1. Blogging @ Your Library Finding, Reading & Creating Library Blogs Fox Valley Library Council December 10, 2004 Presented by Bonnie Shucha © University of WI Law Library bjshucha@wisc.edu

2. Overview Introduction to Blogs Finding and Reading Blogs Creating A Blog for Your Library

3. What Is A Blog? A web site containing: – Brief informational posts arranged in reverse chronological order – Timestamp for each post – Archives of previously posted content

4. Why Should You Care About Blogs? Helps you stay informed about subjects you care about Get current, unfiltered news & information Unlike listservs, won’t clog up your email No spam!

5. Why Should You Care About Blogs? “We librarians, as information experts, do our patrons a disservice if we fail to make an effort at tapping into some of the information that may only be found in the blogosphere.” – From “Mining Information Gold in the Blogosphere,” AALL Spectrum, November 2004

6. Example: WisBlawg WisBlawg offers legal research and Internet news & information with an emphasis on Wisconsin – By University of Wisconsin Law Library – http://wisblawg.blogspot.com http://wisblawg.blogspot.com

7. Date Headline Content

8. WisBlawg Features Frequent posts with links to relevant sites Source link Place for readers to comment on posts

9. WisBlawg Features List of previous posts Monthly archive

10. WisBlawg Features Links to selected blogs that I read in Bloglines – Called a “blogroll”

11. WisBlawg Features Email subscription form XML button – To subscribe to RSS feed Subscribe with Bloglines button

12. Finding Blogs General – Feedster http://feedfinder.feedster.com/ http://feedfinder.feedster.com/ Search – Search blog content Feedfinder - Search titles of blogs – Daypop http://www.daypop.com/ http://www.daypop.com/ Compiles top blog topics Search blog content

13. Finding Blogs Library related – Blogwithoutalibrary http://www.blogwithoutalibrary.net/links.html http://www.blogwithoutalibrary.net/links.html List of blogs by library type – Library Weblogs http://www.libdex.com/weblogs.html http://www.libdex.com/weblogs.html List of blogs by country – LIS Blogsource http://lisblogsource.net/ http://lisblogsource.net/ Blog about library blogs

14. Finding Blogs Local Library Related Blogs – The Ides http://info.winnefox.org/blogs/ides/ http://info.winnefox.org/blogs/ides/ – Caestecker Public Library New Books at the Caestecker Public Library http://www.greenlakelibrary.org/newbooks/ http://www.greenlakelibrary.org/newbooks/ Kids Lit: Books and More for Kids and Teens http://www.greenlakelibrary.org/kidslit/ http://www.greenlakelibrary.org/kidslit/ Sites and Soundbytes: Libraries, Books, Technology and News http://www.greenlakelibrary.org/blog/http://www.greenlakelibrary.org/blog/ – Ask Wisconsin Librarians @ Winnefox http://info.winnefox.org/blogs/ask/ http://info.winnefox.org/blogs/ask/ – From the Director's Desk http://info.winnefox.org/blogs/johns_weblog/ http://info.winnefox.org/blogs/johns_weblog/

15. Finding Blogs Others?

16. Reading Blogs As a Web page – Requires reader to visit multiple sites daily to check for updates With a News Reader – Better! – All updates are automatically delivered to one central location when you subscribe to a RSS feed, listserv, etc.

17. News Readers What Is a News Reader? – A piece of software or Web application that pulls together RSS feeds from multiple sources into one place making it easy to browse newly posted information from blogs, alert services, and other Web sites

18. News Readers News Readers are also known as: – News aggregators – RSS aggregators – RSS readers – RSS stands for: Rich Site Summary -OR- Really Simple Syndication

19. News Readers RSS allows you to receive notification of current content without having to visit the web site of interest to determine if it has been updated. – Look for button to get URL for the blog’s RSS feed – Then subscribe to it from your news reader

20. News Readers “Anyone who needs to monitor current news on a regular basis will need to understand and use RSS in some form going forward” – From: RSS Tutorial: What IS RSS, LawLibTech http://www.lawlibtech.com/archives/000098.html http://www.lawlibtech.com/archives/000098.html

