Technology Sandbox

Technology/Resource: Blogging
Intended Audience: Non-technical users, amateurs, hobbyists, professionals, companies
Use in Libraries/ Information Agencies: Enhance communication of the library’s programs and goings-on
Strengths: Content is open to your imagination
Weaknesses: User created content-may not always be factual; there’s a lot of blogs out there on different platforms

Technology/Resource: Flickr/Photos/Images

Intended Audience: People interested in photography and sharing photos
Use in Libraries/ Information Agencies: Share photos of the library, new books or materials
Strengths: Share user content
Weaknesses: No set controlled vocabulary

Technology/Resource: Instagram/Snapchat, etc.

Intended Audience: Young- between 13-23 years old
Use in Libraries/ Information Agencies: Sending updates to their users, fun ways to build brand imaging
Strengths: Fun, allows for creativity and silliness
Weaknesses: Privacy and security

Technology/Resource: Facebook and social networking

Intended Audience: Online communities, young adults and teens
Use in Libraries/ Information Agencies: Communicate/share information with users
Strengths: Way to share information instantly
Weaknesses: Privacy issues

Technology/Resource: Twitter and microblogging

Intended Audience: Mobile users
Use in Libraries/ Information Agencies: Open up communication with users
Strengths: Quick updates/bursts of information
Weaknesses: Privacy issues

Technology/Resource: RSS feeds

Intended Audience: Users who need to check multiple headlines and sites a day for updates
Use in Libraries/ Information Agencies: Streamline updates for librarians who check multiple sites a day for information
Strengths: Cuts down on time when checking many sources a day
Weaknesses: Sourcing verification issues, graphics and photos do not always appear, not as widely used as other online tools

Technology/Resource: Cloud Computing

Intended Audience: Companies or individuals with a lot of information needing storage
Use in Libraries/ Information Agencies: Use for presentations or archive storage, any other storage use for easy retrieval, but not used for any sensitive or private information
Strengths: Unlimited storage, back-up and recovery, cost efficient
Weaknesses: Security issues, technical issues, prone to external attacks

Technology/Resource: YouTube

Intended Audience: Users who prefer visual aids, instructions, or entertainment
Use in Libraries/ Information Agencies: Entertainment, information, instructions. Easy to create step-by-step tutorials
Strengths: User content, freedom of expression
Weaknesses: No set controlled vocabulary for searching

Technology/Resource: Audio

Intended Audience: Blind users, users who prefer their information in audio form, heavy travelers, people who are in the car often
Use in Libraries/ Information Agencies: Authors to discuss books, educational teachings
Strengths: Podcasts, small niche to share information, easy to create
Weaknesses: Not easy to search, anyone can do it which makes it harder to weed through the information to find credible and relevant content

Technology/Resource: DIY Library

Intended Audience: Various communities and neighborhoods
Use in Libraries/ Information Agencies: Can have classes/workshops on how to build your own and how to maintain it
Strengths: Builds community, easy way to snag a book or give a book away to others in your area
Weaknesses: No accountability or return policy, weather could damage the books or the container, vandalism, theft

Technology/Resource: Maps

Intended Audience: Travelers, policemen, cab drivers, anyone who needs to get to a location, or has interest in a location
Use in Libraries/ Information Agencies: Geography or history of a place, help with patrons who do not have a smartphone or prefer maps over GPS
Strengths: Easy to use and understand, a ton of locations, user reviews, Street views, innovative
Weaknesses: May not always be up-to-date, street view is sometimes unavailable with slower internet connections

Technology/Resource: Apps

Intended Audience: Smartphone, iPad, and tablet users
Use in Libraries/ Information Agencies: Used to make checking out digital material more efficient and simpler, make the website more streamlined and efficient
Strengths: Easy to use, easy to get out information, users spend more time on apps than the actual website
Weaknesses: Needs to work on a variety of platforms, on-going care needed to keep updated

Technology/Resource: Online Productivity Tools

Intended Audience: People looking to streamline their work efforts or need help in keeping track of documents or their time
Use in Libraries/ Information Agencies: Could be taught as a workshop on how to best manage time; maybe even be a theme of workshops, librarians can use these tools to make sure they are staying productive
Strengths: The data shown can tell you how you are utilizing your time online and how to better use your time if you need to get certain projects or work done. These tools are like an online babysitter and sometimes are just the thing people need to become more aware of how they spend their time online.
Weaknesses: Sometimes using these sites become more cumbersome than just getting to work or getting off the internet. Sometimes these sites become unproductive to someone’s productivity.

