Introducing the Web 2.0 Ensemble

The Emerging Web 2.0 social software: an enabling suite of sociable technologies in health and health care education offers a very nice perspective of Web 2.0. Instead of concepts, it delves straight into the tools and offers a look into the different categories of Web 2.0 tools out there. Here are the 10 categories (including an example of each):

(1) Wikis - Pbwiki

(2) Blogs - Blogger

(3) Podcasting - Youtube

(4) Social Bookmarking - Del.icio.us

(5) Social Search Engines - Cha Cha

(6) RSS Feeds - Feedburner

(7) Social Networking Services - Friendster

(8) Reputation-Management Systems - Digg

(9) Instant Messaging and Virtual Meetings - Google Talk

(10) Online Social Gaming - Second Life

The Library as a Conversation

Participatory Networks: The Library as Conversation is an excellent read, one definitely worthy of serious consideration for practitioners who want to rethink the way the library will serve patrons in the future. Libraries need to be part of the conversation of its users, rather than trying to be the single point of entry. Conversations are varied in their mode, places, and players - moreover, conversations are intensely personal. This means that the library needs to be a facilitator, and therefore needs to be varied in its mode and access points. In order to do so, libraries must strategize how to use Web 2.0 tools. But to do that, we must first understand the main components of it. Here are what the authors deem as the core concepts of Web 2.0:

(1) Social Networks - The content of a site should comprise user-provided information that attracts members of an ever-expanding network. (example: Facebook)

(2) Wisdom of Crowds - Group judgments are surprisingly accurate, and the aggregation of input is facilitated by the ready availability of social networking sites. (example: eBay, Wikipedia)

(3) Loosely Coupled API's - Short for "Application Programming Interface," API provides a set of instructions (messages) that a programmer can use to communicate between applications, thus allowing programmers to incorporate one piece of software to directly manipulate (code) into another. (example: Google Maps)

(4) Mashups - They are combinations of APIs and data that result in new information resources and services. (example: Calgary Mapped)

(5) Permanent Betas - The idea is that no software is ever truly complete so long as the user community is still commenting upon it, and thus, improving it. (example: Google Labs)

(6) Software Gets Better the More People Use It - Because all social networking sites seek to capitalize on user input, the true value of each site is definted by the number of people it can bring together. (example: Windows Live Messenger)

(7) Folksonomies - It's a classification system created in a bottom-up fashion and with no central coordination. Entirely differing from the traditional classification schemes such as the Dewey Decimal or Library of Congress Classifications, folksonomies allow any user to "social tag" whatever phrase they deem necessary for an object. (example: Flickr and Youtube).

The Long Tail and Emily Dickinson

Librarians (and all information professionals) need to understand what the Long Tail is in order to fully comprehend the impact of Web 2.0 and the manner in which communication and publishing have changed. The Long Tail was first coined by Chris Anderson in Wired in 2004 which proposed that Amazon and similar Internet companies had changed certain business and economic models. While there are cultural, political, social, and business implications, I think using an analogy might be more appropriate for fleshing out these ideas.

Think of Emily Dickinson. Although she had lived during the 19th century, it wasn't until a century later that her works were "re-discovered," and appreciated by readers. True, the shift from the Victorian to Modernist had helped, but one can imagine what would've happened if Dickinson's ingenuity occurred during our times. According to the Long Tail, things would've been different. Her works wouldn't be hidden in her drawers, but perhaps would be published online or print-on-demand. With services such as Amazon and Netflix, the playing field has been leveled. (Think Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat).

Because physical geography and scale are no longer important, artists no longer need sales to occupy spaces on bookshelves and video stores. Even the most obscure of artists can have their work published online (be it on Youtube, Lulu.com, or Blogger). In many ways, the "steroids" of wireleness, as Friedman had put it, has merely intensified Dickinson's rise to fame in a matter of months (or days), up from from years and decades. This is the power - or perhaps - inevitability of Web 2.0.

For libraries to move into the "next" level, they must consider how to integrate Web 2.0 concepts such as the Long Tail into their operations. It's not difficult; in fact, it's likely inexpensive and likely not very time-consuming at all. It requires only creativity and an open mind. Here is what Anderson proposes for maximizing the power of the Long Tail:

(1) Make Everything Available - Unlike bookstores, which shelves books based on sales figures, Web 2.0 services make everything available. Without the need to worry about physical space, all you need is a database or catalogue, and some marketing, and voila, you let the patron decide for himself what title(s) he wants. It doesn't matter if it the item gets used only once, what matters is that it's there at all.

