The Beginner's Guide to 2.0 in Libraries Laura Solomon, MCIW, MLS Web Applications Manager Cleveland Public Library

The Schedule [BETA] 9:30-11:20 Web :20-11:30 Break 11:30-12:00 Podcasting :00-1:00 Lunch 1:00-1:50 Library 2.0 1:50-2:00 Break 2:00-3:00 Second Life

Welcome to the Web…again.

“Like many important concepts, Web 2.0 doesn't have a hard boundary, but rather, a gravitational core.” Tim O’Reilly, What Is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software

What is Web 2.0? What was Web 1.0? Plain old web sites Visitor as consumer Static information

Web 1.0  Web 2.0 Britannica Online  Wikipedia personal websites  blogging publishing  participation directories (taxonomy)  tagging ("folksonomy") stickiness  syndication

Paradigm shift or hyperbole? Marketing buzzword? New conventional wisdom? Geekspeak? MEME

Harnessing collective intelligence Maybe the web is really like a brain Why Google rules Amazon has made a science of user engagement Why taxonomy is meaningless here If it advertises, it probably isn’t 2.0 Open source becomes mainstream

Moral #1: User contributions are the key to market dominance in the Web 2.0 era

Data is the next “Intel Inside” So who OWNS the data? What if you don’t own the data? Amazon, not Bowker, is the primary provider of bibliographic information

Moral # 2: Extend and embrace…or fall by the wayside

Software ain’t what it used to be The end of the software release cycle Will cease to perform unless maintained daily The development cycle at Flickr "Microsoft's business model depends on everyone upgrading their computing environment every two to three years. Google's depends on everyone exploring what's new in their computing environment every day." – ZDnet editorial

Moral #3: The culture of the Internet now has expectations of fast and steady change.

Web sites or something else? Flickr, GoogleMaps Web as platform Rich user experiences Increase in user expectations

Moral #4: If it doesn’t do everything but polish the kitchen sink, it will disappoint users

A look at some Web 2.0 services

RSS: staying relevant What if you could give your patrons: Knowledge of web site updates in real time? Automatic updates to the latest bestsellers list? Information about your library’s events on a daily basis?

Who’s using RSS? (August 2005 data) Web UserMaleOnline Before ‘94 College Grad +$100K18-34 Year Olds Aware RSS Users 78%48%46%25%17% Unaware RSS Users 54%36%53%27%25% Non-RSS users 46%34%43%22%16%

Gaining customer loyalty RSS users are more loyal than non-users Implementing RSS may equal more patron loyalty RSS can help to build the library/patron relationship

Any disadvantages?

Cataloguing by & for the masses “folk” + “taxonomy”= FOLKSONOMIES

Tag Clouds

Tagging works because…

But here’s the catch…

Other Web 2.0 services Del.icio.us Flickr YouTube LibraryThing Digg Twitter YahooAnswers Askville Ning Technorati Want more?:

A summary via YouTube Web The Machine is Us/ing Us (Then on to Part II….Podcasting!)

Library 2.0

What is it? “Library 2.0 simply means making your library’s space (virtual and physical) more interactive, collaborative, and driven by community needs. Examples of where to start include blogs, gaming nights for teens, and collaborative photo sites. The basic drive is to get people back into the library by making the library relevant to what they want and need in their daily lives…to make the library a destination and not an afterthought.” Sarah Houghton (LibrarianInBlack)

Some key principles Harness the library user in both design and implementation of services Library users should be able to craft and modify library provided services Beta is forever Harvest and integrate ideas and products from peripheral fields into library service models Continue to examine and improve services and be willing to replace them at any time with newer and better services. Rigidity breeds failure

The debate: against Key principles not new Will not serve all users or communities Library is not the center of the universe Libraries can’t handle radical trust

The debate: for A response to the post-Google world Requires reorganization and rethinking everything Not just a theory; it’s happening NOW L2 is imperative for survival

Fundamental shift Widespread awakening: the game has changed! User expectations are shaped by their experiences What does this mean for libraries?

Library 2.0 For the patron! Meeting patrons’ needs: when, where, how Technology is only one component of this idea “So it's about tech and it's about not huffing and puffing when a library wants to implement IM or DDR and it's about the Coffee Cart if that makes a welcoming space all the more inviting for users and so on. “—Michael Stephens, Tame the Web: Libraries and Technology

The Six Questions Static web sites that are hard to use Sites that don’t provide ways for patrons to interact with each other Services that aren’t easy to use, available 24/7 or fail to push information to the user Thinking the librarians are more important than the patrons Restricting patrons without sufficient reason or based on belief rather than fact Believing that change is a scary (and hence, unwelcome) thing