INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LIBRARY AND ...6.3 Library blogs of Kendriya Vidyalaya Pattom: Web page...

International Journal of Library and Information Science (IJLIS), ISSN: 2277 – 3533 (Print),

ISSN: 2277 – 3584 (Online) Volume 2, Issue 1, January- June 2013, © IAEME

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EFFECTIVENESS OF LIBRARY BLOGS AND SOCIAL NETWORKS

OF KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA PATTOM: A CASE STUDY

S. L. Faisal Librarian, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Pattom

Thiruvananthapuram-04

[email protected]

ABSTRACT

Blogs and online social networks are handy web 2.0 tools which can be easily

incorporated into an academic library’s user service profile. The inherent features of these

applications help library professionals to reach out to new generation users at their own space

and time. Blogs are easy to create, maintain and cost free solutions to disseminate information on

library resources and services. Social networks allow the library to facilitate collaborative

learning and resource sharing. Emergence of social media as an important channel for

interaction, communication, collaboration, sharing and creation of new knowledge among the

academic communities made it relevant for libraries also. The present paper discusses how blogs

and social networks can be exploited as user centric service tools in academic libraries by

studying the content and analysing the effectiveness of library blogs and social networks created

and maintained by Kendriya Vidyalaya Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram.

Keywords: Blogs, Social Networks, Web 2.0, Academic libraries

1 INTRODUCTION

The impact of Internet and related web technologies on the delivery of library services is

evident in the first decade of the Twenty First century. The conceptual shift from Web 1.0 to Web

2.0 and its real life implications affects modern libraries and information centres in such a way

that make them to reinvent their web based resources and services and become a part of the

updated version of library coded as Library 2.0. The users of the web who could only “see” the

static pages with limited or no interactiveness are now armed with revolutionary gadgets and

connected to myriad networks that changes the way they think, communicate, share and

experience. A large number of Web 2.0 tools or technologies can be incorporated into library

sphere to reach out and engage with the new generation users those are conversant with and like

to live in the new era of communication, information sharing, interoperability and collaboration.

2.0 Relevance of the study

The modern academic community constitutes students and teachers those are more

oriented towards web generated information resources. Since a large part of academic knowledge

is now freely available on internet (the size and non-accessibility of quality information located

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LIBRARY AND NFORMATION SCIENCE (IJLIS)

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ISSN : 2277 – 3584 (Online)

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in deep web remains a problem), the users tend to spend more time on the web. To meet these

digital natives at their own hideaways and redirect them to the authentic and high quality

resources available online and also kept in libraries, new service models should be designed. The

knowledge about web 2.0 tools and its applications in web based library and information services

are more relevant here.

The significance and impact of blogs and social networks as a technology having a

greater share of user generated content and as a medium which allows users to comment, share

and analyse what they care have lead marketers and libraries to make use of it. They incorporated

these tools into their developmental strategies and redesign them according to their needs. Blogs

are easy to create, maintain and at the same time costless, whereas social networks help libraries

to link with the users effortlessly. These web 2.0 tool shave all characteristics that can be

manipulated in many ways to enhance the Library 2.0 experience. Library blogs are now become

an essential component of online services profile of modern academic libraries. A large number

of libraries worldwide are now using blogs.

Libraries in India are slowly catching up with the paradigm shifts that resulted by the

impact of web 2.0 on web based library service in developed countries. The basic theme is that

Library 2.0 is an update but not a replacement of Library 1.0 which makes our libraries more

social, human, and participatory (borderless) and invites unprecedented user inputs. Libraries in

KendriyaVidyalayas (central schools), which span around India, are in the forefront of adopting

these technologies from 2008, the year when the first KV library blog launched by Kendriya

Vidyalaya Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

3.0 Objectives of the study

i) To find out the application of blogs and social networks in libraries

ii) To study the web page contents of the library blogs and social networks of Kendriya

Vidyalaya Pattom

iii) To analyse the effectiveness of library blogs and social networks of Kendriya Vidyalaya

Pattom as user centric service tools.

