Librarians Reaching Out to Millennials with Social Tools
Friday, March 9, 2007
KAIS Meetings of Like Minds
Glen Horton
Technology Coordinator & Assistant Director
SouthWest Ohio and Neighboring Libraries
glen@swonlibraries.org
IM/Skype: swonlibstech
Agenda
- Why Social Tools?
- Blogs
- Podcasting
- Folksonomies
- Wikis
- Instant Messaging
Why Social Tools?
- Gives patrons a sense of participation/ownership
- Allows patrons to interact with each other
- Uses the same tools that patrons use with each other
- The more people use it, the better it gets
- Brings the library to the user (RSS)
- Most tools are about information (as are libraries)
- Most tools are available 24/7
- Most tools are free (as in kitten)
- Most tools are easy - anyone can create/use
- Great way to reach Millennials & Digital Natives
What is a Blog?
- Blog = web log = web site
- Simple publishing
- Relatively short posts with links
- Reverse-chronologically ordered
- Automatic archiving & searching
- Automatic syndication
- RSS / Atom / email
- Allows everyone to have a voice on the web
- Posts and comments
Library Blogs (Biblioblogosphere)
- List of school library blogs
- Book Reviews
- Nelson County Public Library
- Westerville Public Library
- Huntingtown High School Library Media Center
- Gargoyles loose in the library
- Mercy Media Center
- Mother of Mercy High School
- Ohio University Libraries
- All But My Life
- SWON Libraries Technology Interest Group
Uses for Blogs
- What's new or home page
- Give patrons a voice
- Reference FAQ / hints
- New acquisitions
- Promote / discuss events
- School news
- Staff communication
- Easy way to create RSS feeds
Hosted vs. Self-Installed Blogs
- Hosted
- Subscribe to provider's account
- Up and blogging in minutes
- No technical maintenance needed
- Free or fee
- Self-hosted / installed
- Run software on your own web server
- Most need database software and scripting support
- Make use of your local techie
- Possible Host: LIS Host
Blog Software
- Hosted
- Self-hosted/installed
- Blog Software comparison chart
Podcasting
- Allows audio files to be automatically downloaded via RSS to your music device
- Not music, but talk/news radio
- Usually in MP3 format, but may use others
- Other audio formats
- Videos
- Uses special RSS aggregators ("podcatchers")
Podcasting in Libraries
- Examples
- Library tutorial: Podcasting 101 wiki
- General steps
Podcast Recording with Audacity
- Setup
- Sample Rate: 44100 Hz
- Sample Format: 16-bit
- Input level: -12 to -16 db
- Post-processing
- Reduce noise level and normalize
- Edit out bad/dead parts
- Exporting to MP3
- Use the LAME MP3 Encoder
- 64 Kbps (voice), 128 Kbps (music)
- Add ID3 tags
Podcast Feed / Hosting
- Host your audio: SwitchPod
- Wordpress plugin
- Blogger with FeedBurner's Smartcast
- Promote on Apple's iTunes
- Allow users download audio without the feed
- Subscribe to your own podcast
Folksonomies
- Folk + taxonomy = folksonomy ("tags")
- Collaborative (mob) categorization
- Users pick descriptive terms for content
- User centered
- User controlled
- Think differently than librarians
- Subscribe to tags with RSS
- Used by Yahoo, Gmail, Blogger, Amazon
- Pew Internet Report on Tagging
Folksonomy Examples
- Social bookmarking - Yahoo's del.icio.us
- Social photos - Yahoo's Flickr
- Upload photos to store/share
- Add tags for searching/RSS
- Link to your blog
- Libraries: Clark County, Kenton County, Washington-Centerville
Wikis
- User-editable web pages
- Create, edit, and delete content
- Maintainers moderate changes
- Use special characters to add style
- Documentation, projects
- Facilitate collaboration
- Built-in searching
- Receive changes/updates via RSS
Wiki Services and Software
Wikis in Libraries
- Online manuals
- Subject guides
- Staff web pages
- Collaborative projects (staff/student)
- Teacher assignments
- Examples
Wiki Resources
Instant Messaging
- Allows real time communication
- Like a telephone, but with text
- 1-on-1 chat
- Some services offer group chat
- Pew Internet Study
- 75% of online teens use IM
- 42% of online adults use IM
- 48% of IM teens use it daily
- Most teens prefer IM over email
IM Services and Software
IM in Libraries
- Use the same tools that your patrons use
- A replacement or backup for virtual reference?
- Connect to other staff / branches
- Examples
Instant Messaging Resources
On the Edge
VoIP
- Skype
- Uses in foreign language classes?
- YouTube
- Westerville Public Library
- Uses in science classes?
Barriers
- Lack of time
- Lack of knowledge
- Fear of change
- Generation gap
- Local policies
- Internet filters
Other Steps to Library 2.0
- Relax anti-phone policies
- Relax anti-food/drink policies
- Plenty of patron computers
- Open up patron computers
- Encourage group work
- Treat remote patrons equally
Archives
