Opportunities for Librarians: Experiments with Social Software

Abstract

ABSTRACT Social software transforms communication on the Web by creating communities of like-minded users. Librarians adopted social software technologies such as blogs and wikis early on to communicate with staff as well colleagues outside of their organizations. In addition, librarian-authored blogs facilitate discussions among information professionals on issues affecting the community. The appearance of social software Web sites such as Flickr, Del.icio.us, and Connotea add a new dimension to the concept of social software since they allow users to create tags as well as audiences for content organization and views. These types of social software Web sites offer a wealth of opportunities for librarians for supplying services as well as resources from library Web sites. In March 2006 I utilized Ning's cloning capabilities to create a class project which centered on reviews of libraries and their Web pages. I linked my “Library Reviews” project in Ning to Flickr by creating a “Library Reviews” group on this site. I also created a group in Google Groups titled “Library Reviews.” Google Groups facilitates discussions among members on group related topics. This project provided me with numerous learning experiences. In addition to increasing my knowledge of the content and services available from different types of libraries, I gained skill in utilizing the features of Ning and Flickr such as editing the program code, assigning tags, uploading pictures, and fine tuning maps. This new technology offers a wealth of opportunities for librarians.