Evaluative Report

Part A - Evaluative Statement:

An evaluative statement using three (3) experiences documented in your OLJ as evidence of meeting the learning objectives of the subject (@750 words).

The three experiences that I have documented in my OLJ which best provide evidence of meeting the learning objectives of this subject are: Module 3 – Building Academic Library 2.0, Module 2 – Second Life and Module 5 – Online Identity, Privacy and Trust.

The Building Academic Library 2.0 experience was particularly relevant to me as this presentation provided sound guidance for librarians whose organisations are currently transitioning to be Library 2.0 libraries about doing it well. Meredith Farkas’ (2007) presentation particularly resonated with me and she is now part of my Online Personal Learning Network. This activity makes you think about the concepts and theory of Library 2.0 and consider how they can be applied. Extracting the practical applications from the presentation and determining which ones are applicable to your workplace and then articulating how these practices would benefit your workplace in particular was a valuable exercise. I was very interested in the advice given about creating a supportive learning culture. This experience also encompasses participatory service, and a number of really great examples are discussed, including the use of wikis as spaces to share and add knowledge that can be used by both staff and students. These examples were not only inspiring, but could be practically applied in my workplace as well.

The Second Life (SL) experience has allowed me to fulfil the objective of demonstrated understanding of social networking technologies, as I have actively engaged with SL, have been able to successfully master the basics of getting around. I have successfully completed all of the activities that have been set for me as a student, and I now feel I am quite a confident user of this tool. Secondly, this experience has also allowed me to fulfil the objective of critically examining the features and functions of various social networking tools.  Therefore, I acknowledge that it has taken many hours of practice and learning to master all the buttons and keys to move around, and I have also learnt that because of the complexity of SL, one needs to keep practicing. This is one of the major drawbacks of this tool and the other is the amount of bandwidth required to run the program. It was disappointing that some of my classmates who were obviously interested in exploring this tool had issues which prevented them from participating. I also experienced loss of sound and speech which really detracted from the whole immersive experience. Through my various experiences with SL I have been able to see the ways in which it is currently being used to meet the informational needs of users, through virtual libraries, galleries, universities and the like as well as SL’s incredible potential in all sorts of learning environments.

The SL experience also fulfills the objective of being able to evaluate social networking technologies and software to support the information needs of workgroups, communities and organisations. This tool has so much potential in so many areas – in my reading I was particularly impressed with its application to medical and health education (Boulos, Hetherington & Wheeler, 2007) and for people with disabilities. I can readily see how SL could be applied within tertiary education (Frank, 2008), and schools (Plummer-Morgan & Neal-Shaw, 2009) however, I am doubtful that this tool could be utilised in my own workplace. SL requires software to be downloaded, which is prohibited in our public network, and even if it were possible, the amount of bandwidth required would almost certainly cause network issues, particularly if several people were using it at once. However, the potential is there to connect with remote library users (Grassian & Trueman, 2007).

The experience which most informed the objective of understanding the social, cultural, educational, ethical and technical management issues that exist in a socially networked world was the OLJ task concerned with identity, privacy, and trust. One of the readings which I selected (Harris, 2010) focused on appropriate usage and relationships when using social media, but it also informed about social media policy development at the micro level, that is, each of us needs to develop our own personal policy for using social media. Through our use of Facebook as our primary communication tool during this subject, we have had the opportunity to practically apply and evaluate the effectiveness of our policies. Furthermore, my readings outlined some of the implications of not having effective policies and the behaviours which may emerge as a result (Raynes-Goldie, 2010) and indicated changes to the cultural landscape in terms of the changes to privacy and social norms that are taking place.

Part B - Reflective Statement:

A reflective statement on your development as a social networker as a result of studying INF506, and the implications for your development as an information professional (@750 words).

As a result of studying INF506, I have developed as a social networker in many ways.

I have taken the opportunities to explore a range of social networking sites, and have become proficient at using quite a few. I have enjoyed sharing and interacting with my fellow students on Facebook, many of whom have offered insights not only into our learning this semester, but into their own psyche. Through the use of immersive experiences, this subject has stimulated a propensity to use exploration as a means of learning, which was not a learning style I had previously preferred.

