Crowdsourcing ideas about libraries in 2009: A Twitter story
One informal, Twitter-based crowdsourcing experiment yielded useful results this week. During the start of a conversation with a group of librarian’s, NITLE’s research director quickly Tweeted (posted to Twitter) a general query for feedback on a big question:
What are the most important emerging technologies, or issues, for American libraries, going into 2009? Summoning Twittersource! 8:33 AM Dec 3rd from web
Before the day was out, twenty-nine responses were Tweeted, publicly. They covered a series of ideas, responded to each other, and quickly constituted an intercontinental conversation among very interested librarians, faculty, and staff (This was extracted from Liberal Education Today, 2008).
Check out the twitter posts at Liberal Education Today.
Is my favorite new blog –talk about using social media tools to their full advantage.
The blog is written by Sarah Robbins (aks Intellagirl) and she is just plain awesome.
“I’m a researcher, an academic, a writer, a speaker, a marketer, a mom, and a geek. I spend my time blogging (see links on the blog roll to the right), researching, and traveling to speak to groups about Second Life, virtual worlds, and web 2.0 technologies and general digital coolness. I’m also a digital coach helping people make the most of the technologies available to be more productive and more creative.” (Intellagirl, 2008).
Check it: Intellagirl
I am in love with website and totally think you should read this.
Social Media Library contains the first ever directory of influential blogs read in the UK.
Each blog is ranked in terms of its influence and its visibility in search engines. Providing you with all the necessary information to determine which bloggers to engage with. Full contact details for each blog are also provided.
The site has links to podcasts, forums, blogs and social networks.
What is Social Media?
“What does not include you, does not deserve you” Clay Shirkey
Social media “often refers to activities that integrate technology, telecommunications and social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio”(Wikipedia, 2008). In many ways, social media is user centered and based upon building communities though the creation and maintenance of social networks, content and innovation.
Social media tools can take on many different forms, such as: instant messaging, youtube, social network sites, Wikipedia, podcasts, second life, crowd-sourcing and the list goes on. Libraries are beginning to integrate these tools into their programs , yet for libraries to become more relevant in today’s information society, requires them to implement a more pedagogical approach to learn with and from their users.
Key points: Libraries and Social media
Social media in practice
(Madden, 2008)
Are libraries ready?
They have to be! If libraries do not adopt these new social media models into their systems, they are in danger of breaking their ties with current and potential users. In response to this, libraries need to re-market themselves and communicate to people their integral role they play in society—this is where social media applications can help build awareness and connections with patrons.
What else needs to happen?
Libraries need to break free from their traditional service led structures and enter into a the new WEB 2.0 model of communication and network building. For example, once libraries collectively play a more active role online through the application of social media tools-the opportunities are endless.
The key to libraries success…
Partnerships with users and others non-libraries institutions, organizations, businesses and entrepreneurs are necessary and must be done collaboratively with other libraries. In a sense, social media and Web 2.0 encourage libraries to create clusters with people who have similar ideas, passions, expertise, and knowledge in librarianship and information science. Another way to think about it is to imagine libraries spearheading an online incubator model filled with information professionals form various fields who all communicate and create projects on a regular basis together-this requires active user participation and input. This type of inclusive model creates opportunities that have not yet been realized in the library world.
What else?
There is a very active social media and information community emerging with the advent of WEB 2.0—libraries need to band together and play a participatory role in these spaces. Their voices are very active in the forums they have created-yet they are surprisingly silent in other spaces where people inhibit and this needs to change. Librarians need to stop preaching to the converted, thinking their hip because they created a Myspace account and become more active participants in the WEB 2.0 world we live in—before the web leaves us librarians behind.
Additional Resources and tools:
Youtube video: Social Media in Plain English
Helene Bowers presentation on: It’s Not About Us: Exploring Social Media Strategies in Libraries
Pew Internet Project : Social Media and Libraries: New applications for a new generation of users
Stephen Lighthouse, Blog: Libraries and Social Media
PPT presentation, Madden. Social Media and Libraries.
Web 2.0 Expo SF 2008: Clay Shirky presentation
Podcast: Social media and education: The Conflict between technology and institutional education, and the future. By Sarah Robbins-Bell, PhD Candidate at Ball State University.
Video: Internet Librarian 2008: Howard Rheingold
Social Media and Libraries 
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