Weblogs And Libraries

Description:
This book discusses the topic of 'weblogs and libraries' from two main perspectives: weblogs as sources of information for libraries and librarians; and weblogs as tools that libraries can use to promote their services and to provide a means of communication with their clients. Its key features include: no other book currently available specifically addresses this highly topical subject; weblogs are becoming more important as sources of up-to-date information on many different topics, and so librarians need to be aware of these resources, how they are created and by whom; weblogs are already important as sources of news and current professional information in the field of library and information science; this book helps librarians to become familiar with the best weblogs in this field; while relatively few libraries have created their own weblogs, the use of weblogs has been recommended in the library/information press as a way of providing information for library patrons; this book helps library managers to make decisions about a weblog for their library. The author, Dr L.Anne Clyde, is Professor and Chair of the Library and Information Science Department at the University of Iceland, where she teaches courses related to information technology in libraries and information agencies. She is the author of numerous books and articles. It is for librarians working in user services or in IT units in academic and public libraries, school librarians and students of library and information science. Its contents are: an overview of the weblog and blogging phenomenon; weblogs as sources of current information; finding weblogs; weblogs in the field of library and information science; weblogs created by libraries: the state of the art; Creating a weblog: the options; and managing the library weblog.

Table of Contents:
An overview of the weblog and blogging phenomenon - what are weblogs?, history, who creates weblogs?; types of weblogs; common features; moblogging; RSS and its use in weblogs; Weblogs as sources of current information - how useful are weblogs as sources of information?; evaluating weblogs as sources of information; some examples of quality weblogs (in social sciences, books and reading, news and current events, technology); Finding weblogs - it's not easy!; directories of weblogs; search engines for weblogs; other strategies; Weblogs in the field of library and information science - overview; weblogs dealing with library and information science as a topic; weblogs covering specialist topics in library and information science; weblogs created by professional associations and organisations; weblogs created by library and information schools; weblogs created by individual librarians (the 'blogging librarian'); finding weblogs in this field; Weblogs created by libraries: the state of the art - library weblogs; investigating library weblogs; what kinds of libraries are creating weblogs?; purposes for which libraries are creating weblogs; content of the weblogs created by libraries; how libraries are creating and maintaining their weblogs; some examples of library weblogs; evaluation of the library weblogs; Creating a weblog: the options - overview of the options; free weblog software options; commercial weblog software options; 'roll your own'; weblog hosting - free services; weblog hosting - commercial services; weblog hosting - the library's own web server; add-ons to spice up a weblog; moblogging; RSS feeds; Managing the library weblog - an overview of management issues associated with a library weblog; planning for the implementation of a library weblog; making the technical decisions; identifying the potential users of the library weblog; making decisions about and managing content and other features; making decisions about and managing interactivity; allocating staff time for weblog development and maintenance; budgeting for the weblog; promoting the weblog; evaluating the weblog project;; Sources of information about weblogs - printed sources; web-based sources; weblogs about weblogs and blogging.

Author Biography:
Dr L. Anne Clyde is Professor and Chair of the Library and Information Science Department at the University of Iceland, where she teaches courses related to information technology in libraries and information agencies. She is the author of numerous books and articles.