4.0 Methodology

i) Web page content study of library blogs and social networks: Detailed web page content

analysis of the blogs and social networks were carried out using the blog pages and

statistics available from the blog's administrator interface.

ii) User surveys: Two user surveys (out of which one was online) among the students were

conducted to find out the effectiveness of the blogs and social networks under the study

using questionnaires.

5.0 Scope and limitations

The study has a greater scope of implementing web 2.0 applications in academic

libraries. The developing field of Academic Library 2.0 situation in India and its prospects are

studied here. The presence of mute and immeasurable virtual respondents on internet was the

main limitation.



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5.0 Web 2.0 tools for Libraries

There are hundreds of web 2.0 start ups using different technologies and tools. The common

tools used by the libraries are, Blogs (Weblogs), Wikis, RSS feed and aggregators, Social

Bookmarking, Folksonomy/Social Tagging, Social Networking Services, Content curation tools,

Microblogging (Twittering), Podcasting, Vodcasting, VoIP/Instant Messaging/Synchronous

Messaging, Web conferencing, Virtual world applications, Mash-ups, Library tool bars and

widgets, Mobile (SMS)

The present study is limited to the application of Blogs and online social networks.

6.1 Blogs

At its simplest, "A blog (a contraction of web log) is a website where entries are

commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning

to maintain or add content to a blog." (Wikipedia, 2013) The term weblog, or blog, was

coined by Jorn Barger in 1997 and refers to a simple webpage consisting of brief paragraphs of

opinion, information, personal diary entries or links, called posts, arranged chronologically with

the most recent first, in the style of an online journal. Blog entries may contain images, links,

video clips, and polls, as well as text. Each blog entry has a link to a comments area where

readers can comment on the blog entry. Blog comments may be opened to all, moderated, limited

to registered and approved users, or completely disabled. Discussions often develop in the

comments area between the blog author and her readers, furthering the communication between

librarian and patron. Blogs are a way to let patrons know what is new at the library by posting

information about new materials, library news, event announcements, policy changes, etc.

6.2 Applications of Blogs in academic libraries

Promoting your library's services, resources and programmes online can be a lot easier

with the help of a blog. A great library blog requires three ingredients: inspiration, motivation

and dedication. Inspiration is that “ah-ha” moment when your new marketing idea meshes

perfectly with a blog as the delivery vehicle. Motivation is the energy to put good ideas into

practice and helps launch the new blog. Dedication is what comes next. It's the hard work that

keeps the blog updated with pithy lively posts on a constant basis (Fichter, 2003).

Creating a blog for your library is as easy as opening an e-mail account. Many websites

provide blogging software which are either free or inexpensive. Wordpress, Blogger, TypePad,

Movable Type, Live Journal are some. The best way to start a blog is to jump into the

blogosphere and get wet your feet by trying to create some new posts or pages. Once it

happened, then you have to decide the type and size of your indented audience and the services

that you could have to imbibe on your new blog.

6.3 Library blogs of Kendriya Vidyalaya Pattom: Web page content study

The Library Media Centre at KV Pattom has been successfully maintaining four blogs.

Home page of the library blog is shown in figure1 and the main features of the blogs are detailed

in



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Table 1.

Fig. 1: Home page of the Library Blog

Table 1: Details of the Blogs developed by the Library, KV Pattom

S. No Details of the Blog with key features

01

Library @ KV Pattom (http://librarykvpattom.wordpress.com)

launched in September 2007

Acts as a portal to web resources for students and teachers

Regularly updated information on library resources and services

New book alerts and announcements

Downloads category contains study materials, previous question papers,

e-books, online text books, etc

Book of the week, author of the week, article of the week, website of the

week categories

Videos of writers and art forms and school programmes

Library instructional videos and links

A subject directory of websites

E-mail subscription service for users

RSS subscription

Chat reference and E-mail reference services

'Ask the librarian' and 'Suggest A Book' facilities

Comment facility to ask questions

Face book and Twitter integration

Receives more than 1500 hits per day (on an average)



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Upto 31 June 2013, received more than 25,00000 hits and more than

1500 comments

Listed in the national and international library blog directories

The blog functions as a library information and publicity tool. 2 LibZine-the E-Magazine (http://libzine.wordpress.com)

Launched in January 2008 as an online platform for students and teachers to

publish their creative talents such as poems, stories, articles, book reviews

paintings, photos, cartoons, experiences, etc

Main features

Selection by an editorial team consisting teachers and students

E-mail subscription facility

Students can e-mail their contributions

Comment facility, Links to other related websites

Regular colums of teachers on life skills and career development

Online competitions (quiz, puzzles, etc)

Materials are selected for school magazine

Received more than 109,000 hits by June 2013 3 My Dear Book (http://mydearbook.wordpress.com)

Exclusively for publishing book reviews

Provides wider audience for student's reviews

Online book review competitions

Develops students writing skills

Comment facility

Giving awareness about books which are available in the library.

