Web 2.

Characteristics

• Collaboration

• Community

• Collective intelligence
• Interaction / Communication with users

• Participation not publishing

• User engagement

• Decentralisation of authority

• Freedom to share and reuse ('remix')

• Built upon trust

• Openness

• Web 2.0 sites are sources of content and functionality.

• Key Web 2.0 principle - the service automatically gets better the more people use
it.

• The web as a platform

• The wisdom of crowds

Social Software / Technologies

• Weblogs

• Podcasts

• RSS Feeds

• Instant Messaging (IM)

 • Wikis

• Social Networking Tools (see below)

• digg, slashdot, reddit, fark, furl, del.icio.us (see definitions at bottom of document)
• Web-Based Work Sharing Tools (see below)

• Mashups

Social Networking Tools

• MySpace
• Facebook
• Bebo
• Yahoo! 360°
• Xanga - community of online diaries and journals
• Photo sharing - Flickr, BubbleShare webshots, picasa, photobucket, ImageShack
• Video sharing - YouTube, Google Video, blip.tv, teachertube
• IMEEM - online community where people and groups can upload, share, tag, and
playlist different media
• Slideshare - for sharing PowerPoint and OpenOffice presentations
• Social (i.e. shared) bookmarking tools - del.icio.us, furl
• Clipmarks - tool that lets you tag, store, organize, and share snippets of Web
pages.
• eSnips - a social content-sharing site, where you can publish and share any media
type.

Web-Based Applications

Characteristics: work sharing, collaborative editing, rich formatting, document sharing,

access from anywhere; communities of members contributing to a collective effort or
project.

• Online office productivity (integrated with document storage) - Zoho, Google Docs,
ThinkFree
• Word processors / spreadsheets - Google Docs & Spreadsheets (formerly Writely),
Zoho Writer, Writeboard

• Online presentations - Zoho Show, Spresent, Thumbstacks, Slideshare,

authorstream

• Drawing and sharing diagrams on the web - Gliffy

 • Presentations - Slideshare (& slidecast), VCASMO and Zentation (video and
slideshow synchronised)
• Wikis - software - wetpaint, mediawiki, pbwiki
• Document sharing - Scribd (tag, share, and comment on uploaded documents
(.doc, .pdf, .txt, .ppt, .xls, .ps, .lit)) (Converts doc to multiple formats, incl. mp3)
Read more - http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/03/06/scribd-youtube-for-text-
gets-300k/
• Fun tools - imagegenerator.net, hetemeel.com

Extensive list of Web 2.0 applications available at: http://web2.wsj2.com/

SEE ALSO SEOmoz Web 2.0 Awards - http://www.seomoz.org/web2.0/

-----------------------------

-----------------------------

Blogs and Wikis - ways to engage patrons and push fresh content to users

Blogs

• online journal
• brief entries arranged in reverse chronological order
• diverse use - personal diaries to news sites
• "frequency, brevity, personality" Evan Williams, creator of Blogger
• terminology - blogging, blogger, blogrolling
• archives, categories, search, syndication (RSS), permalinks, comments, blogroll
(list of favourites), trackback, pingback, tags
• easy to publish content online - "quick and easy"
• sense of immediacy
• almost instant feedback
• "comments foster community"
• refresh of content on main page
• single, multiple contributors

• communication model
• conversation on the Internet
• a place for “news, events, and discussion"
• rising level of expectation of interactivity in websites in general
Question - is the target audience online in sufficient numbers to make a blog worthwhile?

----------------------

Miniblog – These are services like Jaiku and Tumblr. Miniblogs can be compared to a
scrapbook and are used to post notes, links, mini posts.

Microblog – The most popular of these is Twitter, these allow users to send “updates”
(text-based posts, up to 140 characters long) via SMS, instant messaging, a website, or
an application such as Twitterrific.

From: http://kiwiscanfly.wordpress.com/2007/05/28/microblog-vs-miniblog-a-
clarification-of-definition/

Twitter - Twitter is for staying in touch and keeping up with friends no matter where you
are or what you’re doing. When you send in a mobile text (SMS), Twitter sends it out to
your group of friends and posts it to your Twitter page. Your friends might not have phone
alerts turned on so they may check your web page instead. Likewise, you receive your
friends mobile updates on your phone.

