Well I am really late with this , currently running at least a week behind, but perhaps that is a sign of the times for me. I may be struggling to keep up but I get there in the end - Hare and Tortoise spring to mind.
To recap as I see it - We've set up our blogs and started locating and using RSS feeds. We've looked at each others blogs and made comments - a bit of social networking perhaps. We have transferred our ideas into a library setting ( In my imagiantion) and all is well so far. We now want and expect our users to join in. That presupposes our users are interested or even know what we are talking about.
So what is Social Bookmarking - it's not only a way of highlighting relevant pages for our users but a way to encourage them to join the information world and share what they know by using any of the bookmarking tools out there!!!
WE have del.icio.us to link us to useful websites and this is one that I am trying to remember to use myself. It is easy to use and does help me keep my favourites in one easily accessible place so it is one I will try and introduce to library staff before I explore the knowledge base known as health professionals.
Citeulike is recommended for collecting articles - I have been asked in the past about collection/referencing tools so this is one I will be looking at in more depth as a solution.
Library thing was interesting - but I found so many categories that I was spoilt for choice. After spending ages trying to decide which group I would like tio investigate further I gave up out of sheer frustration at my own inability to keep on one track at a time - it was so easy to keep getting sidelined by anything I found remotely interesting. Not sure how this would transfer into the health library setting.
43 things - life goals - was another site that I could have spent ages on - My interest in people (some would say I was nosey) kept me on this site for ages - some people have such dreams and aspirations and whilst I was so envious of some of the 'things' achieved - I did want to scream at some of them to get a life. Don't think I will be joining this group - prefere to keep my dreams private thank you.
Having explored Social bookmarking and tools I was a bit unsure about Folsonomies - correct me if I am wrong but does this mean tagging any sites/links/hits /favourites/whatever with your own keyword. A way of collecting/storing/bunching/filing informatiom by using words that you personally use and that mean something to you - your own interpretation? Does this mean we are then going to see more local dialects/slangs/quips be used because I have only just come to grips with certain terms and phrases used in the Black Country and I have been married to a Black Country man for over 30 years.
I can see the reasoning behind it and in a way I think it a good idea - but where will it end, what about control. As a librarian I am worried about the mish mash of search terms that appear and that it will only make searching for information more confusing for the user - We have spent years trying to educate them to search under our accepted terms and now we are saying - hey forget all that lets use any term you can think of and lets see what we can find - but don't forget to mark it so someone else can use a term they never thought of to look for something they don't want.
Monday, 18 June 2007
Friday, 1 June 2007
RSS feeds
http://www.physiospot.com/blogs.html
The aim of Physiospot is to provide a set of research article blogs that allow physiotherapists to easily stay up to date with current research in their area of interest.
The objectives of these blogs are, by listing summaries of the recently published research articles in chronological order, assist physiotherapists and other health practitioners in:
· implementing evidence based practice by providing a single resourcewhere current relevant research can be accessed
· complying with continued professional development requirements by providing a CPD activity for authors and readers
http://www.revolutionhealth.com/blogs/valjonesmd/complementary-medicin-1921
Complementary medicine; opinions from the medical blogsphere (American)
http://www.food.gov.uk/
Food Standards Agency in particular the eatwell website for consumer advice on healthy eating.
The aim of Physiospot is to provide a set of research article blogs that allow physiotherapists to easily stay up to date with current research in their area of interest.
The objectives of these blogs are, by listing summaries of the recently published research articles in chronological order, assist physiotherapists and other health practitioners in:
· implementing evidence based practice by providing a single resourcewhere current relevant research can be accessed
· complying with continued professional development requirements by providing a CPD activity for authors and readers
http://www.revolutionhealth.com/blogs/valjonesmd/complementary-medicin-1921
Complementary medicine; opinions from the medical blogsphere (American)
http://www.food.gov.uk/
Food Standards Agency in particular the eatwell website for consumer advice on healthy eating.
The role of Blogs in the library
Before the start of this course I had heard about blogs but to be honest had tried to keep my head firmly buried in the sand hoping either it would go away(Unlikely) or someone would eventually put it in to a step by step guide that I could follow at my own pace(very slowly). Well this course came up and I pulled my head out of the sand and set to finding out what it was all about.
I have thought long and hard about the place of blogs in libraries and have not yet reached a final conclusion. As I see it or as I am lead to believe, blogging is the way forward but what I am struggling with is who is it for - surely if I am struggling to understand the concepts then my users would struggle too. In my experience, some healthcare personnel struggle with the basics of IT so how do I promote this to them - new technology may just have the effect of scaring them off even more. I have yet to crack the Intranet frontier with them so I know blogging will be a challenge.
If we do go down the road of promoting the library with a blog then does that mean we have to set up training events just to show our users how to get the information about the place that can help them find information ?(If you follow my drift)
Next on my list is content - what do we put in these blogs - do we try to reach everyone with interesting links for their specialty or do we focus on the library services which are already listed on every available space, Intranet, leaflets, Inductions. No one media seems to work at the moment so would another one just add to the list of never to be looked at sites.
At the moment we are all commenting on each others sites and think this is a great means of communication, but again will the users ever feel the need to comment on a library site when at the moment some only ever send emails as a last resort.
How much time will this take to set up and maintain - is it better to have one person responsible for it or should everyone have a dabble at content, either way staffing issues and maintenance of the site are in question.
Whilst this all seems very negative I do admit to be interested in the idea, I know libraries have not only got to move with the times but to be one step ahead whenever possible. No-one wants to play catch up expecially with technology and I know that the newer qualified professionals starting to come through our doors already know more than I do in some areas. Unfortunately at the moment I feel there are still more questions than answers.
I have thought long and hard about the place of blogs in libraries and have not yet reached a final conclusion. As I see it or as I am lead to believe, blogging is the way forward but what I am struggling with is who is it for - surely if I am struggling to understand the concepts then my users would struggle too. In my experience, some healthcare personnel struggle with the basics of IT so how do I promote this to them - new technology may just have the effect of scaring them off even more. I have yet to crack the Intranet frontier with them so I know blogging will be a challenge.
If we do go down the road of promoting the library with a blog then does that mean we have to set up training events just to show our users how to get the information about the place that can help them find information ?(If you follow my drift)
Next on my list is content - what do we put in these blogs - do we try to reach everyone with interesting links for their specialty or do we focus on the library services which are already listed on every available space, Intranet, leaflets, Inductions. No one media seems to work at the moment so would another one just add to the list of never to be looked at sites.
At the moment we are all commenting on each others sites and think this is a great means of communication, but again will the users ever feel the need to comment on a library site when at the moment some only ever send emails as a last resort.
How much time will this take to set up and maintain - is it better to have one person responsible for it or should everyone have a dabble at content, either way staffing issues and maintenance of the site are in question.
Whilst this all seems very negative I do admit to be interested in the idea, I know libraries have not only got to move with the times but to be one step ahead whenever possible. No-one wants to play catch up expecially with technology and I know that the newer qualified professionals starting to come through our doors already know more than I do in some areas. Unfortunately at the moment I feel there are still more questions than answers.
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