Monthly Archives: February 2013

February 21, 2013 · 8:05 am

Interview with Latrice Ferguson, U-High Head Librarian

I interviewed Latrice Ferguson, head library media specialist at University High School in Normal, IL. (I work there; she is my boss.)

The library has a website, a Facebook page, a Twitter feed, a blog and a Pinterest page. What she finds is that social media takes up a lot of time and that to do it right, she needs to be constantly engaged and a consistent poster.

Both Pinterest and Facebook are blocked at school, which makes it harder to target and engage students in these forums. Our awesome Pinterest page affords us an opportunity to promote our library in the community and to curate resources and materials for faculty.

She uses social media mostly as a contact medium to members of her personal learning network (PLN). She is a member of a Ning for Black Librarians and several other wikis. She also follows several blogs and twitter feeds. She uses the iPad app Flipboard as her RSS feeder. She also follows the listserv for the Illinois School Library Media Association, which is a wealth of information for pre-service and practicing librarians.

She employs Digsby as the reference chat, though it is sometimes misused by students. As part of her job, she teaches about digital literacy, citizenship, especially cyber-bullying, and privacy issues—other common SM problems in high schools.

Overall, she has positive feelings about social media, but she often struggles to find time to do it professionally and personally.

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February 18, 2013 · 7:41 pm

Book Reviews 2.0

 Librarians use reviews to decide whether to purchase a book. When books are published, a paid professional reviewer reads it and then publishes an opinion based on the book’s merits. These reviews are published in newspapers like the New York Times and in journals like the School Library Journal or VOYA.  A good review means some shelf space, a book tour and possibly a better contract for the author. However, using this marketing method, word of mouth is slow, and there are many gatekeepers controlling information about the book.

The Internet and social media have changed all that.  According to Gefland’s research, the “omission of social media will delete you and your enterprise from the public radar”; the converse is also true.  (Gefland 2012)

Social media decentralizes the power from publishers and professionals—thanks to blogosphere, anyone can be a critic, everyone has a voice. The YA Book Blog Directory lists hundreds of book review blogs. These blogs can be the work of one individual or a collaborative effort.  Thanks to advanced reader copies (ARC) and websites like Netgalley.com, bloggers can read and post reviews even before the release of the book.

Like many authors, book bloggers may have a blog, a Facebook page, a twitter feed and a Pinterest page on which they will promote themselves and their reviews. YouTube and Vivemo afford reviewers and avid readers a platform to post original book reviews and trailers. Virtual communities like Shelfari.com, goodreads.com and Bookglutton.com revolve around book critique and encourage readers to share their thoughts and reflections.

Social media affords book bloggers the ability to publish in real time, media-rich, decentralized, collborative environments. Consequently for librarians, “the information about a text [has] become as important as the primary text itself.” (Barrett 1992)

Read More:

Barrett, E. Sociomedia: Multimedia, Hypermedia, and the Social Construction of Knowledge. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. (1992).1.

Burns E. Curl Up with a Cup of Tea and a Good Blog. School Library Journal. (2007, Feb);  53(2): 40.

Furman J. Top 10 Tips for Marketing a Book Using Social Media. PM World Today. (2012, Jan);14(1): 1-7. 

Gelfand J, Lin A. Social Networking: Product or Process and What Shade of Grey?. Grey Journal (TGJ). (2012, Spring2012); 8(1): 14-26. 

Shank J, Bell S. Blended Librarianship: [Re]Envisioning the Role of Librarian as Educator in the Digital Information Age. Reference & User Services Quarterly. (2011, Winter2011); 51(2): 105-110.

Wasserstrom, J. Why read book reviews? The Chronicle Review. (September 9. 2011). B20.

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February 17, 2013 · 10:02 pm

Web 2.0 & the School Library Mash-up

 Web 2.0 is a real time, media-rich, public, two-way, social, decentralized, mobile global community.

In 2005, Tim Reilly said:

 “Web 2.0 is the network as platform, spanning all connected devices; Web 2.0 applications are those that make the most of the intrinsic advantages   of that platform: delivering software as a continually-updated service that gets better the more people use it, consuming and remixing data from  multiple sources, including individual users, while providing their own data and services in a form that allows remixing by others, creating network  effects through an ‘architecture of participation,’ and going beyond the page metaphor of Web 1.0 to deliver rich user experiences.”

In order to stay relevant in the interactive world of 2.0, school libraries need to “deliver rich user experiences” by embracing and adapting the 2.0 attitude.

Five Ways School Libraries Can Reboot
1. Real time: A library webpage and digital resources that can be accessed at school and from home 24/7/365. A reference chat that is available during school hours would also help users find information when and where they need it.
2. Multi-Media: Delivering instruction and information using Podcasting, YouTube, Vivemo, and existing TEDtalks
3. Social: Promoting library events and feedback via Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
4. Curation: Using social bookmaking web tools like Pinterest, Diigo and Delicious to lead faculty and students to information and resources available on the web and in the collection.
5. Creation & Experimentation: Providing a physical and virtual “learning commons” where instruction, collaboration and creation can occur similar to the YOUMedia extension at the Chicago Public Library or through the use of wikis and simulated environments.

Like Web 2.0 tools, a 2.0 School Library is a “continually-updated service that gets better the more people use it.”

More Reading:

Anita Mary Brooks K. Becoming Teacher-Librarian 2.0. Partnership : The Canadian Journal Of Library And Information Practice And Research [serial on the Internet]. (2007); (1).

King D. Creating a Customer Experience On the Web In the Library In the Community. Slideshare. September 30, 2011. http://www.slideshare.net/davidleeking/creating-customer-experience-on-the-web-in-the-library-in-the-community-9493673.

Naslund J, Giustini D. Towards School Library 2.0: An Introduction to Social Software Tools for Teacher Librarians. School Libraries Worldwide [serial on the Internet]. (2008, July); 14(2): 55-67.

O’Dell S. Opportunities and Obligations for Libraries in a Social Networking Age: A Survey of Web 2.0 and Networking Sites. Journal Of Library Administration [serial on the Internet]. (2010, Apr); 50(3): 237-251.

O’Reilly, Tim. “Web 2.0: Compact Definition?” OReilly Radar. October 1, 2005. http://radar.oreilly.com/2005/10/web-20-compact-definition.html.

Partridge H. Becoming “Librarian 2.0”: The Skills, Knowledge, and Attributes Required by Library and Information Science Professionals in a Web 2.0 World (and Beyond). Library Trends [serial on the Internet]. (2010, Summer-Fall2010); 59(1-2): 315.

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