Blogs in a Library Environment

1. Blogs in a Library Environment Kathy Petlewski Plymouth District Library mkp@plymouthlibrary.org

2. What Is a Blog? • “A Weblog is a hierarchy of text, images, media objects and data, arranged chronologically, that can be viewed in an HTML browser.” Dave Winer “Weblogs at Harvard Law” http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/whatMakesAWeblogAWeblog accessed 8/23/2005

3. Easier Definition From Webopedia • Short for Web log, a blog is a Web page that serves as a publicly accessible personal journal for an individual. Typically updated daily, blogs often reflect the personality of the author.

4. Characteristics of a Blog • Tend to have short entries • Updated on a regular basis • Fewer “bells and whistles” than web pages • Displayed in reverse chronological order, with the newest coming up first

5. Components of a Typical Blog • Title of Blog – Unique Name for your blog • Title of Individual Entry or Posting • Date Stamp for each entry – This is the time the entry is posted to the blog. • Main Body of individual entry - Sentence, paragraph or essay with links and names and current news

6. Components of a Typical BlogCont. • Author - Often a nickname or pen name is used • Archives – Listing of past posts either by category or date • Permalink – Reference link to a permanent page just for one post. • Comments Tag (optional) – Allows readers to react to post

7. Components of a Typical Blog Cont. • Other Links (optional) – Links to related pages, author’s favorite pages etc. • RSS/XML Tag (optional but highly desirable) • TrackBack (optional) – A way for one blog post to link to the post of another blog.

8. Blog Page Example

9. 1996 - Marc Andreessen's ‘What's New?’ page at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications 1997 – Dave Winer starts Scripting News, currently the longest running weblog on the Internet: http://www.scripting.com/ Technical Blogs – Help and advice for techies Slashdot: news for nerds - http://slashdot.org/ (1997) In 1998, Jorn Barger coined the term “weblog” Blogger and Pitas started offering blogging services in 1999. Blogging Background

10. Political Blogs – Bloggers were allowed in 2004 National Conventions with press credentials. Personal Diaries of life-changing experiences “Baghdad Burning” http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/ or “View from the Sidewalk” http://view-sidewalk.blogspot.com “Citizen Journalism” – CBS/George Bush National Guard Story in the 2004 campaign Hurricanes Katrina and Rita blogs from reporters from The Weather Channelhttp://www.weather.com/blog/weather/ (2005) Typical Kinds of Blogs

11. Marketing: Promote Library events and programs, list new movies, books and links to their reviews. News: Keep students informed of new collections, building expansions, new personnel – “telling our story” Online Book Discussions: Let readers post comments Community Information: collect and post local news and events Homework Alerts: Have a central place for student to check to find out about resources to help with current assignments. Why Should My Library or Media Center Have a Blog?

12. Staff Development: Share tips and tricks with software, search engines etc. Knowledge Sharing: Post difficult reference questions and resources used to answer them. Database for Web Site Resources: As new, worthwhile sites are created, add to the blog archives. Project Tracking and Management: Post updates and timelines for building expansions, new circulation systems etc. Professional/personal Development: post a resume with links to projects, papers, articles done by you. Staff Picks: Great for community building, share music, books, movies that are favorites. This is also a great help for Reader’s Advisory. Why Should My Library or Media Center Have a Blog?

13. PauseBefore You Blogto consider… • Purpose of the blog • Who will be in charge of setting up and maintaining the blog? • How will you train your staff to post/use blog? • Technical support and equipment needed • Ease of use • Features needed/required on blog • Cost considerations

14. To Host or Not to Host… • Do you have the necessary hardware? • Do you have technical support and expertise with programming software? • Is it easy for staff to use? • Can you afford it?

15. Blogging Software:Hosted Services • Blogger: http://www.blogger.com • Library Blogs.net: http://library-blogs.net • TypePad: http://www.typepad.com • Live Journal: http://www.livejournal.com • WordPress: http://wordpress.com • Easy Journal: http://easyjournal.com/

16. Things to Look for in Hosted Services: • How many authors/contributors are allowed on each blog? • How many blogs are allowed for the price? • Are they strictly for personal use or may they be used by organizations? • Is there good documentation and support? • Do they include all of the features you need/desire? (RSS, comments, graphics etc.)

17. Blogging Software:Resides on Library Server • Movable Type 3.1:http://moveabletype.org • pMachine Pro: http://www.pmachine.com/pmachinepro • Greymatter 1.3: http://greymatterforums.com • Textpattern: http://www.textpattern.com/ • BLOG:CMS :http://blogcms.com/ • Blosxom: http://blosxom.com/

18. Things to look for in Client-based blogging software • Make sure you check with your IT person/department to make sure your server will support it. • Also make sure your IT person/department is familiar with the necessary programming languages to be installed with software. • Is it simple enough for you and your staff to use? • Is there sufficient documentation available for changing the configuration?

19. A Word About Yahoo 360 and MySpace • Yahoo 360 Blogs: http://360.yahoo.com/  • MySpace.com: http://login.myspace.com/ Hot places for kids to journal and share personal thoughts with others. Teachers and librarians need to alert students to potential dangers.

20. Individual Library Blogs • Li-blog-ary • Gargoyles loose in the Library • Mrs. Dudiak’s Class Web Site • Mabry Middle School Media Center – • Coventry Christian Schools • NMH Reading Room • Tech News and Book Views

21. Blogwithoutalibrary: - This site lists library blogs by type of library. Peter Scott’s List of Library Weblogs: International in scope, this list is broken down by country - Google Blogsearch – now in Beta version: Technorati Blog Finder IceRocket Blog Search Feedster Blog Search Finding Blogs on the Internet

22. Creating a Blog Using Blogger Go to http://blogger.com Set up an account with username and password Select a name for your blog Select a template (Can be changed later)

23. Current Blogger Staff Blog

24. Editing Window on Blogger

25. Default Template - Movable Type

26. Blog Configured Using CSS

27. Books on Blogs & Blogging • Gosney, John W. Blogging for Teens. 2004 • Holzschlag, Molly E. Sams teach yourself Movable Type in 24 hours. 2004 • Doctorow, Cory. Essential Blogging. 2002 • Bausch, Paul. We Blog: Publishing online with weblogs. 2002 • Blood, Rebecca. The Weblog Handbook. 2002 • Warlick, David. Classroom Blogging: A Teacher's Guide to the Blogosphere. C2005 • Castro, Elizabeth. Publishing a Blog with Blogger. 2005

28. Ethics of Blogging (5 Rules to Blog by) • Transparency: For most blogs, we want to know what the writer’s starting point is. • Cite your Source: Link to and name your source. • Get it Right- “There is nothing more pathetic than a librarian who gets facts wrong.” • Be Fair – Don’t present opinion as fact. • Admit Mistakes whether they are errors of judgment or fact.

29. Make sure you/your media center really want(s) a blog. Settle on the purpose or focus of the blog. Use short and informal posts to keep it interesting and timely. Staff needs to “buy into” ownership of blog . Involve key staff members & decide who will be in charge of maintaining the blog. Start simple and then consider upgrading if necessary. If it is a blog for patrons, publicize it . Keep it current or else remove it! Wrapping It Up….