Wikis

• collaborative, knowledge-sharing tool

• online space for harnessing collective intelligence
• Saint Joseph County Public Library in South Bend, IN, used open source wiki
software to create a successful subject guide that facilitates customer feedback.

RSS

• RSS (which stands for Really Simple Syndication) is an easy way to receive
automatic updates from your chosen websites and blogs. Instead of going to a
website, the website will send you a message every time there is something new.
• RSS allows you to be notified when new content appears on a website, blog, or
news page. Basically, this means that you can get new content as it is posted to a
site without actually having to visit the site. In other words, it is an easy way to
manage, customize, and receive information that interests you and it can also save
you a great deal of time.
• RSS is an xml-based format which allows web publishers to create and disseminate
feeds of data, based on the content of their website.
• RSS enables you to subscribe to a website using a tool called a news reader or
aggregator.
• RSS feeds contain article headlines, links and descriptions. The feeds are updated
as the website is updated.
The reasons you should care about feeds are:

• you want to be notified of updates from the many web sites that you read without
visiting them one by one
• You prefer to read content from your favourite web sites at one convenient location
without any interface clutter

RSS – Benefits:

An easy way to receive automatic updates from your chosen websites and blogs. Instead
of going to a website, the website will send you a message every time there is something
new.
Notification of new content 'on your desktop' as it happens – automatic updates.
Lets you create content in one place and display it in other places.

Why bother with feeds?

• Labour-saving, Time-saving, Convenience.

• You want to stay current.
• You want to be notified of updates from the many web sites that you read without
visiting them one by one
• You prefer to read your favourite websites from one convenient location without
any interface clutter
• No need to trawl (favourite) websites for new content / news items.
• Librarians (and others) who strive to keep current with the latest news and trends
in their particular field have started using feeds and readers to save time and
organize materials.
• You need to install a software called News Reader (sometimes called Aggregator)
on your desktop computer. All you have to do then is to use your News Reader to
subscribe to the RSS content. This display the latest headlines and content from
your chosen websites.

RSS aggregators - can be web-based, desktop clients or portable devices.

RSS - Really Simple Syndication - push out blog updates.

RSS - Rich Site Summary - custom web pages created with regularly updated data flows.

Readers:

RSS reader = news reader = RSS aggregator = a program that can read RSS files

Standalone applications that run in the background on your desktop, automatically

updating headlines regularly:-
 • Awasu – FREE
• FeedReader – FREE
• RSSReader – FREE
• NewzCrawler - €€
• FeedDemon - €€

Plug-ins to applications already running on your PC:-

• Pluck (for Internet Explorer) – FREE

• NewsGator (for MS Outlook) - €€

Web (server)-based RSS aggregation system:-

• Bloglines.com

A web (server)-based service means your favourite feeds will remain available when you
change computers

Browsers with RSS capability:-

• Firefox 1.5, 2.0

• Opera
• IE 7.0

Step-by-Step:

Step 1: Use a News Aggregator - A newsreader" or "aggregator" will fetch and organize
recent content and provide simple ways to read it.
Step 2: Grab the feeds
Step 3: View the content
LISFeeds.com - a web-based aggregator that scrapes feeds from librarian-oriented sites
from around the world. A good way to read a lot of sites in one place.
NewsIsFree - an online news reader, RSS Directory and news search engine. -
http://www.newsisfree.com/
Technorati – Blog search engine - http://www.technorati.com/

-------------------

Other Web 2.0 Developments

Ajax*-based applications:
Personalised homepages - Netvibes, Pageflakes, Google Personalised
Mashups - a mashup is a website or application that seamlessly combines content from
more than one source into an integrated experience. A "mashup" mixes content from
independent sources to create something new.

*Note: Ajax, shorthand for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, is a web development
technique for creating interactive web applications.

