Ohio University Libraries

Reaching Library Users: Delivering Dynamic Library

Content with Blogs and Wikis

Chad F. BoeningerNELINET IT Conference

October 13, 2006

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Outline of Talk

Overview of Blogs and WikisApplications to complement or replace traditional subject guides/pathfindersPromote resources and research skillsPros and Cons of blogs/wikis

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What is a Blog?

Initially a blog was a “log” of one’s daily “web” travelsBlogs became popular as online journalsNow blogs are used for a variety of purposes

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Common Blog Characteristics

Frequently updatedPosts appear in reverse-chronological orderOften theme or topic orientedMany allow commentsSense of communitySyndicated content

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Leveraging Blogs for Libraries

Create Dynamic contentMultiple AuthorsReduce bottleneck of informationGive others ownership of contentSyndicationInternal and External Communication

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Internal Communication

Communicate with department or libraryKeep staff up to dateBuild a knowledgebaseRefblog http://www.library.ohiou.edu/refblog/ (protected)

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External Communication

Communicate with patronsPromote resourcesAnnounce eventsNews Blog http://www.library.ohiou.edu/newsblog/Syndicate Podcasts http://www.library.ohiou.edu/podcasts/

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Subject Blogs

Subject blogs are tailored to a community of usersEncourages knowledge of the community the library/librarian servesEncourages participation from the community

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Content of Subject Blogs

New products, new book lists Promote resourcesResearch hintsContact informationFAQ resources“Nuggets” of Information LiteracyMortar for community building

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Why A Subject Blog

Patrons can check the blog for the most recent entriesPatrons can search the blog (knowledgebase)Librarians can link to posts To make your job easierTo be a better librarian

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Examples of Posts

Supermarket & Grocery Industry TrendsCompany and Industry Research Guides100 Best Companies to Work forTop Business ResourcesApparel Industry ResourcesMutual Funds Resources Video

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Business Blog Readers

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Blogs for Assessment

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Dreams vs. Reality

Originally used to complement research guidesAspirations for comments/ community buildingRSS slow to catch on

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Cons of Blog

Measuring use is difficultWhich posts are being read?RSS is slow to catch onAuthors must regularly generate contentOrganization of archives can be an issueSpam-- Use a filter like Akismet

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What is a Wiki?

A website in which content can be created and edited by a community of usersBest example is WikipediaStrength of the resource is often dependent on the strength of the community

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Wiki as a Research Guide

Previously had 3 research guides• Business Research Guide• International Business Research Guide• Marketing Research Guide

Redundancy of resourcesNo interlinkingMultiple edits of the same content

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Why A Wiki

Incredibly easy to add contentMore room for content and “nuggets”Organize by categoriesSearchableHuge potential for building communityFamiliar interface???

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The Biz Wiki

Organized by area of research needBrowse by category or alphabetSearchable by keywordUsers can edit/add contentInterlinked articles allow for increased access to information

The Biz Wikihttp://www.library.ohiou.edu/subjects/bizwiki/

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Reference Content

Key reference resourcesGuides to common questionsDefinitions of termsExamples: • Regional Encyclopedia of Business &

Management• Doing Business in Another Country• Company Annual Reports

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Instruction Content

Wikis make excellent teaching toolsReplace class handoutsBroader scope than class specific handoutsExample: Industry Research BasicsExample: Marketing 379 Assignment

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On the Fly Content

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“On the Fly” Content

1. Email question from patron

2. Respond to patron3. Similar question via

IM4. Use content of

previous question to create wiki article

5. Answer is out of email and on the web

6. Easier future access to information

Wiki Article

IM Question Answer Email

Reference Email

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Creating Content

Create an article

Link to the article from another article

Assign a category for the article

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Measuring Use

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Biz Wiki Usage1 115055Academic Search Premier2 37955 Lexis-Nexis Academic3 21845 PsycINFO4 20621 ERIC5 18874 Business Source Complete6 11456 Science Citation Index 7 11224 JSTOR8 10711 Business and Industry9 9793 BIOSIS Previews10 9605 Education Abstracts

11 8789 AnyWho Directory12 8438 WorldCat13 7897 Medline 14 7883 Hoover's Online15 7577 Factiva16 6774 RefWorks17 6686 Communication & Mass Media Complete18 6087 Biz Wiki19 5911 Mergent Online20 5769 Google

January 1-October 5, 2006

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Feedback on the Wiki

“You weren’t around, so I showed them the Biz Wiki Guide to Doing Business in Another Country, and they were satisfied.”--Reference Librarian“I had no idea how to find a swot analysis, so I just searched for ‘swot’ in the Biz Wiki, and low and behold, you had an article on finding a SWOT analysis.” ---Reference Librarian

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Wiki Challenges

Getting others to contribute• Faculty, students, other librarians

More content = more maintenanceMaintaining organization and structure with growth of contentDifficult to see new contentSpam, Spam, and more Spam

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Other Wiki Applications

Internal Communication and Knowledgebase

Campus/Community collaboration tool

Course content management system

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Other Great Wikis

SJCPL Subject Guides

Butler Reference Wiki

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Blogs and Wikis

Extend the reach of the librarian• Promote sources• Teach research skills

Make the job of the librarian easierMake information and knowledge more accessiblePotential for contributing to the academic learning community

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Lessons Learned

Blogs and wikis take time

Blogs and wikis save time for librarians and patrons

Blogs and wikis can make you a better/more effective librarian

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More Lessons Learned

Don’t be surprised if usage is different than you expected

Don’t expect to be “cool” because you have a blog or wiki

Patrons/Community will appreciate your work

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Future of Blogs and Wikis

Gather measurable feedback from users (librarians, students, faculty)Record usage of library resourcesInvestigate Other Uses• Student Research Blogs/Wikis• First-year experience wiki

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Special Thanks

Alden Library Reference StaffAlden Library Systems StaffNumerous Library BloggersOhio University Business researchers

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Questions??

Slides available at LibraryVoice.com