Attracts students towards books and reading

Received more than 19,000 hits by June 2013 4 Home works and Assignments

Online(http://homeworksonline.wordpress.com)

To provide 24x7 access to learner’s curriculum resources.

Class wise arrangement of home works

E-mail subscription facility to new home works

Contact information (e-mail) of teachers

Announcements regarding examinations and tests

Links to learning resources

Comment facility

More than 2,60500 hits by June 2013

Used widely by students from other schools

The web page content analysis of the blogs under study shows how these blogs are used

as a user centric service tool. The main applications of blogs in academic libraries are,

i. as a library and information service

ii. as a tool to promote creativity and reading habit

iii. as a feedback and an evaluation instrument

iv. as an interactive communication medium

v. as a collaborative learning platform



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6.3.1 Blog as a library and information service

Library blogs can be used as a publicity and promotional tool to inform the users about

the new additions, library services and programmes. The KV Pattom library blog on its home

page gives information on its mission, opening hours, borrowing details, frequently asked

questions, etc. Announcements, New arrivals, reference books, periodicals, newspapers,

multimedia and other resources such as previous year's question papers, study materials, ,etc are

posted on the pages. As a library service it reviews a book every week (Book of the Week) and

presents an author as the “Author of the week”. The reviews and author articles are linked with

relevant internet sites. The section “Books of the month” lists five books which are most popular

among the students. “Article of the week” publishes an article on a current topic where as

“Website of the Month” reviews a useful website.

Book reviews by students and teachers along with links to author websites, interviews or

videos and a “Fan Club” which contains web links to famous writers are some interesting

features. One category which gets numerous hits every day is the “downloads”, where down

loadable documents or links to study materials, board exam question papers, marking schemes,

online textbooks, e-books etc are given. To kindle the inquisitiveness of students a weekly

updated quiz section , to give them information on career options, a “career corner'' and to

encourage creative talents of teachers, a “creative teacher” section are some other components

of the blog. “Ask the Librarian” online reference, chat reference, SMS reference and e-mail

reference are some other services given through the blog.

The internet is a gold mine for the students in their information search but at the same

time it is a huge store house of unauthorized, unevaluated and poor quality information. To help

students in their information search, a subject-wise directory of reviewed websites with live links

is added on the blog. There by the library blog acts as student's one stop entry point to safe and

quick web search. The students can search inside the blog using keywords and retrieve current

and archived information using the search box given on the homepage of the blog.

6.3.2 Blogs as a tool to promote creativity and reading habit

“LibZine” and “My Dear Book”are value added services from the library. LibZinewas

launched to promote student's creative talents online and thereby attract them towards reading

and books. Book reviews, poems, short stories, articles, paintings, experiences, photographs etc

by students and teachers are published on this blog.

The posts are mailed to library's e-mail ID and edited by a team of teachers. Accepted

entries are published at any time since it is always live. The posts generate discussions among the

visitors which facilitate exchange of ideas and information.

“My Dear Book” blog is exclusively for publishing book reviews written by students and

teachers. Only books available in the library are reviewed. This helps the users to identify and

select good books and publish own book reviews. The main advantage of these services in

library perspective is that it increases the online visibility of the library along with original

content creation. For students, it is a window to bring out their talent by harnessing the e-

publishing possibilities.

6.3.3 Blog as a feedback and an evaluation tool

The comment box attached to each and every post/ page on a blog encourages feedback from

readers/users. They can provide information about their experiences and suggest improvements



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through a medium in which they feel safe enough to express themselves. Polls and surveys can

also add to blogs using some free software tools. Questions related to the effectiveness of library

sources and services may be asked here and results can be evaluated.