-----------------------------

Library 2.0

"Library 2.0 is all about library users -- keeping those we have while actively seeking
those who do not currently use our services. It's about embracing those ideas and
technologies that can assist libraries in delivering services to these groups, and it's about
participation -- involving users in service creation and evaluation." Michael Casey,
LibraryCrunch

"Library 2.0 is very much influenced by technology-driven, two-way, social interactions

between staff and staff or staff and patrons." John Blyberg, Blyberg.net

"Library 2.0 is the natural evolution of library services to a level where the library user is
in control of how and when she gets access to the services she needs and wants."
Thomas Brevik, Library 1.5
 • gives library users a participatory role in the services libraries offer and the way
they are used.
• offer improved, customer-driven service opportunities.

"Any service, physical or virtual, that successfully reaches users, is evaluated frequently,
and makes use of customer input is a Library 2.0 service." Michael E. Casey and Laura C.
Savastinuk Library Journal, September 1, 2006
(http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6365200.html)

"The heart of Library 2.0 is user-centered change. It is a model for library service that
encourages constant and purposeful change, inviting user participation in the creation of
both the physical and the virtual services they want, supported by consistently evaluating
services. It also attempts to reach new users and better serve current ones through
improved customer-driven offerings. Each component by itself is a step toward better
serving our users; however, it is through the combined implementation of all of these
that we can reach Library 2.0."

Library 2.0 By Michael E. Casey and Laura C. Savastinuk — Library Journal, September 1,
2006

"Sites as diverse as Amazon, Flickr, MySpace, Facebook, and Wikipedia all depend on
high levels of user participation to expand the value of the product." Michael E. Casey and
Laura C. Savastinuk — Library Journal, September 1, 2006

Important

• to solicit customer response and regularly evaluate and update services.

• protecting customer privacy

- access to top-quality databases, downloadable audiobooks and music, and instant

messaging reference services.

- creating specific areas for teen and community activities

LIBRARY USES

IM

• to perform virtual reference. IM enables real-time text communication between

individuals. Analogous to the face-to-face reference interview. Considered 'Library
2.' even though in existence for some time, as it gives the user a presence within
the library web space, and it facilitates collaboration between the patron and the
library.

Examples:
http://www.fordlibrary.org/chat/ (using Meebo)
Lansing Public Library - http://www.lansing.lib.il.us/
Exeter Public Library, RI - http://131.109.225.131/exelib/
Lander University (Larry A. Jackson Library) - http://www.lander.edu/library/jackson/

Twitter
Ada Community Library, Idaho - http://twitter.com/adalib

Wikis

• subject-based wikis in which users suggest resources and ask questions.

• local history (involving local history societies)
• reading club

Examples:
Ohio University Libraries Biz Wiki -
http://www.library.ohiou.edu/subjects/bizwiki/index.php/Main_Page
St. Joseph County Public Library's Subject Guides -
http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Main_Page
Yarra Plenty Summer Reading Club Wiki - http://summerreadingclub.pbwiki.com/

Blogs

• key way for libraries to engage users, enhance community interaction

• allowing library users to discuss plans and ask questions.
• news service / announcements
 • what's new - books, DVDs
• promote resources (e.g. collections, new material, fiction), services
• promote and discuss events/programmes (marketing and promotion) - utilising
RSS
• readers' advisory portal

• book reviews, award lists, book discussion areas - library customers have favourite
titles, authors, and genres. Allows them to comment, write reviews, create their
own tags and ratings, and share them with others.
• topics for genres - mystery, horror, SF, romance
• reports of activity on a project (research, building, plans)
• photographic record of event or activity
• focus on a particular service
• user-specific blog (teens, students, seniors - news and services for that group)
• conference blog (Readers' day)
• association & organisation blog
• local history, genealogy
• internal blog (staff-oriented)
• historic photographs

