How to Use a Web 2.0 Based Website With Your Library

 

As a librarian unless you have been completely out of it, I'm sure you are aware of the web 2.0 trends that have been increasingly becoming popular with libraries in the form of library 2.0. Although there are many methods you can use to incorporate these principles of interactivity into your library and your library resources, one of the most basic and important is your library web site. Now websites are traditionally thought of as more web 1.0 or non-interactive tools. So how then do you incorporate the principles of web 2.0 into your library web site? There are many possibilities of how you could do this. Let me share with you a few with which I am familiar. The first and easiest way is to change your library website into a blog. If your library is smaller this will work better than if your library is large. Nonetheless with some planning and input from other library staff members it can be done with virtually any library website. Some of the things you need to consider before taking this step are: What kind of blogging platform will you use? The one you choose will depend upon your budget and technology resources. My library decided to use Typepad. Although you can also use Blogger, or Wordpress, for most libraries, after my experience, I would say that Typepad is the best for most libraries. It offers enough flexibility that you can use it to create a website that offers most of the features you would have with a traditional website with the blogging features added in. They also have a lot of widgets you can use to add to the pizazz and interactivity of your website. You also need to decide who will take charge of your website. Will one librarian be in charge and do all the posting and changes or will more than one librarian? What content will you post as the posts on your new blog oriented site? This is the most difficult part to write since there are no rules or given guidelines as to what you post there whereas the columns with the links to other important resources will be more or less already determined. Will you allow comments to your pages to be posted and maintained on the site? Or will you disable comments? Will you completely eliminate your traditional website or will you keep both versions? Another method you can use is to change your library website into a wiki. I have seen several public libraries that have adapted this method. This method offers the advantage that you can allow your patrons to make changes to the site, if you decide to allow this. Depending upon the audience of your library, you may or may not want to permit this. Wikis also have some additional built in flexibility when it comes to adding photos and files that most blogging software platforms do not have. However, you are usually limited with the formatting of them as well as the color scheme whereas with most blogging platforms you can use your own color schemes and logos. At present these are the only two real viable options for creating a web 2.0 based library website. Will your library take the plunge and join the countless libraries that have already changed their websites? AnnaLaura Brown is a librarian as well as a network marketer. She loves experimenting with new technologies as well as helping others reach their goals. Read her social networking librarian blog and learn all about how to incorporate library 2.0 into your library at socialnetworkinglibrarian.com She also invites you to consider starting a home business to make more money and become financially free. Learn more about her business and why it is a great business for librarians at librariansandcandles.com