Evaluative Statement

“Today’s new media tools are incredibly powerful communication vehicles that allow organizations to connect and engage with many different audiences.” (Kroski, 2009)

According to the subject guide there are five main learning objectives for INF506. These are mainly looking at the students development as an information professional and social networker, their understanding of the tools around them; what they implicate for libraries and information services in the future and what issues may arise from their use in a library setting. I have selected three posts to show how I have met the learning objectives of the subject; they are – It’s Delicious!, RSS and the Library and We are living in 2.0 world… These were selected as showing my development as a social networking information professional. Through these three blog posts you can see my improved understanding of not only the tools of social networking but also of the ideas and practice of Library 2.0 and the way they can support and improve the access to information provided by an information service, like a public library. While some learning objectives have been obviously meet, others are less obvious and show through only in a brief sentence or merely a suggestion. By examining these three chosen blog posts carefully, we will see how the learning objectives of the subject have been met.

Post 1 – It’s Delicious!

Only the second post made in this blog and yet it is one of the more focused. Having a limited word count as well as a specific goal to give a critical evaluation of its functions and how it could be used to support information services. Two main features (tagging and sharing) were analysed and shown to prove beneficial to supporting an information services learning and collaboration. Delicious was shown to be easy to use (Rethlefson, 2007) and to be useful in promoting learning, demonstrating the beginnings of an evaluative line of thinking and a willingness to understand social technologies and their benefits to an information service.

Post 2 – RSS and the Library

This post is interesting as it demonstrates an eagerness to not only try new technologies out for myself but also to investigate how others are using them and see what is being suggested for libraries uses of them. This post not only shows an understanding of the technology it is referring too but how it can best be used by an information service and what benefits it could bring. A look into what sort of policies would need to be developed would have added the post as well as insight into the issues surrounding the use of such technology within the information service environment.

Post 3 – We are living in a 2.0 world…

By this post we can see how much more comfortable I am with the medium. There’s a little bit of (corny) humour thrown in with the evaluation of Web 2.0 and this post shows more thought than the others by discussing the necessary qualities of a librarian working in the 2.0 environment. By speaking of these qualities, this post demonstrates an understanding of how to bring social networking to the library and be a strong supporter and user of Library 2.0 tools. More theory should’ve been referenced as, although I’m aware of the papers I read when compiling this post, it does not show in the post itself.

Although, upon evaluating these posts for this assessment, it is easy to see how they could’ve been improved, this awareness also demonstrates my meeting of the learning objectives. I have grown in my understanding of social networking technologies and I have a better comprehension of Library 2.0 and how it affects the working life of an information professional. Areas such as policy development and social, cultural, educational, ethical, and technical management issues need further addressing but through this subject I am now more aware of them and have gained knowledge on where to find information on them. Each post has shown more in-depth study, more commitment and more time spent on it and has aided in my development as student and information professional.

 

References

Kroski, E. (2009). Should your library have a social media policy? School Library Journal. Retrieved 15th May, 2011, from Interact website: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6699104.html
Rethlefson, M. (2007, 15 9). Tags help make libraries delicious. Retrieved 3 21, 2011, from    www.libraryjournal.com: http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6476403.html

Reflective Statement

Before beginning this course, I considered myself aware of most the major social networking tools. I had taken part in Web 2.0 training at my current workplace and I am constantly pursing ways the library could become active in the social networking environment. In my personal life I have explored Facebook, given twitter a tweet or two, uploaded videos on YouTube and shared these experiences with friends and family. I could see their potential in an information service, especially as many of my subjects contained links to sites like these. (Abrams, 2007), tells us how useful these technologies could be to information and community services and since the library I work for is a public library it provides both these services. Also, through the many modules, online journal activities and assessment tasks, my eyes have been opened to a whole new range of social networking tools and I have developed an even more passionate pursuit of installing these technologies in my current workplace.

I am now using a few social networking technologies that I had not considered before and even one I was not previously aware of. One of the social networking technologies I was aware of previously but now use, almost every day, is RSS feeds. I have subscribed to some that are relevant to my work in the library as well as my university work; most I discovered through the subject INF506, like Information Tyrannosaur, the RSS feed from a blog by a librarian who has developed many social networking type technologies for libraries. I have also joined some that are more for personal and entertainment purposes, for example I’ve subscribed to the feed of one of my favourite shows so I can find out when it next airs as well as the ABC news feed. I believe that through my use of these technologies, both the professional and personal, I am not only keeping up-to-date with the latest innovations in social networking but also providing myself with the skills necessary to demonstrate their usefulness in a library setting for the promotion of a library as well as the sharing of information.

Having never used de.li.cious, I was interested to see how it could be applied to an information service.  Through the subject I gained insight into how this site could be used to aid in the sharing of information through shared bookmarks. I can see how the library could utilise such a tool, placing bookmarks to share relating to workshops they run, especially the ones about using the internet. They could add links to further learning and this would encourage patrons to try out some newly learned skills as well as learning a new social networking tool. I found it easy to use and have already been encouraging some other staff members to give it another look as it could also be a great tool for staff, promoting an awareness of new goings on in the library world in a different way to what is currently seen.

My only limitations were when working with a tool that I needed a considerable amount of time to understand. SecondLife was such a tool. Apart from lacking the tools to utilise it to its full advantage – such as headphones and a microphone – I also had trouble using the site as it would take up to half an hour to download completely whenever I was trying to investigate it’s possibilities. It is frustrating to me that I lacked the necessary tools to investigate it properly but now I have been introduced to this technology and I have an account I hope to investigate it in the future, when I have the proper tools. This did give me insight into how it is important to select technologies that a large proportion of your selected clientele can use. And while I feel it is a great tool to use with a university class, especially one studying social networking in an information service environment, it would not be a good tool to use in the public library I work for, where a majority of the staff and patrons are only just mastering Facebook and are wary of perceived “younger generation” sites like twitter.

As a result of studying Social Networking for Professionals (INF506) I have gained a confidence in using many different social networking tools, gaining insight into other ways to use technologies I already use and also discovering many new tools, and I feel that it this has aided my development as an information professional.

References
Abrams, S. (2007). Web 2.0, library 2.0 and librarian 2.0: Preparing for the 2.0 world. Retrieved on
  8th May, 2011 from Interact website:
  http://www.online-information.co.uk/online09/files/freedownloads.new_link1.1080622103251.pdf