Overview of the 13 Things covered in Baker's Dozen, Learning 2.0 Arizona (The First Batch). Presented at the Arizona Library Association Conference in December 2009.
I’m going to start out with a definition of Web 2.0. Libraries can then take that definition and start using web 2.0 to the advantage of our users. It is important, I think, to start with a definition. I want to highlight the basics of what it is. (read)
Now I want to tell you what web 2.0 is to the man on the street, the everyman, the masses…
It is the web. There is no distinction in the general web user’s mind between web and web 2.0. This is critical to our understanding of web 2.0 and it is critical to
Libraries have been talking about web 2.0 for years, and it’s important that we as library staffers understand the reasons why libraries care. There are many reasons, but I think the main reason we care is because libraries are part of our communities, and we want to reach out and help people with whatever it is they want to get out of life. We want to reach out to large amounts of people - we want them to know how wonderful we are, that we provide all these great resources, that with just a library card, you get a wealth of information at your fingertips, and that we’ll help point you to the information that will be the most helpful to you. But we have limited resources – staff, time and money. And here are these rich online communities, full of real people, there for us to join. You’ll notice that I don’t say that these communities are waiting for us. They are not waiting for us. In fact, if we never joined them, it is likely that they would not notice our absence. Which is why it is critical for libraries to learn about the possibilities these tools and sites and online communities offer to us. We must explore them, play with them, try them out, because by joining these communities, we will reach people. We don’t want to be left out. We want to stay integral to our communities.
And these web 2.0 tools are easy to use. For you and for the people you want to reach! In fact, the people you want to reach may be way ahead of you. They are playing with them already. The tools we explore in Bakers Dozen are cheap. Usually free of cost. Just your time dedicated to learning and using them. They also reach the masses in ways that you cannot do with traditional media. There is no way you could afford to build your own versions of these sites. And there is no way you could afford to put out “print” versions of what you can do on these sites. These tools are also engaging. If people didn’t like them, they wouldn’t be popular. People like them, they like to participate, share and hear from friends and family. Amazingly enough, they also like to hear from you at the library. And remember, web 2.0 is the web. These things are everywhere.
It’s about expectations. Web 2.0 has changed how people expect websites to behave. They expect to be able to comment, interact, and participate on websites. Let me give you some examples. When I started making amigurumi, little crocheted dolls, I went to my library and checked out a couple of books. We didn’t have that many. So I went to the bookstore and started looking there. Then I went on Amazon, and started reading reviews, seeing what others liked about the books they bought. I expected Amazon to have this kind of information on the site. It wasn’t “value-added” material. It was the content I expected. Another example. I read an online news article. I want others to read it. I click on the “share” button, and voila, I am sharing something. I may also comment on the news article. People expect to be able to do things like these, even if it is simply the “share this” button that allows you to send an email or repost what you’re reading to Facebook or Twitter.
And ignoring it will certainly not improve your services.
We don’t want this to be the way everyone thinks of us. We don’t want people to think of libraries as old-school, irrelevant, or archival. We want them to know that libraries are living communities, part of their community, a place where they can explore creativity, learning, and entertainment.
So what we’re asking you to do today by participating in Bakers Dozen is to seize the day. Take the opportunity that the web is offering to libraries. The tools you learn about in Baker’s Dozen offer you new ways to communicate and interact with people. They give you opportunities to create relationships with people online, the same way you create relationships with people who walk into your buildings. And they are free, cheap, easy to access, and easy to use. What could be better?
We’re going to go over the 13 Things we did in Baker Dozen (The 1 st Batch). I will tell you what I believe are the key points about each thing, and I will give you examples. Then, it’s over to the lab to get some hands on experience.
But first, have No Fear. No one expects you to become a web 2.0 expert today. Web 2.0 is a moving target, and new products, sites and tools come out at an alarming pace everyday. No one, I assure you, knows what they all are or what they all do. Your library services come directly from your library’s goals. Don’t forget this. When looking at any new technologies, think of them in this context. IF a tool can help you achieve a goal, then figure out how you can use it. But playing with things is the only way to learn about them to find out if they are relevant. Which is why we do Baker’s Dozen. We want you to have a safe place to try things out. We also want to give you some background and examples, so that you can put the tools in context. There is no failure. You cannot break anything, ruin anything, or embarrass yourself. So let’s go.
