Anne SilvaLIS 63110/29/2010

Web 2.0

Jackson library uses many Web 2.0 features on its website. Some of them are

more popular than others. The biggest problem in I see in general is a lack of interaction

and a lack of evolution based on user responses and interactions.

Blogs

There are many blogs available at the Jackson library website, and some of them

are surprisingly interesting and entertaining. The problem I see here is that while

comments are often enabled, there have been very few comments actually posted. I think

part of the problem here is that the blogs aren’t often visited. This may be due to a

marketing issue. The lack of comments may also be because the blogs aren’t presented in

a way that is conducive to discussion. I think one thing that could help is linking to

certain blog entries via the libraries Facebook and twitter accounts. While making the

blogs more interactive may take a little more time on the part of the staff member, the

time of input vs. the output of successful discussion would make it well worth it.

Reference chat, texting, and email

The reference chat and other technological ways to communicate with the

reference department are great, especially for commuter students. I also love that even at

times when UNCG reference staff isn’t available; there are easily accessible links to

NCKnows, which provides help 24/7. I would like to see a most frequently asked

questions page. This service poses a staffing issue, because someone has to be at a

computer ready to answer reference questions. I can imagine that is sometimes difficult if

there are a lot of people at the library in the reference section needing help as well. I’m

interested in how this is handled. I wonder if there is a person assigned to the reference

chat and that is their main responsibility or if whoever is available from the reference

department answers the incoming question. I would also like to see a subject database.

I’m sure, like many university students, students in a particular class every semester have

relatively the same assignments. What about an open source database where helpful

resources can be compiled for that specific class and that specific assignment? I know we

have research guides by subject, but they aren’t class or assignment specific. This may

offer some of the advantages of a metasearch, such as a wide variety of types of sources,

but it will eliminate some of the messiness.

Electronic Database Ratings

One of my favorite Web 2.0 features is the ability to rate databases. I wish this

were more popularly used and that raters could also leave comments, such as tips and

tricks that they’ve learned about in they’re research process.

Podcasts

The library has podcasts for a lot of things, including a lot of instructional ones. It

also has promotional videos that stream in certain places on the website. I’d like to see a

place where all of this media is listed in one specific place, because sometimes I’ll see

something and want to access it again, but once I’ve refreshed the page something new is

there, or in time it is replaced with something different.

RSS

While there is an index of RSS news feeds from departments and ejournals, they

don’t mean anything to non-techies like me. Maybe they aren’t supposed to. When I click

on a subject heading, I don’t know how to decipher what’s there. A how-to page or basic

information would be great.

Flickr

The Flickr page is absolutely hysterical and offers some great information, but at

the same time, doesn’t elicit a lot of interaction. It has tags and other web 2.0 features. It

has room for comments but there are few. I don’t know if this is because students are

apathetic or if there is something the library could be doing in order to better facilitate

discussion. Also, more background information on some of the collections may be

helpful to students to understand the “library culture” and feel more involved in it.

Getting students involved in the process and more prevalent in the collections may also

help.

Facebook

The Facebook page announces great information and links to some funny and

useful things. But again, the conversation is one-sided, and the conversations that do exist

are usually between other librarians and staff members. The library has 821 friends, so

that means that people are getting the information, they just don’t use it as a

conversational platform. I know that there can be polls and such put on a Facebook page;

maybe this would foster more of a sense of community and garner more comments. Also,

if the person in charge asked more direct, open-ended questions, this also may facilitate a

conversation as opposed to just a listing of events, useful and funny links, etc.

Also, the library seems be registered as a person and not a place or establishment,

because you have to “friend” them. It also doesn’t disclose certain page features until

someone is a “friend” of the library’s on Facebook. This may hinder people from visiting

and commenting, Some people may just want to see the page for information and not go

through the political correct hoops of adding or “friending” the page.

Marketing tools

I think Irma Minerva façade used in many web 2.0 tools may confuse some

people. It took me a while to figure out what the relevance was when I got here and I still

don’t entirely know why it’s used or what its primary purpose is. While it’s a fun handle,

it may muddy the waters for people who just don’t know what it means or what its

relevance is. I think sometimes it might be more user-friendly and helpful to just say

Jackson Library or reference librarian. It seems this handle is in place more for the fun

and entertainment of the library and librarians than it is to help users in their quest for

information. While I suspect the point was to make the library staff more streamlined and

make it less personal, I think people like to know that they’re interacting with a real

person. I wonder what the point of it is sometimes.

Reservations, Etc.

I really like that you can see what computers at the library are available from the

website via the computer resources map. It helps students in planning when to go to the

library and where to go once they get there. I also like that you can reserve spaces online

and that the interlibrary loan process can be done online.

Conclusion

I think Jackson library uses Web 2.0 features well. The biggest problem I see is

the lack of discussion and interaction. Without these, the features can’t change and

evolve to better meet user needs. I think part of it is that undergraduate students tend to

be a little apathetic. I also think there are some things that library staff could do to foster

more interaction, discussion and participation by leaving things more open for students to

comment and asking more direct questions on social networking sites. I also think that

podcasts or videos could be used to help explain some of the traditions and background

of some of the “library culture” that seems to exist.