Q4: Blogs and Wikis in library enviroment

Many libraries or organizations are applying Web 2.0 services to enhance their services, such as Australian Library and Information Association. They are using blogs and wikis to communicate with library users. The article gives a brief summary and tips for how to apply Web 2.0 services into library as a communications tool.

According to the article, there are 6 tips that the authors offer in relation to introducing emerging tools such as blogs and wikis in library. To develop a successful communication tool, librarians should tailor made the applications, and librarian should decide whether the application is suitable for library or not if the applications cannot fulfills library mission and goals. Besides, make sure blogs and wikis always up-to-date and reject any false news as soon as possible to maintain an honest library environment. As a communication tool, enabling comments and responds is important. Librarians can encourage user to post frequently, participating fully and consistently in the dialogue. Users are respectful of others. No matter user’s comments agree or disagree, as long as you do it constructively and do not make your criticisms personal. In blogs and wikis, it build up with trust, users are criticizing the idea, not the person. When user has disagreements in the blogging environment, be as civil and respectful as you would in real life. However, there are many “comment spam” in blogs and wikis servers. Librarians should pay more attention to delete unwanted postings. For promotional avenues, many Australian Libraries are using RSS feeds as communication tool. Examples are including BBC News, ABCNews, CNET, Yahoo!, Amazon. Users can browse and subscribe to feeds freely.

In my point of view, Blogs are useful for a wide range of communications, but it is often easier to visualize applications of the technology. In a library, blogs provide library news such as newsletter, new books release. Wikis can function as a platform to provide a meeting place for users and librarians. The difference between blogs and wikis is blog posting are arranged by date but wikis content can be arranged by categories and is not necessarily arranged by date.

Blogs and wikis are tools that can support a social constructivist theory of learning. Users can provide an e-learning environment in which librarians can maintain control over, and input into, their own learning. The software provides flexible access to resources and adopts collaboration in a way that enriches information needs. Both can be used to stimulate thinking and coming up with new ideas.
When library is using blogs and wikis within the framework in Web 2.0 or Library 2.0., the main focus will be librarian. Librarians 2.0 understand end users deeply in terms of their goals and needs. Librarian 2.0 is about where the user is, and when the user is there. This is an immersion environment that librarians are eminently qualified to contribute to. Aspects of librarian influenced e-learning and distance education as implemented by our institutions and communities should allow us to contribute to the preparation of our users to acquire and improve their skills and competencies.

It is essential that library staff start to prepare themselves to Librarian 2.0 now. Librarians should have the ability, insight, and knowledge to influence the creation of this new dynamic and guarantee the future of our profession.

Q3: Emerging technologies

Most of the library promotes and enhances the services and collections of the communities. To encourage user services, libraries provide our community users with quality information resources and services according to the highest of standards.
New technologies such as some service delivery models allow libraries to enhance services without time and location restrictions. Blogs, Wikis, RSS feeds, Podcasts and Instant messaging are some of these examples of emerging technologies.

Blog
The term "weblog" was first used in December 1997 by Jorn Barger to describe personal sites that are continuously updated, with commentary and links. Weblogs do not require the user to first learn a Web Authoring program, such as Dreamweaver or Frontpage. Nor do they require knowledge of HTML, Web servers, or other Web Technologies.
Weblog software has a free-to-use history, library use blogs as promotional tool as a communication platform such as “Yarra Plenty Blog”. Also, blogs work as library services platform to list announcements such as new books release. Besides, Pollhost Libraries use blogs ass a feedback tool to collect valuable comments from users.

Wiki
Wiki systems are particularly suited to collaborative group authoring of documents and websites. The most famous example of a Wiki is Wikipedia. Offering easy and open access to editing a website obviously opens the door to malicious and erroneous changes being made but Wikis also provide facilities for some users to act as administrators who oversee groups of pages and have the ability to block users from editing. For applying to library, Library and Information Science Wiki (LISWiki) and Library Instruction Wiki are examples for librarians. The Biz Wiki and BookLoversWiki are examples for library users.

RSS feeds
RSS is an easy way for you to keep updated automatically on changes to websites you like. Instead of having to go to websites to see if they contain a new article or feature, you can use RSS, which stands for Really Simple Syndication, to find out every time your favorite websites post something new. The format of the text document is presented as XML. Most of the universities library such as Curtin, Australian Nation University has RSS Feeds. Other from academic fields, companies such as BBC, EBSCOhost provide RSS Feeds.


Podcasts
Podcasts refers to broadcasting programs made available online through a subscription feed such as RSS, to be played on iPods or MP3 players. Podcasting works the same as a standard RSS feed reader, the only difference is that the feed you subscribe to contains an audio file in it. You can listen to the contents of your feed using a reader or aggregator that supports podcasting, or you can listen to them on an iPod or similar device. For instance, VALA2006 Conference which has podcasts their paper delivery. Some podcasts programs such as national treasures and talk are published by Stat Library of Victoria.

Instant messaging (IM)
Instant messaging is a type of real time communication service. It is somewhat like a chat room. Both parties are online at the same time, and they communicate to each other by typing text. Just like telephone reference services in the library, in new generation, IM become one of the communicate services between librarian and users. Examples of IM are Homer Township Public Library and St Joseph County Public Library in USA.