In addition to this I have had the opportunity to critically analyse the features and functions of a number of social networking sites with a view to determining if they will benefit me personally and/or professionally. I will continue to use many of the applications that we explored in this subject to aid me on my learning journey.

As well as this,  I have been able to determine how each social networking application fits within my personal values and ethics, consider what boundaries I place around my use of particular sites and decide what information I am prepared to give away and what will remain private. In short, I have been able to determine a plan for moving forward in a socially networked society which I am comfortable with, and which will bring maximum benefits for me personally and professionally.

The implications for my development as an information professional as a result of studying this subject are manifold.

I have learnt skills which I can directly apply to my workplace. For example, Facebook is one social networking application that is part of the user education program at my workplace. The skills and proficiency that I have developed in using this application during this course will not only assist me in teaching library users about how to use Facebook, but also how to make the best use of it for their purposes.

Through studying this subject, I also have a concept of how much more there is to learn.  I have developed a number of skills with social networking applications and become aware of many more that I need to develop. I have been able to put a plan into place to keep developing my skills using the personal learning network model. To this end, I have started to follow several people who I consider will assist me in this process with RSS feeds and Twitter follows, and am already finding this quite beneficial.

This subject has placed the whole issue of social networking technologies and libraries in context for me. Being able to study and reflect on the meaning of Web 2.0 and what it means to be a Librarian 2.0 has allowed me to determine what attributes a Librarian 2.0 needs to remain relevant in the profession, to evaluate what skills and attitudes I already possess which will stand me in good stead, and to identify those I need to further develop.

I see the way for a library to become a Library 2.0 library as a continuous journey which will lead on to Web 3.0 and beyond. Using this methodology has allowed me to analyse at what point my own workplace is up to in this pathway and to see what the next steps in this journey might be.  Using this knowledge, I hope to be able to make a greater contribution in my workplace and to be able to support and encourage others in their journey.

Now that I have a greater knowledge of social networking applications and how they can be applied to libraries, I can use my skills to evaluate new applications and be an advocate for their introduction or otherwise into our workplace. I am keen to implement some of the tools and ideas that I have learnt about to help create a more collaborative library environment.

This subject has reinforced my belief that librarians need to constantly keep learning to remain relevant. Qualifications gained ten years ago soon lose relevancy if not galvanised with ongoing experiences which build on and enhance the original knowledge gained. Another reason to keep learning is that what has traditionally been regarded as ‘being literate’ has changed and will keep changing. As Wooliscroft (1997), quoting Behrens, states in an information society “people who are presently regarded as being literate are possibly not literate on a level which will enable them to function in such an evolved society”.

References:

Boulos, M. N. K., Hetherington, L., & Wheeler, S. (2007). Second Life: An overview of the potential of 3-D virtual worlds in medical and health education. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 24(4), 233-245. Retrieved from: http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=27477118&site=ehost-live
Dede, C. (2009). Immersive interfaces for engagement and learning. Science, 323 January, pp. 66 -69.

Farkas, Meredith. (2007). Building Academic Library 2.0. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_uOKFhoznI

Frank, I. (2008). Librarians in virtual worlds: why get a second life? First Monday, 13 (8) 4 August. Retrieved from:  http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/viewArticle/2222/2010

Grassian, E. & Trueman, R. (2007). Stumbling, bumbling, teleporting and flying....librarian avatars in Second Life. Reference Services Review. 35 (1) pp.84-89.