Examples:
http://www.boernelibrary.blogspot.com/
http://www.darienlibrary.org/ for varied uses
Director's Blog - http://www.aadl.org/taxonomy/term/86
Teens - http://lansinglibraryteen.blogspot.com/
West Long Branch Public Library - http://www.wlbpl.org/
Thomas Ford Memorial Library: western springs history -
http://www.westernspringshistory.org/ (historic photographs)
St. Joseph County Public Library - http://www.libraryforlife.org/ (various blogs)
Weymouth Public Library - http://tuftsstuff.blogspot.com/ (Teens)
Kanakee Public Library Director's Blog - http://lions-online-shesaidhesaid.blogspot.com/
Library Musings: Kankakee Public Library - http://kpllibrarymusings.blogspot.com/
Kanakee Public Library - http://www.lions-online.org/blogs.htm
Yarra Plenty Library Blog (Australia) - http://yarraplentylibrary.blogspot.com/
Yarra Plenty Library Local History Blog - http://yplocalhistory.blogspot.com/
Yarra Plenty Genealogy - http://ypgenealogy.blogspot.com/
Yarra Plenty Book Blog - http://yprlbookblog.blogspot.com/
Lansing Library Adult News & Reviews Blog - http://lansinglibraryadult.blogspot.com/
Lansing Library Teen News & Reviews Blog - http://lansinglibraryteen.blogspot.com/
Lansing Library Youth News & Reviews Blog - http://lansinglibraryyouth.blogspot.com/
Lansing Library Internet & Technology Blog - http://lansinglibraryweb.blogspot.com/
Hennepin County Library - BookSpace - http://www.hclib.org/pub/bookspace/Blog/

Dublin City Public Libraries' Examples:

http://onecityonebook.wordpress.com/ also - http://www.dublinonecityonebook.ie
http://dublinreaders.wordpress.com/
http://childrenszone.wordpress.com/
http://pembrokeaccess.blogspot.com/

Opensource CMS in Libraries

Drupal
Ada Community Library, Idaho - http://www.adalib.org/

Discussion Forums (Web 2.0??)

Exeter Public Library, NH, Online Book Discussion Group -

http://groups.google.com/group/eplbooks/web/home

Social Networking Tools

- giving the library a wider web presence, library marketing and promotion, stock
promotion, library storytelling videos

• MySpace

Examples:
Waterville Public Library - http://www.myspace.com/watervillepubliclibrary
Hennepin County Library - http://www.myspace.com/hennepincountylibrary
Denver Public Library - http://myspace.com/denver_evolver
Lansing Public Library - http://www.myspace.com/lansingpubliclibrary
Thomas Ford Memorial Library - http://www.myspace.com/thomasford
Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County, NC -
http://www.myspace.com/libraryloft
Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County, NC -
http://www.libraryloft.org/ourSpace.asp
Brooklyn College Library - http://www.myspace.com/brooklyncollegelibrary

• Flickr

Examples:
Dublin City Public Libraries - http://www.flickr.com/photos/dublincitypubliclibraries/
Copenhagen Public Libraries - http://www.flickr.com/photos/kkb/
Gwinnett County Public Library -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gwinnettcountypubliclibrary/
Alexandrian Public Library - http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexandrian/
Lansing Library - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lansinglibrary
Santa Monica Public Library (Image Archives) - http://www.flickr.com/photos/smpl/ (no
longer active on flickr!)
Pickens County Library System - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pcls/ (used to post old
photos)
Weymouth Public Library - http://www.flickr.com/photos/wpl/
St. Joseph County Public Library - http://www.flickr.com/photos/sjcpl/
Newport Public Library - http://www.flickr.com/photos/newportpubliclibrary/
Lansing Public Library, Lansing Illinois - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lansinglibrary
 • del.icio.us, selected websites for patrons

Examples:
Dublin City Public Libraries - http://del.icio.us/DublinCityPublicLibraries
La Grange Park Library - http://del.icio.us/LaGrangeParkLibrary
Lansing Public Library - http://del.icio.us/lansingpubliclibrary
http://del.icio.us/frightfullynew

• YouTube

Examples:
Denver Public Library (http://teens.denverlibrary.org/media/youtube.html)
Rock 'n' Roll Library - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItCIHAksjf4
Gail Borden Public Library, Illinois - http://www.elgin.lib.il.us/videoextras.html