Key points (read)
One example of a wiki is our very own Baker’s Dozen site. It’s a place for library staff to learn and interact. You can use wikis for something like this – a project, a training program, or just to keep track of stuff. Things to notice: Easy Edit – intuitive, obvious – and no training required. Our staff picked up on Wetpaint without needing any training. Discussions - social My Profile - personal Photos – multimedia Videos - multimedia Members = community Invite – this wiki requires you to be invited before you can edit it. Libraries are also using wikis for other things. (see next slide)
Like subject guides. Subject guides usually include links to resources. These resources may change frequently. So that many people on staff can contribute and update these lists, you could use a wiki for this content. Wikis can be set up so that only certain people can contribute to them, if you want. Which is different than how Wikipedia works. Wikipedia allows anyone to create an account and start contributing. If you wanted to use a wiki for something like subject guides, you could set it up so that only people you invite can contribute, but anyone in the world can see your wiki. The advantages of having a wiki like this are: The wiki is searchable. You don’t need a programmer to make you a search box. It is easy to update the wiki and get rid of out-of-date content You can link to it from anywhere on your library site, and could, if you wanted to, make it your entire subject guide section. It’s totally free You can do it yourself.
Avatars are a way to identify yourself online.
Things to notice: Personal – get to dress up your avatar however you want Creative – notice the wings – you can be anything you want Informational – gender of avatar gives you clues Logo – can be official logo or an unofficial logo Avatars add a sense of personal presence on the web. When you’re interacting with a person online, you want to have a sense of who they are. So on your social media sites for your library, you may want to create an avatar to represent the library.
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Things to notice Variety of formats Large selection Help pages Recommended devices This is where we’re going, and we have to understand how it works so that libraries can take advantage of digital formats. Disney even offers a digital book collection now. In the Gadgets & Gizmos session tomorrow, you can touch some devices that allow you to carry around digital content. Make sure you come by and play.
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All kids of libraries are using blogs. Some use blogs as their main website, some use blogs as integrated pieces of their website, some pull in content from outside blogs. Blogs are versatile, and once again, programming knowledge can be very minimal to do any of these tings. Things to notice: Middle column is content, reverse chronological Links on left Embedded meebo box Posted in “News and Events” Ability to comment
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RSS is a powerful tool. You can pull content into your website using RSS feeds, whether it is from a blog or Flickr or a databases. A lot of different kinds of web content is available to grab and use as you want. Readers, like Google Reader, help you keep up with blogs you want to read. Things to notice New items in middle Items not read are in bold Friends’ shared items Recently starred Recently shared Recently kept unread Recently read Can’t see it, but these can be tagged and accessed by tags later
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Libraries are using delicious to keep track of web links. You can share maintenance of the collection just like you would with a wiki or blog. Things to notice: Tags Number of delicious users who have the same bookmark Search their tags
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Go where your users are! How many of you have Facebook accounts? Do you have friend who are not people? I love getting status updates from my non-people friends and fan pages. This is a very easy way to reach a lot of people. Things to notice Status Comments and replies Friends Tagline Superpoke – fun! Info tab Photos tab Inbox My Profile Events
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I love flickr because people who have web skills have created all these free toys that make it even more fun. Without any programming knowledge, I went to a website and plugged in little bits of info (flickr username, what set I wanted) and got this great photo slideshow. There are SO many flickr tools out there, and all you have to do is embed the code where you want it. Things to notice Photo box Photos along bottom Colors chosen by me No coding!
Things to notice Different tool Photos along bottom No coding!
Things to notice Search Collections according to topic Sets within collections Tags Profile Stats can tell you who has marked one of your photos a favorite Photos can be commented on
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Libraries can create games or do gaming events. Gaming events draw in a lot of people at our libraries, and we’re doing more and more of them. This is a game we outsourced that goes along with our SRP theme. Since we know people like playing games, why not give kids something library related to play? Things to notice Fun Library related Motivational – get through all six games
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We record library programs and post the audio to our website. This expands our reach for these programs. Not everyone can make it into the library, so we give them the option to listen at their convenience. Here’s the Library of Congress’ podcast site. Things to notice Subscribe buttons RSS icons Topics Podcasts icons Email updates
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Chat offers your customers another way to contact you, once again, at their convenience. It’s also real-time, so if you’ve ever done any email reference, you can imagine the time this will save with the back and forth you need to do a good reference interview. Chat can also be done on phones, so it’s a mobile technology that people can use anywhere. Things to notice Meebo box Very intuitive – has instructions in box I didn’t download anything Green indicates they are online Code is easy to embed Create account on meebo’s website first, get code, embed on website
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With a little investment – a video camera, some time to learn how to edit video – your library can make videos. Or, like we did here, you can invite others to make videos for you – a contest engages people and encourages them to participate. Things to notice Subscribe Views Subscribers Video contents Connect with PCPL Share Add to Google Embed this channel – can embed individual videos, too
If you didn’t do Baker’s Dozen 1, you’ll be able to do any of these things today.
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