Posts tagged ‘Diffusion of Innovation’
User 2.0: Innovative Library Sites (Part 2 – Public Libraries)
As promised in my post on February 20th User 2.0 Innovative Library Sites (Part 1- Academic Libraries) here is Part 2 of the preliminary list of Innovative Library Sites – this time for public libraries. Thanks again to David M. Drados, PhD student at Rutgers University, SCILS, and Lynn Silipigni Connaway of OCLC. This list was compiled from suggestions of librarians from the dig_ref listserv, from journal articles, and librarian colleagues.
Again, this list is not meant to be definitive, is a work in progress designed to start a discussion. Your comments and suggestions are welcomed!
- Ann Arbor District Library (MI) Uses the open source Drupal content management system with incorporates blogging, tagging, user comments, and RSS feeds. Its location page is tied into Google Maps.
- Arlington Heights Memorial Library (IL)
Features “Vlogs” – Video casts. - Atlantic City Public Library (NJ)
Site features podcasts as well as RSS feeds. - Denver Public Library (CO)
Has RSS feeds for library news and local events, podcasts, teen MySpace Account. - Goshen Public Library & Historical Society (NY)
Maintains several blogs on various topics—book reviews, computers, library news, and also has a MySpace page. - Hennepin County Library (MN)
Has blogs for library news and teens, RSS feeds built into the catalog along with user reviews/comments, a MySpace account and, podcasts. - Memorial Hall Library (MA)
Library director maintains a Blog and site has a wiki with an accumulated collection of reference question called “Andover Answers,” teen podcasts, and a MySpace page and an online community calendars. - Mesa County Public Library District (CO)
Has a library director blog, a staff “librarian’s love” blog, and links to online book clubs. - Salida Regional Library (CO)
Links to Library Elf which allows users to track due dates on checked out items; local digital archive link, downloadable audio books, director (weekly) newspaper articles, and staff recommendations. - Stevens County Rural Library District (WA)
Maintains a library news blog and a public wiki project designed to create a guide to Stevens County, including local history. - Westerville Public Library (OH)
Features director, teen and adult services blogs, library Flickr and MySpace presence, RSS feeds, podcasts and videocasts, user rating of catalog items with links to Amazon, B&N, Novelist and Syndetics for reviews. - Worthington Libraries (OH)
Has a teen blog along with an associated MySpace site.
User 2.0: Innovative Library Sites (Part 1 – Academic Libraries)
You may recognize this illustration from the work published in Diffusion of Innovations (1995) by the late Everett Rogers. A few weeks ago I posted a query on the dig_ref listserv asking this savvy group of librarians interested in virtual reference services to nominate the library sites that are the most “innovative” in terms of integrating Web 2.0 / social software applications. I have also incorporated sites discussed in programs I attended at ALA Mid-Winter in Seattle (January 2007), suggested by colleagues, or noted in listservs or journal articles.
Today I am posting the preliminary list of Innovative Academic Libraries from these sources. Eash listing also has a very brief note about social software applications featured by the library’s website. I would like to thank David M. Dragos, Ph.D. student at Rutgers SCILS and Lynn Silipigni Connaway of OCLC for their help in compiling this list.
Again, this list is preliminary and not meant to be exhaustive, but rather to start a discussion. They are in alphabetical order.
I would like to invite you to leave a comment if your academic library is an innovator or if you know of others!
My next post (within the next day or so) will be Part 2 – Innovative Public Libraries.
Innovative Academic Library Websites
- Brooklyn College (NY)
Maintains a popular MySpace page. - Morrisville State College (NY)
Has a blog for news and events announcements as well as a presence on MySpace and Facebook. - Tutt Library, Colorado College (CO)
Flickr account, blogs for library news and book reviews, instant messaging as well as a wiki providing links and access to government information. - University of Huddersfield Library (UK)
Has an electronic resources wiki and a catalog with an integrated recommender system and list of related books. - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (IL)
Maintains multiple blogs set up for news, announcements and subject topics; also podcasts and a MySpace account. - University of Pennyslvania‘s PennTags (PA)
PennTags, an academic oriented social bookmarking project, includes a cloud of popular tags. - Yale University Library (CT)
RSS feeds for news (including feeds for specific topics); multiple subject-specific library blogs, including law, medicine and art.
Library Garden 