6.3.4.1 Blogs as an interactive communication medium

Communicating with the users is the most important aspect of the effectiveness of a library. New

media tools particularly blogs open up channels for real time and instant interactions between the

librarian and the user. Instant messaging (IM) is a type of communication service that enables

you to have real time text-based conversations with another individual. Some IM software could

be attached to the blog (e.g. Meebo).This online chat facility can be act as a good communication

tool. The comments links on the blog also facilitate interactive communication. The responses

given by the respondent can become the starting point to more discussions and exchange of

ideas.

6.3.5 Blogs as a collaborative learning platform

The Homeworks and Assignments Online blog maintained by the library is a part of its online

collaborative e-learning services. Students can download their class home works and

assignments from this blog. The Class, division, name of the teacher and the date of submission

of the homework are given. It is particularly useful for students who are absent in regular classes.

Homeworks are categorized according to their class and subject

Students can comment on the given homework and ask questions using the links. E-mail Ids of

all the teachers of the Vidyalaya are also provided to encourage student-teacher interaction.

All the four above mentioned blogs tell success stories which repositioned the library as a hub of

all technological initiatives in the school. These sites got good coverage in the media and

acceptance among students and parents.

The blogs maintained by the Library at Kendriya Vidyalaya Pattom, set an example for library

blogs and its effective use in an academic set-up.

6.4 Online Social Networks for Libraries

The applications of web 2.0 tools in libraries are turning innovative day by day and social

networks are no exceptions. The feasible and custom made features provided by some websites

such as Ning and Grou.ps serve the needs of a library in the creation of its own online

communities. Face book and Twitter are two most popular social networking services those

could be used as reaching out tools. These networks depict the basic characters of a library 2.0

component such as user generated content, socializing , sharing, collaboration and live

interaction.

Social networks can be used in libraries as,

i) a tool to network library with the users: library administered online user communities.

ii) a library promotional and publicity medium: the virtual bulletin board of the library.

iii) an e-mail communication forum: information can be passed to the users quickly through

their e-mail ids en masse.

iv) a library evaluation tool: the discussion forums and surveys on the Ning can be used to

collect user feedback on library resources and services.

v) an on line personal space for the library users: the user designed profile pages act as

personal spaces where they can express themselves through text, images multimedia and invite

other members of the community.

vi) a collaborative sharing and learning platform: the internal groups created on the

network around topics or issues facilitate sharing and forging of ideas and assist collaborative

learning practices.



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vii) a user generated knowledge base system: the content created and transmitted by the

network members enriches the total knowledge base of the library.

viii. a tool to create love towards books and developing reading habit: a platform to

promote books and reading through groups, discussion forum and blog posts.

6.4.1 Social Networks of Library at Kendriya Vidyalaya Pattom

The library maintains a dedicated social network, Library Junction (http://libraryjunction.net )

and own Face book and Twitter accounts.

Fig. 2: Home page of Library Junction

“Library Junction” (Fig. 2) launched in January 2010 with a catch line “Where minds meet and

ideas pop up!”.The targeted members of the network were those who have genuine interest in

books, reading, libraries and good websites. The launch was announced through media. More

than 1000 people joined Library Junction by May 2013, out of which 650 were the existing off

line users of the library comprising students and teachers.

6.4.1.1 Networking with users

Library Junction has become an on line community of library users networked together around

the motive of the love towards books, reading, libraries and good websites. The member base

includes academicians, students, librarians, professionals and laymen. The administrator, here the

librarian has the power to accept or decline one's request for membership if the applicant's

credentials found dubious. He/she can even ban the member from the network for not following

the stated guidelines.

The heterogeneity of the members invokes alternative views on different issues discussed on the

network and encourages sharing of ideas and thoughts.

6.4.1.2 Publicizing the library

Promoting and publicizing the resources and services of the library remains one of the main

reasons to launch Library Junction. Information regarding new arrivals, services and events are

announced through the network. The members can join the events organized by the library and if

desired, create own events and promote it.

http://libraryjunction.net/



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6.4.1.3 Communicating with users

The library possesses a database of its network members with different fields such as name, date

of birth, e-mail id (these three entries made essential to join the network by default) and the

information collected by means of a data sheet (created by the administrator) to be filled by the

members at the time of joining which can be later modified by them if required.