(2) Cut the Prices in Half. Now Lower It - When you lower the price, consumers tend to buy more. If lots consumers buy bits and pieces of something, that adds up and in the end, everyone is a winner. (Think iTunes).

(3) Help Me Find It - You can't select what you can't find. Amazon is one service that cleverly employs its users' recommendations, social tagging, and uses encourages an element of social networking for patrons to browse its huge selection of merchandise. It must be the smartest marketing ploy since Coke's secret formula. If libraries can maximize on such creativity, the sky's really the limit. Especially since gate counts are decreasing...

Librarian 2.0?

Library 2.0 has received quite a bit of controversy recently when Wikipedia community debated whether the term deserved a place on Wikipedia. In the end, Library 2.0 remained, and all is well. Or is it? How about the librarian of the "future," one who works in a Library 2.0? Stephen Abram has an innovative list of what constitutes this Librarian 2.0 model:

(1) Understand the power of the Web 2.0 opportunities

(2) Learn the major tools of Web 2.0 and Library 2.0

(3) Combine e-resources and print formats and is container and format agnostic

(4) Is device-independent and uses and delivers to everything from laptops to PDAs to iPods

(5) Develop targeted federated search and adopts the OpenURL standard

(6) Connect people and technology and information in context

(7) Doesn’t shy away from non-traditional cataloging and classification and chooses tagging, tag clouds, folksonomies, and user-driven content descriptions and classifications where appropriate

(8) Embrace non-textual information and the power of pictures, moving images, sight, and sound

(9) Understand the “long tail” and leverages the power of old and new content

(10) See the potential in using content sources like the Open Content Alliance, Google Print, and Open WorldCat

(11) Connect users to expert discussions, conversations, and communities of practice and participates there as well

(12) Use the latest tools of communication (such as Facebook) to connect content, expertise, information coaching, and people

(13) Use and develops advanced social networks to enterprise advantage

(14) Connect with everyone using their communication mode of choice – telephone, Skype, IM, SMS, texting, email, virtual reference, etc.

(15) Encourage user driven metadata and user developed content and commentary

(16) Understand the wisdom of crowds and the emerging roles and impacts of the blogosphere, Web syndicasphere and wikisphere

What Makes a Librarian?

Every one has a "trigger" for reflection in his or her career. Mine came relatively recently when I was confronted with an interesting commentary made by a young bookshelver at work. It was during a break when we were sitting around and talking about the library. The library is currently hiring new reference clerks to do both circulation and reference. My friend curiously questioned the purpose of having librarians when the work was seemingly so easy. He said something to the extent of:

Why have [librarians]? Anyone can do searching on Google. And anyone can point out which area the books belong to...

To a certain extent, he's right. I'm glad I had heard this comment. There are many who echo his sentiments. And in many ways, it should force us in the profession to reflect on what we actually do. Why are librarians important? Why is it necessary for professional training? Why should we be compensated well for what we do? Here are my reasons:

(1) Management - Not just staff, but also the collections, the buildings, the budget, openings and closings, conflict resolutions, and just about anything else related to the running of a library. There's a lot of responsibility involved, and the higher up one is, the greater the pressure. If not done properly, your position is on the line, and the library's as well.

(2) Knowledge - Effective reference work means effective retrieval and searching skills. That means having a deep understanding of precision/recall, different commercial databases, boolean searching, reference titles, good memory, insatiable curiosity. Above all, it means intelligence. You can't be an effective librarian without a broad knowledge background, and that is why librarians need at least six years of education and a master's in order to be a librarian. All librarians are well-read, intellectual, and extremely creative; there's a reason it's a graduate programme.

(3) Bibliographic Control - Librarians may not all be cataloguers, but at the end of the day, effective searching means a solid understanding of MARC records and controlled vocabularies. Regardless of which kind of library, librarians need to have a good grasp of vocabulary in order to do competent searching on databases and search engines.

(4) Information Technology - Librarians have always been underestimated in their technological savvy. But I am always surprised at just how much of it is required in their work, and most librarians if not all do an excellent job despite the lack of formal training. Librarians have always been ahead of the game in technology, first with huge computers, then OPACs, then then databases, then finally the Internet. Now with Web 2.0, librarians are once again at the forefront with integrating blogs, wikis, and social software into their work.

(5) Teaching - I am forever amazed at the amount of teaching that librarians perform in their work. Yet, much of this teaching is unrecognized and underappeciated. Librarians teach a lot: from using a mouse, to writing resumes, to using Web 2.0 tools. Much of the time, librarians are not even formally trained with the pedagogical theories; they teach well based on their intuitive intelligence and passion for their work. So with that said, librarians deserve a pat on the back. Bravo to you all!