Internal/External Web 2.0 foci

That's my library school training coming back. "Foci" is such a good word, and how often do you get to use it?

Anyway, I'm working on some ideas about Web 2.0 tools that libraries can use for Internal purposes, External purposes, or both. For example, a del.icio.us account can be useful both internally and externally, though there would be specific things you could do in relation to its internal and external use. Or blogs - Internal to replace email, external to promote goings-on or inform the public of changes/updates, etc. Mashup maps of libraries or local services might be more patron oriented. IM has external/internal features as well. The list goes on, but i wanted to throw the idea out there and see what you all make of it - I'd like to keep this issue in mind while working on my projects that relate to Library 2.0 - the wiki: http://instructionwiki.org/Library_2.0_in_15_minutes_a_day and a blog where I'm collecting these thoughts into some coherent form: http://socialnetworkstrategies.wordpress.com/

Any tools you're using just for patrons? Just for internal use? Both?

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Permalink Reply by Sam Wallin on July 9, 2007 at 11:21am

It actually sounds like you're in about the same boat I am - there are a few of us here that get excited by new technology, but most people don't. Some things that I do: Attend supervisor and branch librarian meetings to deliver short presentations about the value of new tools. I've been focusing heavily on using del.icio.us and Bloglines to generate a better alternative to the "long list of favorites." There are a few people who use these tools already, but it amazes me that no one has started using the social aspect of del.icio.us to send links. I think people have finally gotten used to the idea of a "personal computer" and now they're being asked to get used to the idea of a "social computer."

My next plan of attack is to approach the administrative team with the same kind of program - "executive summaries" about new technologies. That's got me a little freaked out and nervous, so I'm preparing a lot of information that i probably won't need, you know? (That's part of the impetus for the Library 2.0 wiki, so that I have stuff ready to go for any situation). Having Administrative buy-in on the adoption of new technologies should make the entire process a lot easier.

The value of social networking tools aren't fully realized until they're used socially, and getting the social aspect up and running in an organization takes excitement at the admin level. That's my theory anyway - I'll hoepfully get a chance to test it soon...

Keep me posted about your own experiences - I think we're probably experiencing what a lot of librarians are experiencing. There's only a few that have lots of exciting tech stuff going on, and we read about them alot. But there are thousands of libraries that are where we are - excited, but unsure of how to proceed. If we work together, maybe we can figure some stuff out.