On Library Junction, “LJ Link of the day” is a daily information alert service through which

useful web links are send to the members along with updates from the library via e mail. Blog

posts (by the administrator and the members) are another means of information dissemination

tool which can be used for spreading and sharing news on related topics.Library instructional

videos and images were uploaded on the network which help the users in exploiting the

resources. Along with that, on Library Junction, videos on current issues, interviews with literary

figures, books, reading and events are added by the administrator and the members.

6.4.1.4 Library evaluation by the users

Effectiveness of the library, its services, resources and policies can be put on for discussion on

the network. An user who is reluctant to express his/her views before the library staff might be

ready to throw away that on an on line forum. The feedback collected through this platform is a

quick and handy set of user data which can be analysed for future qualitative improvements.

6.4.1.5 Creating personal spaces

The custom made profile pages of the members on the network display their uniqueness, sense of

design, interests and attitudes. These are their personal spaces (think about traditional carrels in

libraries) where they can invite other members, befriend and share literally anything which is

possible on any other social network.

6.4.1.6 Collaboration and sharing

Collaboration and sharing are the fundamental characteristics of a social network. Library

Junction channelized this to facilitate internal data flow within groups which were created

around favourite authors, books, characters, events and websites. Members were permitted join

any number of groups according to their interests. The group members started discussions on the

famous literacy character and its author. They interact each other through group messages and

comments. These internal group activities and the data exchanges held on the main home page

step up the overall data flow on the network and boost collaboration and sharing of ideas and

information among the members.

6.4.1.7 Knowledge bases created by the members

Highly learned members and potential discussions on the network produce new knowledge

which will enrich the existing (library) system. These small but valuable knowledge bases

created by the members through comments, opinions, suggestions, blog posts, images and

videos adds up the total intellectual worthiness of the social network and eventually turns the

hosting library a place for more learning and resource sharing.

6.4.1.8 Creating love towards books and developing reading habit

The main objective of the Network was to create love towards books and reading in the mind of

net savvy young library users who spend a good share of their time in gaming, surfing and social

networking sites such as face book and orkut. Library junction was designed in such a way that

at every module of the network, the members are guided towards books, reading and good

websites.

The online social network, Library Junction helps the library to reach out to the new generation

library users those who are familiar with and like to be on popular social networking services.

This network acts as a publicity tool, communication medium, collaborative learning platform,



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information sharing platform and a tool to promote reading habit and information literacy skills.

6.5 Library on Face book

The library created page on the most popular online social networking service Face book

(http://facebook.com/LibraryKVPattom). More than 1650 users have became "Friends" and

“followers” of this page.(Figure 3)

Fig. 3: Screen shot of KVP library on Face book The services offered through Face book are,

i) Publicizing new arrivals, library events and activities

ii) RSS feeds (aggregations) from the Library blogs

iii) Shares photos, videos, links and current news (embedding and uploading)

iv) Acts as a virtual reference desk (chat reference with the librarian)

v) Integration of reading applications such as Visual Book Shelf and Library Thing.

6.6 Library on Twitter

The twitter interface of the library (http://twitter.com/librarykvpattom ) works as a short message

service of the library. Updates from the library blogs and other library related information are

disseminated through twitter. (Figure 4)

http://twitter.com/librarykvpattom



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Fig. 4: Twitter home page of the library

7.0 Analysis of data

The data collected by a survey conducted among the students of Kendriya Vidyalaya Pattom was

assessed to find out the effectiveness of the library blogs under study. The questionnaire was

distributed among the students from Class VI-XII in a random order.106 students participated in

the survey. Inferences derived are as under:

7.1 Rating Library blogs by its user friendliness

The respondents rated library blogs by its user friendliness. Mare than 50 % rated that as Very

good where as 35% as Good which is presented as Table 2. Table 2: Rating Library blogs by its user friendliness

Rating Percentage of responses

Very Good 54

Good 35

Average 8

Not known 3

The responses showed that the blogs should be more user frienly.

