Library 2.0? Adam K. Fantom and Richard W. Smith Instructional Resource Technicians Harford Community College

Who are we?  Staff of the Instructional Resource Center (IRC) at Harford Community College.  The IRC is the team that assists faculty with instructional resources and pedagogical assistance in the development of online courses.  We are part of the Library and Instructional Resources Division at HCC.  We also assist the Librarian staff in maintaining tools for student research.

What is Web 2.0?  Term originally used by Tim O’Reilly of O’Reilly Press. “Network of Platforms” to better serve Internet users.  It is a loose term for the second generation of web platforms and tools that facilitate interactivity between users.

What is Web 2.0?  Technology. Web 2.0 sites tend to use emerging technology such as AJAX or Ruby On Rails to design web tools that promote interactivity. Technology is important but not as important as the interactivity that occurs in a Web 2.0 site.  Social Interaction. Web 2.0 sites promote interactivity between sites, user and browser. Tim O’Reilly called it an “Architecture of Participation.”

Examples of Web 2.0  MySpace and Facebook  Digg.com  iGoogle.com  Webkinz World  Blogs  Podcasts  Wikis

What we are doing at the HCC Library   Not a full time project.  Use it to market the library to users who would not normally use the Library services.  Fluid, never ending project.

Where we got our idea  University of Michigan MLibrary Labs   “MLibrary Labs is where the University of Michigan Library shows off some tools that are not quite ready for prime time. These are all experiments and may behave unexpectedly.”

Now to our Web 2.0 Tools……………

HCC Library Blog   The oldest of our Web 2.0 tools  Maintained by 1 staff member.  Uses Blogger.com, a free tool from Google.  Has a published RSS feed.

HCC Library Podcast   Has been in operation for over 1 year, but only recently used for audio podcast. Previously used for promoting PDF’s of Citation Style Guides.  More audio and some video are in production.  Has a published RSS feed.  Has a presence on iTunes, as well as other podcatcher systems.

HCC RSS Feeds  Both the Blog and the Podcast have RSS Feeds which can be imported and used by whatever RSS Reader Software that you already use.  Examples of RSS Reader Software are:  Bloglines.com  Google Reader  iTunes (for Podcasts) and other podcatcher systems.

iGoogle   Personalized Start Page provided by Google.  We built a iGoogle “Gadget” that uses the same Library Catalog search box that is already found on the Library website.  Performs a keyword search of the HCC Library Catalog.  We can easily add more information/text to this “gadget” as needed.  XML script of this “gadget” can be used by other Web 2.0 tools.

My Yahoo!  Personalized Start Page provided by Yahoo.  We provide the information needed on how to add our Library and Podcast RSS Feeds onto the user’s My Yahoo page.

Firefox Search  Firefox has a built-in search box built into the browser. Normally, Google is the default search technology.  On the Library website, a user of Firefox 2.0 can automatically add the HCC Library Catalog as a search possibility. They can switch between other search technologies and a keyword search of our Library Catalog  This promotes interactivity between the user, their browser and the web.

MySpace Widget  A flash based tool that users can add to their MySpace Page  Provides links to up to the moment posts from our RSS feeds.  Created by using tools provided at SpringWidgets.com, a News Corp. owned website.  Also works on Friendster, Hi5 and Xanga.

What are our future plans to implement Web 2.0  Stay fluid. Plan ahead, but be prepared to move in different directions  Pay attention to what the students are using while in the Library.  Blackplanet.com. Create a presence on this online community for African Americans.  Be aware of other cultures, ethnicities and populations that we should establish a presence with.  Keep up with new technologies and other Web 2.0 tools and platforms..  Increase the production quantity and quality of audio and/or video podcasts.

What are our future plans to implement Web 2.0  Add a Facebook tool. Current technology limitations are problematic.  Add more tools to MySpace. Add a Library Catalog search box and/or a dedicated HCC Library MySpace page.  Add a dedicated HCC Library page and/or presence on various social networking sites.  Half Life.  Delicious.com. Integrate current Internet Subject Guide tool with a tag based categorizing service such as Delicious.  Wikis. Use them internally for staff documentation, as well as externally for FAQ type information for students.

What limits our developments with Web 2.0?  Technology.  Staffing.

New Library website  We are on the planning stages of a new Library website.  We hope to implement more Web 2.0 functionality and technology.  We will provide Usability testing of our current site as to best plan for the new site.  We will try to make the page as accessible for all users.