• Technorati, list of your organisation's various blogs

Examples:
Lansing Library - http://www.technorati.com/profile/lansinglibrary

- SEE ALSO:

• Libraries in Social Networking Software

http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/index.php/2006/05/10/libraries-in-
social-networking-software/
• YALSA Online Social Networking list of libraries
http://teentechweek.wikispaces.com/Online+Social+Networking
• MySpace & Teens
http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=MySpace_%26_Teens#M-P for list
• Libraries that use Flickr http://www.librarystuff.net/2006/07/libraries-that-use-
flickr_115370920774117687.html for list
• Libraries that use del.icio.us http://www.blogwithoutalibrary.net/?p=213 for list
• Academic libraries using web 2.0 http://www.blogwithoutalibrary.net/?p=221
RSS

• Staff current awareness (SDI)

• Selected feeds for patrons, categorized
• Syndication of content

Examples:
SDI: Dublin City Public Libraries - http://www.bloglines.com/public/dubcilib (for library
staff)
Feeds for library patrons: http://www.bloglines.com/public/dublincitypubliclibraries

Mashups

Examples:
http://www.westernspringshistory.org/map/ (APIs: Google Maps)

Reference:
http://www.talis.com/tdn/competition

General

Lansing Public Library User Tools and Resources a.k.a. "Library 2.0" -
http://www.lansing.lib.il.us/L2.htm

Library 2.0 outside the the library

LibraryThing - catalogue your books online

-----------------------------

Quotations

Exploring Libraries (...and our Users) in the Web 2.0 Realm

The information world is becoming more user-driven and "social" in scope. As information
professionals, we must understand this new wave of Internet customization and
collaboration. Our users are developing new expectations in information delivery and
interaction, but are we meeting or exceeding their needs? Some libraries and information
providers are exploring and utilizing the same principles and technologies that have
driven the Web 2.0 movement. Libraries are using tools, such as blogs, RSS feeds, wikis,
social communities, podcasts, and various "mash-ups", to give library users increased
ownership in their library experiences.
Source: http://briangray.alablog.org/blog/_archives/2006/10/25/2446127.html

What is MySpace? Why is it important?

MySpace and Facebook are social network sites where individuals create profiles and link
to others (“friends”) within the system. The profile serves as an individual’s digital
representation (similar to homepages) of their tastes, fashion, and identity. In crafting
this profile, individuals upload photos, indicate interests, list favorite musicians and
describe themselves textually and through associated media. The social network feature
allows participants to link themselves to others within the system, revealing their
affiliations and peer group. These sites also allow friends to comment on each other’s
profiles. Structurally, social network sites are a cross between a yearbook and a
community website.
http://www.danah.org/papers/MySpaceDOPA.html

-----------------------------

Tools / Sites - Defined

(most descriptions from Wikipedia)

Fark is a community website allowing users to comment on a daily batch of news articles
and other items from various websites.
Digg is a community-based popularity website with an emphasis on technology and
science articles. It combines social bookmarking, blogging, and syndication with a form of
non-hierarchical, democratic editorial control.
Slashdot is a technology-related news website which features user-submitted and editor-
evaluated current affairs news.
reddit is a community web site where users can post links to content on the web. Other
users may then vote the posted links up or down, causing them to appear more or less
prominently on the reddit home page.
Furl (from File Uniform Resource Locators) is a social bookmarking website that allows
members to store searchable copies of webpages and share them with others.
del.icio.us is a social bookmarking web service for storing, sharing, and discovering web
bookmarks.
Technorati is an Internet search engine for searching blogs.
eSnips is a social content-sharing site, where you can publish and share any media type.

Terminology Defined

Trackback -
Pingback -
Permalink -
Folksonomy -
SDI (Selective Dissemination of Information) - a current awareness system which alerts
you to the latest news/publications in your specified field(s) of interest

References

Libraries in Social Networking Software

http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/index.php/2006/05/10/libraries-in-social-
networking-software/

Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki

http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php

---------------------------
[This document was created using Google Docs (formerly Writely) and is available for
public viewing - Eddie Byrne, author]