7.2 Rating Library Blogs by its information content

It is clear from Table 3 that when rate by its information content, 56 % said that the blogs contain

the adequate amount of information.



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Table 3: Rating Library blogs by its information content

Rating Percentage of responses

Adequate 56

Good 35

Average 11

Not known 3

7.3 Helpfulness of comment, e-mail reference and downloads sections on the library blog

Respondents were asked to assess the helpfulness of the three most popular components of the

blog, comment facility, e-mail reference and download. 58% of the respondents said that they

were very helpful whereas 14 % said that these sections help them to some extend. Remaining 28

% rated it as helpful.

Fig. 5: Usefulness of the blog components

7.4 Reasons for the students to visit the library blogs

Why the students visit the library blogs? As shown in table 4, more than half (58 %) of the

respondents expressed that they have been visiting the library blogs for getting information on

books, library and its activities. 29 % thought that they could find and download some

carriculum related materials from the blog.

Table 4: Reasons to visit the library blogs

Reason Percentage of responses

To get information on books and library activities 58

To find and download curriculum related

materials

29

Just for the sake of browsing the web 13

The analysis showed that the students visit the library blogs to know more about the books,

library and to find or download some information useful for their studies.

7.5Libzine: The e-Magzine as a medium to promote students' creative talents online

The LibZine-e magazine blog is an online self-publishing platform for students and teachers. 63

Very Helpfl

Helpful

To some extend



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% of the respondents think that it helps them to promote their creative talents where as 33% said

that to some extend it acts as a medium to develop their creative skills

represented by figure 6.

Fig. 6: Libzine Blog as a medium to promote students' creative talents From the responses, it is clear that the e-magazine blog effectively helps students to showcase

their creative talents to the world.

7.6 “Homeworks and assignments online” blog as a curriculum support tool

Among the respondents, 55 % termed the blog from where they can download daily homeworks

as very useful as represented in figure 7.

Fig. 7: Home works online blog as a curriculum support tool The results indicated that the blog helps the students in their studies and remain connected with

their school activities.

7.7 Home works online Blog as a collaborative learning platform

Students can communicate with the subject teachers utilizing the comment facility and e-mail

links provided on the blog. 43 % of the respondents communicate and collaborate with teachers

Yes To some extent Not know n

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Very useful Useful To some extent Not know n

0

10

20

30

40

50

60



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through E-mail and comments regularly where as 33% interact with them sometimes as given in

table 5.

Table 5: Blog as a collaborative learning platform

Activity Percentage of responses

Collaborate with teachers regularly 43

Collaborate with teachers some time 33

No collaboration 24

7.8 Periodicity of visit

Nearly half of the respondents visit any of the library blog everyday where as 32 % visits 2-4

times in a week. 18% of the students visit the blogs once in a week and 3 % visit once in a

month, represented by table 6.

Table 6: Periodicity of visit

Periodicity Response (%)

Daily 47

2-4 times/week 32

Once/week 18

Once/month 3

7.9 Library Junction: The online social network of the Library

An on line user survey was conducted to measure the effectiveness of the Library Junction as an

added library service. Questionnaire was mailed to all network members and from the responses

received, the analysis was carried out. The main findings are given below.

7.9.1How the respondents knew about Library Junction

The major source of first-hand information about the social network was internet

followed by library (20 %) as shown in the table 7.

Table 7: Primary information source on Library Junction

Source of information Response (%)

Friends 14

Teachers 10

Library Newsletter 3

Internet 53

Library 20

7.9.2 Frequency of visit

The daily visitors of the network were 27 % of the respondents, where as 34% of them visit the

network once in a week as indicated in table 8.



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Table 8: Frequency of visit

Periodicity Response

(%)

Daily 27

Once in two days 14

Once in four days 16

Once in a week 34

Once in a month 9

7.9.3User behaviour

From the analysis it was found that, as represented by the table 9, a maximum number of

students read blog posts, discussions and comments (67%). 34 % of the users liked to visit

other member's profile pages.

Table 9: User behaviour

Activities Response (%)

Read, blog posts/discussions/comments 67

Visit other member's profile pages 34

Communicate with other members (messages,

comments, etc.)

