1 / 29

Blogs in a Library Environment

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

evelia
Download Presentation

Blogs in a Library Environment

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  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….

More Related