Week 12 - Social Networks

There are many possibilities for libraries to use social networking. For example creating discussion boards on particular subjects, such as "Study tips for the HSC" and advertising library events and promoting services. Members can have instant access to information regarding newsletters, photos etc. Social networking allows libraries to gather immediate feedback from the community.

I have enjoyed doing the Web 2.0 course and found it to be very informative on the latest updates in information technology.

Week 11 - Online applications and tools

I think Google Docs is a great idea. There are many applications for this technology within the workplace. For example, library staff working on a project can share and edit the same document instead of having multiple copies of different versions of their work.

I also found Google Docs very easy to use.

Week 10 - Mashups

I can see many reasons for using Mashups within the library, for example creating activities for children such as puzzles and games. Another use is to create posters and fliers to advertise library events such as author evenings, HSC lectures etc.

Week 10 - Mashups

Week 9 - Podcasts

There are many uses for podcasts within libraries. It is a great service to offer customers who are not able to come to the library during opening hours. Some ideas for podcasts within my library are HSC lectures, teen events, storytime, local studies functions and book reviews. I thought the ABC website had a wide range of good quality podcasts.

Week 8 - Answer Boards and Social Searching

I like the idea of librarians answering questions on popular "Answer Board" sites. It is a way of demonstrating librarians vast amount of research knowledge and promoting libraries as sources of reliable information. I think that online questions sites are the way of the future. As libraries are providing online databases for customers to access from home and more information is web based, it just goes hand in hand that people will use sites which allow them to pose questions online.

Week 7 - Tagging, Folksonomies, del.icio.us and Library Thing

I can see many benefits for libraries to have a del.icio.us account. Tagging can be used to highlight specific websites on subjects such as HSC, local studies and genealogy. This is another way of promoting the library resources to the general public as well as providing easy access to information. I thought the Sutherland Shire Libraries del.icio.us page has an interesting idea by using tag bundles assigned to subject headings.

I typed bookmobile on the Technorati website in search and advanced search and found the same results, but when I use the tag search this narrowed the amount of hits I received. Technorati would be useful site to find blogs on a particular subject, but thats the only use I could see for this site.

I thought Library Thing was an interesting idea, useful for book groups. There are book reviews with star ratings and books on similar genres, this would appeal to book groups who want to see what other people are reading and their views.