25

Visit groups and interact with group members 30

See/upload images and videos 20

Just to surf 27

The table shows the high participation level of users in discussions and the eagerness to interact

with other members on the network.

7.9.4 Library junction and reading habit

As indicated in the figure 8, more than 90 % of the respondents believe that the network helps

them to develop reading habit, interest towards books, libraries and good websites.

Figure 8: Promotion of reading habit

Helps to develop reading habit

Not helpful



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7.10Evaluation of the effectiveness of blogs through blog statistics

Blogs have inbuilt statistical tools (Blog Stats) to analyze its reach and effectiveness. Daily,

weekly, monthly hit counts are given along with most visited posts, pages, incoming links and

refereed sites. A screen shot of the daily statistics generated on 19 July 2013 of the blog under

study is given in figure 9. A hit counts statistics of the library blog is shown using the figure 10,

which indicates the total number of hits gained by the library blog on a monthly basis. Figure 9: Daily blog statistics

As shown in figure 10 and 11, in February 2012 the library blog recorded the highest

number of 105,611 hits. The statistics showed that on an average the blog got more than

1061 hits per day (from September 2007 to June 2013). The maximum hits in a day

(3642) were recorded in the month of February 2012.



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Figure 10: Hit count statistics (monthly)

Figure 11: Hit count statistics (daily)

A general analysis of the data collected from the user surveys and the blog statistics clearly

showed that the use of library blogs and social networks as user centric service tools in an

academic library environment is effective and workable. A well designed library blog can

increase library's reach to the new generation users. Social networking helps the library to

interact and collaborate with the users.

8.0 Findings

The findings are presented under two broad headings.

Web 2.0 tools and its applications in academic libraries

On the basis of the study the important findings regarding the application of web 2.0 tools

in academic libraries are following.

i) Web 2.0 provides user-friendly applications which help connect information and people

ii) Academic libraries can effectively incorporate web 2.0 tools to serve the net generation



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users

iii) Blogs and online social networks are powerful applications in Academic Library 2.0

The effectiveness of library blogs and social networks as user centric

service tools

The major findings regarding the effectiveness of library blogs and online social

networks are,

i) Internet and the library remain the primary source of information about the

library blogs and social networks

ii) Blogs and social networks help to disseminate or publicise library resources and

activities

iii) Blogs and social networks help the library to give virtual reference services

iv) Collaborative learning can be facilitated and supported by blogs and social

networks

v) Library blogs and social networks develop reading habit and creative skills.

vi) Blogs and social networks act as curriculum support tools.

vii) Blogs and social networks acted as guides to selected and aggregated information

sources.

9 Conclusion

A famous U.S Court judgment rejecting censorship in the 1990s described the internet as

a 'never ending worldwide conversation' (Dochartaigh, 2007). This description emphasizes the

interactive aspects of the new technologies. Web 2.0 provides the platform on which a library can

pursue for its excellence by effectively utilizing these tools. The application of blogs, social

networks and other new media technologies helps the library professional to serve the stake

holders better and re-construct his/her image as a well-equipped, proactive, conversant and

human entity. The new era libraries are the centres of interactive communication and

collaborative learning where the users create content. The power of networking between these

two components ie., users and library strengthens each other and create new avenues for a more

open, user friendly, social and dynamic interface where the wisdom of the users meet and enrich

the existing knowledge system of the library. The study conducted with library blogs and social

networks gives ample evidences in this direction and presents nemerous possibilities before

libraries. The new technologies should be harnessed relentlessly for the betterment of the users

and to reach them where they are. The future of libraries lies there.

References

1. Dochartaigh, Niall (2007). Internet Research skills. London: Sage Publications.

2. Fichter, Darlene (2003). Why and how to use blogs to promote your library's services, Marketing

Library Services. Retrieved 10 June, 2013 from

http://www.infotoday.com/mls/nov03/fichter.shtml#1

3. YALSA (Young Adults Library Services Association) (2009). Teens & Social Networking in

School & Public Libraries: A Toolkit for Librarians & Library Workers, YALSA , Chicago.

Retrieved 10 June, 2013 from www.ala.org/yalsa

4. Wikipedia (2013).Retrieved 10 June, 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

http://www.ala.org/yalsa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

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