Sunday, April 29, 2007

Top 10 Library Blogs

I have ten bloggers that I follow. To me, they are the future of librarianship. Their blogs are not just random musings, but instead are thoughtful, reflective, and fresh in content. In my opinion, these blogging librarians represent the next generation of the profession: they are creative, technologically savvy, and passionate about what they do. You can easily tell that they do this truly because they love it.

(10) Blog on the Side - Darlene Fichter, Data Library Coordinator at the University of Saskatchewan, never fails to offer fascinating insight into the technological side of the information profession. Each post offers a little something different. Hence, it makes my top 10.

(9) McMaster University Library - This one's kind of unfair. A university librarian shouldn't be ranked so highly. (Doesn't he better things to do?) And that's absolutely why Jeffrey Trzeciak offers such an exciting blog. He gives us a glimpse of the inner workings of a university librarian's viewpoint. Indeed, there is management-speak, but underneath the marketing and formality, is hidden a fabulous hub of fascinating ideas and fabulous vision of Library 2.0.

(8) Michael Habib - I'm just astounded at how far Mr. Habib will go. The sky's the limit for this man. And he's only just finished his MLS a few months ago. I consider Habib to be one of the foremost experts of Library 2.0 theory, as he wrote his dissertation on it.

(7) Library Crunch - Michael Casey's blog about Library 2.0-related issues in LIS. Casey is the progenitor of the the term "Library 2.0" and not surprisingly, his blog offers the most innovative insights into the profession.

(6) davidrothmman.net - Very highly technology-charged blog with superb insight into the latest medical library-related happenings.

(5) Vancouver Law Librarian - Humorous and enlightening, he offers more of a tech-related posts in the legal information profession.

(4) Meredith Farkas - One of the up-and-coming stars in the library world, Meredith has already published articles, contributes frequently to the blogosphere with thoughtful analysis, and even built the inaugural Five Weeks to a Social Library free online course for working librarians.

(3) Krafty Librarian - Michelle Kraft is in my mind, one of the top health librarians in the field, and her blog posts indicate her knowledge and passion for her profession. She is also very updated on the technology side of her area of librarianship, which is a challenge, since hospital libraries are not often the most receptive places for technology due to data privacy.

(2) The Google Scholar Blog - This one's definitely a biased decision; but one which I don't think is overly so. I am confident that many will agree with me that the information in this blog not only serves the medical community, but the information profession. The Google Scholar is on sabbatical on the moment, but his year of material is worth the price of admission alone.

(1) Tame the Web - I rank according to the following criteria: visually creative inteface; length of existence; originality of posts; and quantity/quality of feedback. Michael Stephens, a professor and professional librarian, has a blog that meets all of these criteria. It's definitely worth checking out.

I believe blogging is a new beginning for librarians; whereas in the past, discourse was confined to monthly journal articles, which could only draw response sporadically through conferences and workshops and the occasional phonecall, the blogosphere has transformed and leveled the playing field. Librarians are actually ahead of the game now; we can exchange our views within seconds. I'm proud to be apart of this profession, and excited about where it's going.

10 comments:

Fichter said...

Wow! I'm honoured to be on the same list with such wonderful and passionate writers like Meredith Farkas and Michael Stephens. There are so many wonderful and interesting blogs out there.

Anonymous said...

Couldn't agree with Darlene more. It's very flattering to be included on a list with this group of bloggers. Thanks!

Allan said...

Hi Darlene and David,

I'm very glad that you had a chance to read this entry. There are so many great blogs out there; I could've made a Top 100 List and still feel that there are others that are overlooked.

It was very difficult to narrow down to just Ten Blogs, but nonetheless, I wanted to share with the blogosphere a flavour of what I believe inspires my own blogging.

Anonymous said...

What can I say except I'm flattered too! You're right about time though! I find I'm always worried that I'm not contributing enough! Thanks for the gentle reminder that I need to blog more! :)

Dean Giustini said...

Allan,

Keep in mind what I told you: you will surpass all of us. Just keep working hard, reading and blogging.

Dean Giustini
http://blog.openmedicine.ca

Michael Stephens said...

WOW! Thanks so much. I am honored to be listed as well!

Steve Matthews said...

Thanks Allan. Great to be included in a list like this.

I hope to thank you in person at a VALL meeting in the near future. :-)

The Krafty Librarian said...

Whoa, I am truely honored as well. Thank you.
:)

Michael C. Habib said...

Wow. Thanks so much for your kind words. It is great to be included on a list alongside so many bloggers and librarians who I so greatly respect. This is a reminder that I need to get back to the blog.

Campus Library said...

thanks