Blogs

 

Blogs Outreach UBC Physio-Info Blog News & Awareness Yukon College Library Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, UBC Library David Lam Library, UBC Professional Development Tenure-track consideration Evaluation Criteria Professional Reputation Blog software Further Reading

 

Outreach

 

UBC Physio-Info Blog

http://weblogs.elearning.ubc.ca/physio/

 

• created and maintained by Eugene Barsky, Physiotherapy Outreach Librarian at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at UBC.
• main form of communication with a specialized community of users.

 

A "hub" of services, including:

 

• Current awareness:
  • syndicates recent research articles in the field from major biomedical databases
  • provides an RSS feed of health and science news
  • provides audiocasts of recent rehabilitation science seminars and workshops
  • highlights local physiotherapy research

 

• Instruction:
  • provides an online tutorial, created by the librarian, on searching Google for reliable health information.
  • provides handouts and registration info for in person workshops taught by the librarian.

 

• Search:
  • PhysioSearch: a Google custom search that allows users to search high quality web resources, chosen by the librarian, and to focus on BC or Canadian content.

 

• Reference & interaction:
  • users can connect with the librarian through the blog via e-mail or real time chat (using the MeeboMe widget)

 

• Interaction:
  • blogging software allows users to interact with librarian and each other via comments and instant messaging

 

 

News & Awareness

 

Yukon College Library

http://dl1.yukoncollege.yk.ca/yclibrary

 

• created and maintained by Laurie Prange, Reference Librarian, although any of the Staff may contribute if they wish to
• hosted by the Distributed Learning division of the Community & Extension Services department of the College
• one of the many forms of communication with patrons
• The blog has been found useful in many areas:
  • Month-long closure for Canada Winter Games 2007:
    • Much concern over lack of services while the College itself was closed for the two weeks of the Games
    • Main form of communication directly to students, particularly as each new issue arose
  • Beta-testing:
    • Examples:
      • New tutorials, before official release
      • New webpages, before official release
      • Trials to new databases
    • Proven to be one of the most successful blog postings
    • Instructors, in particular, like the avenue for providing feedback
    • Feedback from Instructors and Staff the library doesn't normally hear from; particularly in the sciences and trades
  • Replace or run parallel to notices by email:
    • Allows patrons to choose the delivery mode they prefer most
  • Promotion:
    • Advertise events, services, products, etc.
    • Pre-release in the beta-testing stage creates buzz for the final release
  • Humanize library staff:
    • Instead of generic emails sent out, blog postings identify the writer and allow for a more natural feedback loop than College-wide emails

 

 

Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, UBC Library

http://weblogs.elearning.ubc.ca/ikblc/

 

• provides details of current news and events related to the Learning Centre
• RSS feed from the blog to the Learning Centre home page (using Feed2JS)

 

David Lam Library, UBC

http://weblogs.elearning.ubc.ca/lam/

 

• biweekly newsletter aimed at the Sauder School of Business
• multi-authored by David Lam librarians

 

 

Professional Development

 

Tenure-track consideration

 

• For a busy librarian, is it even possible to produce peer-reviewed published articles on a regular basis?
• A major responsibility of the members of the faculty is to expand thought for their respective area
• Blogs are read at far greater frequency than peer-reviewed journals and, as a result, are often becoming more powerful at sparking intellectual debates
• No editorial process, but there are avenues for rebuttal and other kinds of feedback

 

Evaluation Criteria

 

• What weight should blog postings be given? 
• New Criteria for New Media Promotion and Tenure Guidelines Addendum: Rationale for Redefined Criteria

 

Professional Reputation

 

• A great avenue for networking because of its social nature
• An alternative to email, attending conferences, publishing articles, etc.

 

 

 

Blog software

 

Wikipedia's entry, Weblog software, includes lists of blogging software , including developer-hosted and user-hosted options: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog_hosting_service

 

Further Reading

 

Barsky, Eugene. (2006). Introducing Web 2.0: Weblogs and Podcasting for Health Librarians. Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association. 2006; 27(2): 33 - 34. Available online: http://pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/jchla/jchla27/c06-013.pdf.

 

Peros, Janet. (2007). The Blog - Another Tool in Your Arsenal. LLRX.com. 15 January 2007: http://www.llrx.com/features/lawblogarsenal.htm.

 

Stephens, Michael. (2006). Blogs. Library Technology Reports. July/August 2006: 15 - 35.