A Brief Evaluation and Recommendation of the Application of Web2.0 in Kogarah City Library

(This post is a response to Investigative Exercise 10 Evaluation and 11 Recommendations )

Web 2.0 is the web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-cantered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web.  The Web 2.0 has revolutionised the way content is created and the way users access, use and contribute information. 

The following evaluation and recommendation of the Application of Web2.0 in Kogarah City Library are based on the analysis of the library’s website in five main library service areas.

Local Studies

Kogarah City Library doesn't use Web2.0 technologies in this service area.  The library's website has a section on Local Studies with some webpages about this subject.  But they are just simple html/asp pages with some images and links (some of the internal links are broken). 

Some recommended Web2.0 application for the library’s Local Studies section may include blog, RSS feeds, wiki, social networks (Twitter and Facebook), web image album (Flickr or Picasa), and podcasting .

The library could have a blog with updated information on the progress of local studies and allow the visitor to comment on the posts.  People who are interested in this subject can also subscribe the RSS feeds to receive any updated information on local studies.  The library also can setup a wiki so the people can contribute the local studies related content on it.  By using Twitter and Facebook, the library can broadcast the latest news and discovers on the local studies subject.  For the local history’s audio and video archives, podcasting is a suitable way to display these materials through the Internet. 

Children and Teenage/Youth

Kogarah City Library provides a series of services in this area such as The Story Corner, Crazy Pages Book Club, Online encyclopaedias and databases, and Homework Help.  These services contain some Web2.0 ideas and concepts.  For example, in the Homework Help section it has an external link to Yourtutor .  However, considering the target audience (children and teenage/youth)’s interests in Internet and social network, podcasting, social bookmarking, wiki, and social networks (Twitter and Facebook) could be introduced to these service areas.

Podcasting could be used as an online story telling program for young children.  Social bookmarking will be an efficient tool to provide and update useful website links for the target audiences’ education and entertainment.  Twitter and Facebook is the most popular communication method for teenage and youth.  The using of these typical Web 2.0 applications will be helpful for the library as a marketing tool to engage young consumers.   It needs to be pointed out that all the web contents provided to the children and teenage/youth must be well censored and filtered to avoid any harmful information to be exposed.  Web 2.0 technologies also provide a new ways for education.  Wiki and podcasting could allow the teenage and youth to study in a virtual environment with interactive collaborative, and multimedia web-based learning contents. 

Adult Fiction

As I mentioned in my post (Social Bookmarking for Libraries), Kogarah City Library uses the social bookmarking technology in its reader review function.  They use the source-data provided by chilifresh.com.  A suggestion for other Web2.0 applications in the area is using blog, RSS feeds and podcasting in the library’s Book Club and Author’s night activities. 

Information/Reference

A blog is recommended for this service area to update information and news.  Twitter and Facebook could also be applied as marketing tools to communicate with readers efficiently. 

Examples of best Web2.0 practices in libraries

Podcasting: National Library of Australia
(http://www.nla.gov.au/podcasts/index.html)

NLA's Library Podcasts section contains a lot of audio and video information under the subject of Talks & conferences, Exhibitions, Collections, Media, Events, Bookshop, Digital culture, Innovative Ideas Forum and Learning.  It allows the reader to subscribe the podcast feeds through iTunes or XML.

Online Album:The State Library of Queensland 's photostream on flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/statelibraryqueensland/sets/)

The State Library of Queensland holds approximately 1.5 million photographic resources – negatives, slides, original photographs, copy prints and original albums dating back to the birth of the State of Queensland in 1859 to the present day. In 2003, the State Library launched its digital image library, Picture Queensland, with 6 000 images and now provides online access to more than 45 000 historical and contemporary images.  Now the State Library shares some of the heritage images on flickr.  

Blog: The National Library of Australia's fringe publishing blog

(http://blogs.nla.gov.au/the-eloquent-page/)

NLA's "The Eloquent Page" blog is a place for staff to talk about some of the less well known or “non-mainstream” parts of the library's amazing collection such as comics, posters, ephemera, alternative press and some wonderful hand published material like artist’s books and zines.  Through The Eloquent Page NLA shows the reader what they collect and why they do it, how they house it and manage it.  Through the blog readers can learn the updated information on this subject and also can comment on the posts. 

Twitter: State Library of VIC 

(http://twitter.com/#!/Library_Vic)

With 4,999 followers and 1,128 tweets.

Facebook: State Library of Victoria 

(http://www.facebook.com/pages/State-Library-of-Victoria/32256104331)

With 4,985 fans and 496 talks

WIKI: National Library of Australia 

(https://wiki.nla.gov.au/)

The NLA’S wiki is the Library's tool to support both internal and external collaboration activities. The Wiki is used to share current information within a working group or project team. Documents that are collaborative, working documents, forward planning documents and ephemeral information are kept on the wiki.

As Foo and Ng stated, “Librarians need to understand the wisdom of the clients and their changing roles. With Library 2.0, the creation and delivery of content is not primarily done solely by the librarians." It is recommeded for Kogarah City Library to apply more Web 2.0 technologies and to allow the user communities to participate in the creation of the content together with the librarians.



Reference

Foo, Schubert & Ng, Judy.  Library 2.0, Libraries and Library School.  Retrieved 10 November 2011 from http://www.las.org.sg/pa_sfjn.pdf

Podcasting.  Retrieved 10 November 2011 from http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Podcasting

Web 2.0.  Retrieved 10 November 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0

(title image source: http://hello.eboy.com/eboy/)