Library 2.0

Library 2.0 seems to mean 2 different things. Firstly is the use of Web 2.0 technology by libraries. The other meaning is making the library service more user centric and community driven. This 2nd meaning lends seems to me to be an old idea in new clothing.

Use of Web 2.0 technology by libraries has interesting possibilities.

A common theme of Web 2.0 sites is simplicity and ease of use. This is something that library web catalogues are often very bad at. Library vendors do not seem to spend much time on usability testing.

A another trait of Web 2.0 sites is user created contentor customization. What springs to mind here is a "My Library" portal page for patrons. The patron would signup at the library web site and create a personal page. This would be a customizable page for a personal information portal ("PIP").
This PIP could contain
-library catalogue search box
-a rss box that the patron could add feeds
(some of these feeds could be library (events, new books etc) but eternal feeds could be ok
-a bookmarks box the patron could add bookmarks

2 ways of doing this
1) Page uses a cookie to identify user so the customized page is diplayed upon revisiting
2) Patron has to login. This is a barriar to use, but allows the use of online databases that available to library members. The patron could customize what databases are offered to search from the PIP.

It has struck me how with customization blogger can be used to create a PIP. With the audience being the author.

Technorati

Had a a look a technorati. It is something that could be used to search for blogs on a topic that I might want to subscribe to. The Technorati search searches by tags so if you want to appear in Technorati search results need to be tagged.

Here is a Tag
Library 2.0

del.icio.us

At first I thought del.icio.us sounded really boring. A web site for storing bookmarks. SNORE!! However reading Several Habits of wildly successful Del.icio.us users I was intrigued that you can subcribe to the site via RSS without being a member. You can subscribe to particular tags, even what individuals are tagging or what their INBOX is monitoring. I am still getting my head around that. On the left column of this blog I will add a widget(?) that is RSS feed on the tags "web" and "design" at del.icio.us.

It is an interesting idea because the content is updated by random strangers.

Library Thing

Not sure I could really see the point of LibraryThing. It did make me take a closer look at the template editing in Blogger and how you can add page elements. That was fun!

Rollyo

I created a searchroll of a list of CSS web sites. It is a good idea, but the performance is slowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

Image generators

I have decide that I really like RSS. It is great way of getting updates.

The online image generators really irritated me. I tried a couple that did not do what I wanted. Even the Bob dylan was a flash file. I ended up taking a screendump and pasting it into The Gimp to get a jpg I could upload.

Allen Ginsberg in the photo background by the way. I was watching a documentary on Jack Kerouac last night.

Bloglines

I have created a Bloglines account. I Have subscribed to some feeds. Mostly on web design. It will be interesting to see how useful that is. I tend to get my knowledge from reading computer books.

This is the "blogroll"

http://www.bloglines.com/public/daverave