• Library news
• New materials lists
• Dynamic content

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Public Library Weblogs

• Library Sponsored Blogs
• Topical Blogs
• Address areas of interest to the library's users,
  such as readers' advisory, technology, and
  specific subjects related to the institution
• Book reviews
• User specific information
• News for teens, Information for Seniors

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Photo-blogging

• Shows the vibrancy of the library
• Puts it out in the community
• Humanizes the library

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http//www.rutlandfree.org/
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http//www.flickr.com/photos/librarian/14645140/
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http//www.flickr.com/photos/michaelcasey/sets/632
151/
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Involving Your Community
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Community Contributions to Library Sites

• Ann Arbor District Library http//www.aadl.org/
  
• A Minute with Megan http//www2.mls.lib.il.us/
  flossmoor/director/
• Western Springs History http//www.westernspri
  ngshistory.org/
• WPopac-- http//maisonbisson.com/blog/post/110
  96/
• Riverdale , IL E-Newsletter http//riverdalene
  ws.blogspot.com/

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RSS Community
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The Money RSS Slide

• Really Simply Syndication
• Lets you create content in one place but display
  it in other places
• Aggregators
• Websites
• Internal portals, intranets, updates,
  communication
• External other websites, direct-to-user, Web
  2.0
• Gets you found in places you normally wouldnt
  be found

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Website
Humans
RSS feed
Machines
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Website
Humans
RSS feed
Machines Websites
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Coming Soon!
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Course Page Example ProQuest article citations
integrated with your website
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Conversations Cluetrain
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Jumping on the Cluetrain

• These networked conversations are enabling
  powerful new forms of social organization..

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Jumping on the Cluetrain

• To speak with a human voice, companies must share
  the concerns of their communities.
• Its all about conversations
• We shall become transparent

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6 Things You Can do Now!
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6 Things You Can Do Now

• Read Weblogs
• Check out what other libraries are doing
  www.blogwithoutalibrary.net
• Keep tabs on new developments

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6 Things You Can Do Now

• Start your own Whats New Blog at your library!
• Update often and create an environment of dynamic
  content
• Turn comments ON!

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6 Things You Can Do Now

• Appoint a trend reporter on your staff who
  watches and learns
• And shares
• Emerging Technology Committee

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6 Things You Can Do Now

• Train your PL staff to use an aggregator to read
  RSS feeds - its powerful!
• Bloglines www.bloglines.com
• Blog Bridge www.blogbridge.com
• More!

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6 Things You Can Do Now

• Advocate for RSS built in to products we pay for
• Will allow us to place more and more content out
  into our communities
• Makes the library discoverable

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6 Things You Can Do Now

• Learn about Library 2.0
• Replicates user-driven and user-centered services
  online
• http//www.squidoo.com/Library20