Web 2.0 and the libraries

1. Web 2.0 and the libraries Shalini R Urs Executive Director & Professor International School of Information Management University of Mysore, India

2. Agenda of my talk • Libraries – in a state of constant flux • Web 2.0 – an overview • What are the lessons for libraries

3. Our philosophy is …( or should be) Or...

4. LIS – the discipline and the profession • LIS as a discipline and a profession has been in a constant state of flux. • Libraries - the millennia old institutions have been reinventing themselves in different ways with the onset of every new technology or paradigm. • The technologies could be from tube lights to typewriters to computers • Today the buzz phrase in the technology front is web 2.0.

5. Web 2.0 + Libraries = Library 2.0

6. Web 2.0 and the library profession • Sceptics see the web 2.0 as mere hype, • Undoubtedly there are some very real principles, technologies, and paradigms behind the hyperbole, which has made the library profession to join the bandwagon • Web 2.0's principles and technology offer library profession many opportunities to transform libraries from venerated age old institutions to agile ones. • This could be our profession’s approach to Nanofying the age old institutions to ‘happening places’

7. Web 2.0 in nutshell • The web 2.0 is wildly popular • Has transformed the Internet from the ‘take it or leave it’ one way communication portals to an increasingly ‘conversational’ dynamic spaces. • The hype and hoopla of web 2.0 and social networks has created a new platform and paradigm • Netizins have shifted from access to participate mode

8. This transition of the web from its original avatar has stemmed from the smart use of AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) • The essentail ingredients are – • enhanced responsiveness, • interactivity, and • user experience. • The web experience has changed from user-browser interaction to immersive rich social media experience.

9. Library 2.0 • The term Library 2.0 has been adopted by a growing group of libraries, librarians, and information professionals to recalibrate the processes and the paradigms of the library and information services. • This new model of library is all about amalgamation of - Ajax, Apollo, web standards, user centric design, RSS, Blogs, Wikis, Mashups, Tagging and folksonomies into library and information services.

10. Library 2.0 is not just a technology or a thing but a new paradigm and a state of mind. • The heart of Library 2.0 is user-centered change. • It is a model that encourages constant and purposeful change, inviting user participation.

11. YOU control the information age

13. Web 2.0

14. Web 2.0: Are You On Board?

15. Blogs Mashups Napster Wiki Tags Social networking RSS Feeds Flickr Podcasts Bookmarking

16. What is Web 2.0 ? The term “Web 2.0” was coined by Tim O’Reilly in 2004 and refers to the second generation of Internet based services such as social networking sites, wikis and communication tools that emphasize online collaboration and sharing among users

17. Web 2.0 refers to a perceived second generation of web-based communities and hosted services — such as social-networking sites, wikis, and folksonomies — which aim to facilitate creativity, collaboration, and sharing between users.-Wikipedia

18. Web 1.0 was the "take it or leave it" Internet of the 1990s. Most information flowed one-way, from websites to users. If Web 1.0 was the Golden Age of e-mail, listservs and chat rooms, these were closed channels linking narrow groups of people. • Web 2.0 is the Second Big Bang of the Internet -- with instant messaging, blogs, podcasts and other new ways to interact and customize information over Cyberspace. Digital Library 2.0 is how libraries are reaching out to their customers with this new technology, enriching lives as never before.

20. Web 2.0 thinks in terms of services rather than applications

21. Web 2.0 is collaborative , interactive and social. • Comprehensive user feedback is provided in terms of comments, voice message etc. • Diversity of opinion is arrived at by “crowd sourcing”

22. Web 2.0 tools • RSS (really simple syndication) • Wikis • New and revised programming methods like AJAX and APIs • Blogs and blogging • Commentary and comments functionality • Personalization and “My Profile” features • Personal media such as Podcasting and MP3 files • Streaming media audio and video formats • Reviews and user driven ratings • Personalized Alerts • Web Services • Instant messaging and virtual reference including co-browsing • Folksonomies, Tagging, and tag clouds • Photos (e.g. Flickr, Picasa) • Social networking software • Open Access, Open Source, Open Content • Socially driven content • Social bookmarking

25. What is it? The transition of websites from isolated information entities to sources of content and functionality, thus becoming computing platforms serving web applications to end-users. Characterized by open communication, decentralization of authority, freedom to share and re-use Enhanced organization and categorization of content, emphasizing deep linking. Surpassing the impact of the dot-com boom of the late 1990s.