Technology/Resource: LinkedIn

Intended Audience: Business Professionals, Companies, Organizations
Use in Libraries/ Information Agencies: Become active in groups and discussions
Strengths: Rich in content, research others/companies easily, networking, online interactions
Weaknesses: Spam, Linking with someone is not as easy/user-friendly as other social media sites, different versions so not everyone has the same access
Additional Comments: I don’t like that you have to pay for the premium account. It should all be free.

 

Facebook and social networking: I think as humans we are wired to connect to one another; that’s why I think Facebook and social networking sites are popular and becoming a staple in our lives. There’s the thought that if I don’t check Facebook, I may be missing something important. In reality though, if I go a few days without being on Facebook, I kind of forget that it’s there. I tend to get a lot of my current events news on Facebook, as well as company updates from businesses I like to follow. I find that I end up using Facebook more as a way to stay up to date with the world, than to share to everyone that I just ate a sandwich. I find it fascinating that there are so many people with an online presence. It seems as though there really is no more privacy. People are willingly putting personal information about their lives out for the world to see. I think that comes from a place of human beings wanting to be seen and heard and feel like they have a purpose that they want to share with others. In regards to how libraries and librarians should use social media and Facebook, I do believe that it is vital to staying in connection with certain users. Having a Facebook and other social media accounts makes you more accessible to the world, easier to find online, and in the conversation with online users.

YouTube: I absolutely love YouTube as a way of visually learning something. There was a point in time where I was creating clay creations with polymer clay. Being a novice, I had no idea how to do any of the molding so jumped on to YouTube and watched dozens of tutorial videos. I love that YouTube is user-generated content. Again, people love sharing what they are good at and what they are doing, so YouTube is a perfect place to upload that content. I watch a ton of interviews with my favorite authors and bands, learning more about them and their personalities more than I would with just a printed interview. I love that there are videos for pretty much anything you want to learn about. I’ve watched videos on make-up tutorials and hair tutorials. Not everyone learns by listening to information, some people need the visuals as well to really grasp a concept. I had a Biology teacher in high school that taught each lesson first by audibly explaining it, then by visually demonstrating it, then by hands on learning. It was great to get all different angles of the same lesson, and I know my classmates were grateful for the variety of mediums she used. I learned way more in that class than I did in any other class that year.

 

What do YOU feel are core resources libraries and information agencies should be using to reach a wider user population?

I think libraries and information agencies need to be using some form of social media platform, mainly whatever the majority of their patrons and users are using. This will allow them to share information in a format they are using on a daily basis and are comfortable with. I also think librarians need to be exploring new and upcoming online resources even if they are not mainstream. I love the fact that there are libraries in Second Life that actually house tutorials and real data. That is absolutely fascinating. Who would have thought that a librarian’s job could be monitoring and interacting with a population that lives solely online? I also think that whatever technologies and resources librarians are using, need to constantly be evaluated to see if they are still serving the greater population. I think it’s important to have an open dialogue with your users to see if they are using anything new that they think is a great resource or tool.  

Respond to the following posed question: If you were given complete freedom, what would you do with what you've learnt? Would you set up a Twitter account for your library? Would you start your own company using Web 2.0 technologies? Would you run courses for your friends and neighbors? Or would you ignore the whole thing and hope it all goes away?

If I had complete freedom I would set up workshops and classes for everything that I’ve learned. I would bring in experts and laymen to teach classes and their real life experience. I would want to explore every and all topics. I would also love to have a children ran set of programs where they could be an expert in anything that they love like Legos or skateboarding or whatever their hobby is. Then they would create a presentation or a class tutorial (possibly with the help of their classmates or librarian) and then present it. I think this would be a great way to boost the confidence of children at a young age and to make them excited to share their expertise. It would also reiterate the fact that the library and its staff are there to support your endeavors and help out with anything you need.