21. News Reader: Bloglines Bloglines is a FREE online service that helps you subscribe to and manage lots of web information, such as news feeds, weblogs and audio. Bloglines tracks the information you're interested in, retrieves new stuff as it happens, and organizes everything for you on your own personal web news page. – From: Bloglines FAQ http://www.bloglines.com/help/faq

22. About Bloglines Bloglines is free Bloglines is Web-based – Nothing to download – Access from any computer with an Internet connection Can subscribe to RSS feeds and have email listservs/subscriptions delivered to Bloglines

23. Subscribing to Bloglines Go to http://www.bloglines.com/http://www.bloglines.com/ Only requires an email address & password

24. Creating A Library Blog Why Create a Blog for Your Library? – To communicate with your users – To communicate with library staff

25. Public Blogs for User Communication Library & Topical News Announce New Services Recent Acquisitions List Book/Movie/Web Site Recommendations Book Discussions Local Events Calendar Recommended Research Sources

26. Internal Blogs for Staff Communication Announcements for Staff Knowledge Management – Frequently asked reference questions – Password archive Project Management – Forum for collaboration – Progress reports

27. Benefits of Library Blogs Easy – no HTML knowledge required Inexpensive May be seen as innovative Attracts younger users Allow user feedback through comments Can be career booster for bloggers

28. Drawbacks of Library Blogs Requires staff time commitment – Training – Set-up – Posting May need to educate people about blogs – Users – Staff

29. Steps For Creating A Library Blog Consider purpose & audience Choose blog software Develop blogging policies Create a template for the blog Consider staffing issues Post content Market the blog

30. Consider Purpose & Audience Determine type of content you wish to share – Library & Topical News – Announce New Services – Recent Acquisitions List – Book/Movie/Web Site Recommendations – Book Discussions – Local Events Calendar – Recommended Research Sources – Other??

31. Consider Purpose & Audience Decide upon a target audience – General community users – Young adults – Parents of small children – Book club members – Genealogists – Students / faculty – Employees – Other specialized user groups

32. Choose Blog Software & Hosting May be separate, but often combined Software Used by Library Blogs – Blogger – 43.9% – Movable Type – 17.5% (available to Winnefox Library System) – Radio UserLand – 8.7% – Other Identified – Less than 2% each – Unidentified – 22.8% Survey from Laurel A. Clyde’s Weblogs and Libraries, Chandos Publishing: Oxford, 2004, pg. 98.

33. Choose Blog Software & Hosting Google Directory of Weblog Publishers http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Webl ogs/Tools/Publishers/ http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Webl ogs/Tools/Publishers/ Google Directory of Weblog Hosts http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Webl ogs/Tools/Hosts/ http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Webl ogs/Tools/Hosts/ Blog Software Breakdown http://www.asymptomatic.net/blogbreakdown.htm http://www.asymptomatic.net/blogbreakdown.htm

34. Develop Blogging Policies Think about blogging policies for your library – To ensure that blog reflects well on your library – To offer guidance to bloggers on what is and is not appropriate – See: The Library Blogger’s Personal Protocols http://www.tametheweb.com/ttwblog/archives/000568.html http://www.tametheweb.com/ttwblog/archives/000568.html Sample Corporate Blogging Policy & Blogger Code of Ethics http://forrester.typepad.com/charleneli/2004/11/blogging_policy.html http://forrester.typepad.com/charleneli/2004/11/blogging_policy.html

35. Create a Template for the Blog Consider features to include – Archives – Blogroll – RSS & Subscription Options Choose color scheme and style Test in multiple browsers

36. Consider Staffing Issues Decide who will post to the blog – May be one person or team Train staff on blog software

37. Post Content Develop a consistent style for postings Use “your own voice” whenever possible Check for spelling and grammatical errors Post often

38. Market Your Blog Announce in library newsletter Email users directly Share by word of mouth Create bookmarks, business cards, etc. Include URL on library publications Seek links from other Web sites & blogs List with search engines and blog directories Issue a press release to local news

39. Questions? Contact – Bonnie Shucha Reference & Electronic Services Library University of Wisconsin Law Library bjshucha@wisc.edu PowerPoint presentation available at http://library.law.wisc.edu/wisblawg/fvlc.ppt