26. Characteristics of “Web 2.0” • Network as platform • Users owning the data on the site and • exercising control over that data. • An architecture of participation and • democracy that encourages users to • add value to the application as they • use it • A rich, interactive, user-friendly interface • Some social-networking aspects • A Public good - jointness of supply and • non-excludability

27. Web 2.0 Principles • The Web as a platform • Harnessing Collective Intelligence • Data is the next Intel Inside • End of software release cycle • Lightweight programming models • Software above the level of a single device • Rich user experience

28. Web 1.0 vs. Web 2.0 Web 1.0 Web 2.0 DoubleClick  Google AdSense Akamai  BitTorrent Britannica Online  Wikipedia Personal Websites  Blogging Taxonomy  Folksonomy

29. Evolution towards a Read/Write Platform

30. Harnessing Collective Intelligence • Network effects from user contributions are the key to market dominance in the Web 2.0 era. • “we, the media” a world in which “the audience”, not a few people in the backroom, decide what is important. • Wikipedia, Flickr, SourceForge.net

31. Web 2.0 Design Patterns • The Long Tail • Data is the Next “Intel Inside” • Users Add Value • Network Effects by Default • Some Rights Reserved • The Perpetual Beta • Cooperate, Don't Control • Software Above the Level of a Single Device

32. Level 3 applications • exist on the Internet, deriving their power from the human connections and • network • growing in effectiveness the more people use them

33. Level 2 applications • which can operate offline but which gain advantages from going online benefits from its shared photo-database and from its community-generated tag database.

34. Level 1 applications • available offline but which gain features online

35. Level 0 applications • Would work offline as well • Mapping applications using contributions from users to advantage can • rank as level 2.

36. Non-web applications email, instant-messaging clients and the telephone.

37. Technology overview Time bar of Web 2.0 and the appearance of all buzz Words which are assigned to web 2.0

38. Rich Internet application techniques AJAX – Asynchronous JavaScript and XML • The intent is to make web pages feel more responsive by exchanging small amounts of data • The entire web page does not have to be reloaded each time the user requests a change

39. AJAX Examples

40. Semantic Web • Content can not only be expressed in natural language, but also in a form that can be understood, interpreted and used by software agents, thus permitting them to find, share and integrate information more easily • The semantic web is a vision of information that is understandable by computers, so that they can perform more of the tedium involved in finding, sharing and combining information on the web.

41. Microformats • Microformats are mark-up that allow expression of • semantics in an HTML (or XHTML) web page • Useful for applications that collect data about on-line • resources, such as web crawlers, or desktop applications • such as e-mail clients. Example: hCalendar - for events hCard - for contact information hReview - for reviews

42. CSS – Cascading Style Sheet • presentation of a document written in a markup language • ex: styling web pages written in HTML & XHTML • separation of document content • improve content accessibility • provide more flexibility and control • reduce complexity and repetition in the structural content.

43. Syndication & Aggregation RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is an emerging technology which enables users to get “feeds” of data from content publishers via a browser or special reader tool. Items come to user free of spam, on-demand, and in an easy to digest format RSS

44. Folksonomy Tags: Descriptive words applied by users to links. Tags are searchable My Tags: Words I’ve used to describe links in a way that makes sense to me A “folksonomy” is a spontaneous, collaborative work to categorize links by a community of users. Users take control of organizing the content together.

45. Wikipedia is a Collaborative repository Being Edited in Real-time by anyone Wiki • Anyone can add, remove, • change and edit. • No need for registration

46. Web log publishing • Information contributed by site • owner and user • Centralized to themes and • specific topics • Share ideas • Keep Updated • Gain knowledge • Collaborate / respond

47. Mashups • Mashup is a website or application that combines content from more than one source into an integrated experience i.e websites build from pieces of other websites • Characterized by the way in which it spreads roots across the Web • Content and functionality retrieved from data sources that lay outside of its organizational boundaries. • The more usage the better

48. Mashups - http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com/

49. Core Competencies of Web 2.0 Companies • Release early release often • Engage users as co-developers and real time testers • Incrementally create new products • Make operations a core competency • Dynamic tools and languages

50. Innovations • Web-sites that mimic personal computer applications, such as word processing, the spreadsheet, and slide-show presentation. • Java enables sites that provide computationally intensive video capability • Several browser-based "operating systems" or "online desktops" have also appeared. Insight into future of Internet ……………………………….. ………………………………..