Library 2.0: balancing the risks and benefits to maximise the dividends

Purpose \u2013 The purpose of this paper is to provide a number of examples of how Web 2.0 technologies and approaches (Library 2.0) are being used within the library sector. The paper acknowledges that there are a variety of risks associated with such approaches. The paper describes the different types of risks and outlines a risk assessment and risk management approach which is being developed to minimise the dangers while allowing the benefits of Library 2.0 to be realised. Design/methodology/approach \u2013 The paper outlines various risks and barriers which have been identified at a series of workshops run by UKOLN (a national centre of expertise in digital information management based in the UK) for the cultural heritage sector. A risk assessment and risk management approach, which was initially developed to support use of Web 2.0 technologies at events organised by UKOLN, is described and its potential for use within the wider library community, in conjunction with related approaches for addressing areas such as accessibility and protection of young people, is described. Findings \u2013 Use of Library 2.0 approaches is becoming embedded across many libraries which seek to exploit the benefits which such technologies can provide. The need to ensure that the associated risks are identified and appropriate mechanisms implemented to minimise such risks is beginning to be appreciated. Practical implications \u2013 The areas described here should be of relevance to many library organisations which are making use of Library 2.0 services.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Can LinkedIn and Academia.edu Enhance Access to Open Repositories?

The deployment of institutional repository services has focussed on the development of services for managing content within the organisation or by a trusted agency. At the same time we have seen developments to support management of the use of metadata to maximize access to content hosted in repositories. Related technical approaches, such as 'cool URIs' can also make content more discoverable by search engines such as Google. In parallel we are witnessing the increasing take-up of a range of third-party services such as LinkedIn and Academia which are being used by researchers to publish information related to their professional activities, including details of their research publications. The paper provides evidence which suggests that personal use of such services can increase the number of downloads by increasing SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) rankings through inbound links from highly ranked web sites. A survey of use of such services across Russell Group universities shows the popularity of a number of social media services. In the light of existing usage of these services this paper proposes that institutional encouragement of their use by researchers may generate increased accesses to institutional research publications at little cost to the institution. This paper concludes by describing further work which is planned in order to investigate the SEO characteristics of institutional repositories

The Use of Online Tools by Information Professionals in Medical Libraries in Oman

Rapid development of the Internet and the emergence of a new generation of the Internet within different social software offer advantages to medical libraries in terms of their services and marketing. Medical libraries need to change the ways they provide their services based on changes in users’ needs in the digital world. The main purpose of this study is to explore the perception/attitude of information professionals in Medical libraries in Oman towards use of various online tools or so-called Web2.0. The study also intends to highlight the main challenges that prevent libraries from using these tools and applications in providing services. An online survey was used as a data collection method. Survey Monkey software was used to design the questionnaire. The survey included all medical libraries (16) in Oman. The study found that the majority of information professionals in medical libraries in Oman are aware of Web 2.0 and the majority of them use its tools within library services. The majority of information professionals reported positively regarding the use of these tools in library services. However, several challenges were identified regarding using and adopting online tools within library services. This study tried to provide a clear understanding of the ways that online tools are used and adopted by information professionals in medical libraries. It is hoped that it will make a contribution to the future development of this subject area. Keywords: Oman, Online Tools, Information Professionals, Medical Libraries, Web 2.0, Library 2.0, Librarian 2.

Approaches to archiving professional blogs hosted in the cloud

Early adopters of blogs will have made use of externally-hosted blog platforms, such as Wordpress.com and Blogger.com, due, perhaps, to the lack of a blogging infrastructure within the institution or concerns regarding restrictive terms and conditions covering use of such services. There will be cases in which such blogs are now well-established and contain useful information not only for current readership but also as a resource which may be valuable for future generations. The need to preserve content which is held on such third-party services (“the Cloud’) provides a set of new challenges which are likely to be distinct from the management of content hosted within the institution, for which institutional policies should address issues such as ownership and scope of content. Such challenges include technical issues, such as the approaches used to gather the content and the formats to be used and policy issues related to ownership, scope and legal issues. This paper describes the approaches taken in UKOLN, an applied research department based at the University of Bath, to the preservation of blogs used in the organisation. The paper covers the technical approaches and policy issues associated with the curation of blogs a number of different types of blogs: blogs used by members of staff in the department; blogs used to support project activities and blogs used to support events

Public libraries and non-users: A comparison between Manchester and Rome

This paper presents the findings of a study conducted with library managers from two major metropolitan areas, Greater Manchester in England and Rome in Italy. The study aims to compare practices, activities and policies adopted in the two cities to attract non-users, with particular attention to the approach that librarians take to resolving the non-user issue. This research also revealed differences in the way public libraries are used in the two areas. In Manchester, libraries are predominantly task orientated, offering access points for community services, whereas in Rome the focus is more on entertainment, leisure, and social events. The non-user profiles differ between cities, with non-users being mostly older teenagers and young adults in Manchester and mostly younger teenagers and pensioners in Rome. Reading groups, a key service for encouraging reading and familiarising with library facilities, are well established in England, with 90% of the libraries in Manchester accommodating one or more groups, compared to only 50% of the libraries in Rome offering usually a single group. In addition, Manchester libraries often have a range of specialised reading groups to suit a large variety of reading tastes. Libraries in both cities are aware of the need for proactive marketing and management of their web presence but should look at other countries’ strategies to expand their range of activities and programmes to attract more public

Šiuolaikiniai bibliotekos konceptai tinklaveikos visuomenėje: kontekstas ir požiūriai

In this article, the author aims to analyse the context (i.e., the influencing factors and tendencies) of library activities in a network society and to present contemporary concepts of what a library is as well as to identify the main elements and determine interplay points among them. The main influencing factors of the network society that have the greatest impact on libraries are identified and theoretically substantiated: a) the growing need for identity of communities and individuals and decentralisation of power; b) social structural changes; c) digital technology development and changes in information behaviour. The development and changes of libraries in contemporary library concepts are described through internal structural changes of libraries and changes in their relationship with the environment. The factors of the network society determine greater interactivity, participation of libraries, development of services, and use of technology in their activities. The contemporary concepts of library are composed of few elements: infrastructure, human and information resources, technologies, information and library services. The latter mentioned elements are creating and enriching a new connection between library and society with a participatory opportunity. Participation in libraries is defined as an active involvement of society in fashioning library services and contributing to a crowdsourcing process of informational resources. The literature analysis, which is provided in the article, serves of use for researchers interested in the changes of libraries, library field politicians and strategic managers of library activities.Straipsnyje analizuojamas bibliotekos veiklos kontekstas tinklaveikos visuomenėje (poveikį darantys veiksniai ir tendencijos), pristatomi šiuolaikiniai bibliotekos konceptai, išskiriami pagrindiniai jų elementai bei nustatomos elementų sąveikos. Šiuolaikinius bibliotekos konceptus sudaro infrastruktūra, žmogiškieji ir informacijos ištekliai, technologijos, informacijos ir bibliotekos paslaugos. Jų sąveika sukuria naują bibliotekos ir visuomenės ryšį, pagrįstą dalyvaujamumu. Dalyvaujamumas bibliotekose suprantamas kaip visuomenės aktyvus įsitraukimas į bibliotekos veiklas kuriant bei keičiant paslaugų turinį ir prisidedant prie informacijos organizavimo. Straipsnyje atlikta analizė naudinga tiems, kurie tiria bibliotekos pokyčius, formuoja bibliotekų srities politiką bei strategiškai planuoja jų veiklas