Online Communities

Although I have attended WebJunction webinars in the past, it wasn’t until this class that I realized WebJunction is an online community. 

 

WebJunction is OCLC’s online community dedicated to the emerging technology and training needs of librarians and library staff. It features articles, handouts, online courses, webinars and forum discussions on current, relevant and practical issues. (OCLC.org/WebJunction)

 

Webjunction was created by OCLC in partnership with other organizations and with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The focus of this successful online community is “on library technologies, management, and services, along with public access in small and rural libraries.” Joining Webjunction is free—I just created my account!

 

The American Library Association also offers an online community called ALA Connect which is a “virtual, collaborative, workspace online” free for ALA members. Non-members can create an online account for free, but it will only allow them access to public materials. ALA Connect offers its users ways to find and connect with other members around professional interests, issues, advocacy, their jobs, the work of the Association, and more. (Connect.ALA.org)—I just also created my ALA Connect account! 

 

I wanted to share an excellent definition of online communities I found on the website SocialMediaToday.com, taken from the book Online Communities by Jenny Preece.

 

Online Communities - People, who interact socially as they strive to satisfy their own needs or perform special roles, such as leading or moderating. A shared purpose, such as an interest, need, information exchange, or service that provides a reason for the community. Policies, in the form of tacit assumptions, rituals, protocols, rules, and laws that guide people’s interactions. Computer systems, to support and mediate social interaction and facilitate a sense of togetherness.

Hennepin County Library

The genealogy department of the Hennepin County Library in Minneapolis created the video Genealogy Research: An Introduction to Immigration & Naturalization Resources through 1930, which highlights the local genealogy research resources that are available for patrons interested in researching their ancestors’ immigration history. The video is posted in the library’s Vimeo page.

The content of the video is definitely relevant and helpful and it is explained in a clear and easy-to-understand way. The librarian who wrote and narrated the script did a wonderful job in providing an overview of each of the resources. Each explanation is supported by appropriate images and includes a display of the web address where the resource can be located. 

Overall the video was well made. It is not a state-of-the-art production, but it has a decent level of quality suited to the purpose and to the audience. My only observation is that I would have added more visual information about the resources directly available in the library’s website.

Collaborative Filtering: Douglas County Libraries

Today I attended Power to the Patron, a Library Journal’s Virtual Technology Summit. The third panel, ILS Role in Empowering Patrons, included the participation of Monique Sendze, IT Director for Douglas County Libraries in Colorado. During her presentation I learned about how her library has recently implemented collaborative filtering in the catalog. 

Douglas County Libraries’ new catalog gives users the option of rating materials with a star rating system. It also allows them to keep track of what they have read through reading lists that can be downloaded and shared. Patrons are now able to write book reviews and read reviews by staff and other users. Most importantly, when patrons access catalog records, they now see recommendations of similar titles and recommendations based on what “people who viewed this also viewed”. 

Sendze also shared that so far the new catalog features have been a success with their patrons. 

My Experience Using Google Docs

Of all the internal collaboration tools discussed this week, Google Docs is the one I am more familiarized with. Google Docs is a free web-based collaborative tool that allows users to easily create/upload and share a word processor, spreadsheet, form, or presentation with others. The creator can assign permission levels that would let others just view or edit the document.

I have used Google Docs in the past for group work and it has been an effective tool for creating, sharing and collaborating with multiple people in a single document. It has been like having a meeting to work on a project, without leaving home and without the need of having everyone working at the same place, at the same time.

Here is a great “In Plain English” YouTube video on Google Docs.

Exercise 6: Screencast