These emerging technologies allow libraries to provide better services to users by simple access to seek out what they desire. However, it is important that these technologies are user friendly and low costs, hence, increase effectiveness to the library.

Q2: Outline elements of the model - Library 2.0

Library 2.0 is about using new web technologies to connect and establish relationships with users. It provides a framework, in this frame, librarian and users can re-evaluates library by usability and findability, this is a flexible organization structure, when combined with web 2.0 services, it can make library more stable and efficiently due to the deeply influence with technology and social interactions, plus satisfy reader's need. Some of the elements of the model were discussed in the following.

Library provides no barriers meeting environment.
Library 2.0 carried out the concept "No walled-in library", the information of library should appear at the most popular site, such as portal website or curriculum management system. With coordinate with some tools, readers can find any library information from any website. In the article mentioned long tail theory is that our culture and economy is increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of "hits" at the head of the demand curve and toward a huge number of niches in the tail. In an era without the constraints of physical shelf space and other bottlenecks of distribution, narrowly-target goods and services can be as economically attractive as mainstream fare. Example such as interlibrary loan (ILL), this service assists users in obtaining copies of materials which are not a part of the local library collections. In the internet sites such as Amazon, Flickr, Wiki and Facebook are applying such long tail theory.

It should not be difficult to get “library information access”. It is allowed and encourages users use or reuses the resources without time and place restrictions. For example, users can search information needs from Goggle, Amazon and OPAC system. For the information retrieve, users can seek information desired more easily.

Library encourages users’ participation.
Library 2.0 promotes and encourages users’ participation. By using features such as comments, tags, ratings, they can express their view for the resource which they already used or want to use. To increase community interest, Wikis, Blogs and RSS developed those interface to enhance their services. However, users’ privacy is one of the concerns when library created tailor made services for users. To prevent bias or other sensitive discussion anonymous comments and tagging are required.

The library uses more flexible systems.
The library is now using integrated system which is constructed from several manufacturers, instead of old combined system which was constructed from one manufacturer. While responding the fast alteration of technique, the library can update or change the part of the system very freely.

Library 2.0 is much more than the application of technique; it is also a kind of thinking. For instance, Wikis allows users to create and edit web page contents freely. RSS feeds and aggregator allows users to chose and receives contents from a particular sources. Blogs provide a place for library or user to discuss, comment or announce news. North Carolina State University (NCSU) tailor made their OPAC interfaces to meet users own needs. By using comments, tags, feedbacks to develop a user-center based library. However, every library has different aims, objective and target group, hence Library 2.0 model will be varied for each library system.

Q1: Web 2.0 in relation to the NLA

According to Tim O’Reilly, Web 2.0 is a term to let people share and collaborate information of the World Wide Web. Web 2.0 is not a technical upgrade but a concept upgrade. The core concept of Web 2.0 is to make internet as a platform.

Ajax support is the key point to build of web 2.0 which creates the rich user experience of any work and browser such as Firefox or internet explore (IE). Furthermore, Ajax and Flash are related to RIA. How we bring the experience of users’ desktop into the browser is rather from the graphical point of view or from usability point of view such as draw and drop. Besides, applications explode functionality by using SOA, feeds, RSS, web services and mash-up so that all applications can connect integrate the functionality providing which much integrations including mash-up. In addition, social web, Web 2.0 tends to interrupt much end user. Users are not only the user of applications but is participles whether it is by tagging the context, contravene to Wikis, or doing Podcasts or Blogs. Part of the social nature of the applications, the end user is the internal part of data of that applications providing feedbacks or comments.

Blogs
Blogs are usually written by a person and are updated regularly. It works as a platform in the internet. For library communities, Blogs are sprung up around some of these topics putting people into contact with each other in relationships where they can learn, share ideas. Based on Web 2.0 application, Blogs usually have a few features that are useful to know about such as comments, ratings, or archives or categories section. You can give feedback simply by clicking the ‘comments’ link at the bottom of each one of posts. You can check the number of people that viewed your posts though ratings. You can also manage your posts by using archives sections. It likes a filing cabinet that is easily accessible. Other examples such as eBay, Amazon and Google are as exemplify Web 2.0 concept.

Wikis
Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia which is as application that based on trust. However, the encyclopedia allows anybody to edit its pages, even anonymously. To address this issue, and to ensure quality, accurate content, all submissions and edits are moderated and regulated by a staff of regular volunteers.
Example such as Australia Dancing is an aggregation of data from many participants. It is dictionary-based service as a resources held in Australian collections related to dancing. It is a take part service based on the enterprise with Wiki software. Everyone can be a member as Australia Dancing by register with their real name in the website. It allows member to upload, edit, tagging images and comment on the photos.

Flickr
The photosharing site Flickr is one of the most commonly cited examples used to define Web2.0. The National Library in Australia cooperates with these services to enhancing their own services and sharing their data with other services. It increases visibility of the library.
PictureAustralia is one of the services under flickr pilot project. Users can upload their images to flickr and add them to one of the catalog of PictureAustralia. It provides access to those materials added from other data repository such as flickr or google image.

New technology is transforming the way people use the World Wide Web. The web master searches the responsibility to the internet audiences keeping the websites and formatting and engaging. It provides each ministry with its own online gated community, a safe place for members and an inviting atmosphere for visitors.