Harris, C. (2010). Friend me?: School policy may address friending students online, School Library Journal, 1 April. Available http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6724235.html

Helmer, J & Learning Light. (2007). Second Life and virtual worlds. Retrieved from: http://www.norfolkelearningforum.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/virtual-worlds_ll_oct_2007.pdf

Plummer-Morgan, S., & Neal-Shaw, L. (2009). Virtual worlds for kids — Good fun, good educational value. MultiMedia & Internet@Schools. 16(6) 12-14. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cph&AN=45455602&site=ehost-live

Raynes-Goldie, K. (2010). Aliases, creeping, and wall cleaning: Understanding privacy in the age of Facebook, First Monday. 15(1) 4 January. Available http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2775/2432

Wooliscroft, M. (1997). From library user education to information literacy: some issues arising in this evolutionary process. Paper prepared for COMLA Workshop, Gabarone, Botswana, July. Retrieved from: http://www.otago.ac.nz/library/pdf/tandlpapers_MJW.pdf

Module 5 - Online identity, privacy and trust

Based on your reading of three (3) of the above readings on issues related to online identity, privacy and/or trust. Think about online identity in relation to both individuals and organisations:

• what is important in terms of how we present and manage those identities online?
• what can we share and what should we retain as private to the online world?

Post a 350 word summary of important issues around online identity to your learning journal.

Mixing personal and professional online identities, organisational policies, and inappropriate friend requests

To have an effective online presence, it’s important to think before posting – think about your purpose in having an online identity, establish clear boundaries around what this means both personally and professionally and don’t mix the two. There are clear implications for ignoring this as seen through various examples including the James Andrews tweet (Henderson, 2009) which at best might be solved with an apology, or at worst lead to litigation. Inasmuch as we can think through these issues ourselves, we can’t expect that others will do likewise, or that an organisation’s policies around social media will always be clear cut. This is highlighted by Harris (2010) in her discussion of friending students and the grey areas of policy, so in the end it’s up to each individual to take that responsibility.

Posts are public and permanent

Davis (2009) describes how easy it is to track mentions of your online presence using a number of readily available tools, but this can work two ways, if you can find mentions of you easily others can too. In an earlier blog post, Davis further discusses this issue, urging readers to think about the future implications of information posted on the web, and to consider if “you’re just leaving more junk for the next generation to clean up” (2009). Clearly, it’s important to only post what you are comfortable sharing, and be aware that it may come back to haunt you later. In terms of privacy this means that if you wouldn’t say something in public don’t say it on the web.

Social media isn’t perfect in safeguarding privacy

By establishing an online identity you automatically give up some of your privacy, and you will need to identify if the trade off for this is worth it. In Raynes-Goldie’s (2010) extremely interesting study of Facebook users, she identifies privacy as a concern for its users. Despite millions of users who might bring pressure, the gaps and loopholes in Facebook’s privacy remain. More concerning are the subversive behaviours, such as aliases, that some users employ to protect privacy, whilst others actively exploit the loopholes to indulge in digital stalking. The fear of being left out means that “the use of Facebook is not necessarily a choice free of coercion” and has seen the emergence of the “privacy pragmatist”, willing to give away some privacy for benefits.

References:

Davis, L. (2009). 8 tools to track your footprints on the web, February 1. Available http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/8_tools_to_track_your_footprin.php

Davis, J. (2009). The unforseen consequences of the social web, January 25. Available http://readwrite.com/2009/01/25/social_web_unforeseen_consequences

Harris, C. (2010). Friend me?: School policy may address friending students online, School Library Journal, 1 April. Available http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6724235.html

Henderson, J. (2009). How not to be a key online influencer. Available http://www.davidhenderson.com/key-online-influencer/

Raynes-Goldie, K. (2010). Aliases, creeping, and wall cleaning: Understanding privacy in the age of Facebook, First Monday, 15(1), 4 January. Available http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2775/2432

Module 4 - Reasons why libraries should be on social media

Select three (3) libraries of your choice that use social networking to meet their goals.
Develop a comparative table which documents how each of the libraries use social networking tools to support information service provision, educational programs, conduct business etc.
Based on this comparison (and in no more than 350 words) develop your own list of “Reasons why libraries should be on social media”, and draw upon aspects of these three libraries to illustrate each point. 

My list of reasons why libraries should be on social media:

1.       Engage with customers – Mosman Library’s Memories of our Streets blog is a great example of creating a space where customers can share their local knowledge and recollections with other users and the library, who can then engage in dialogue and feedback.

2.       Create content - Using the collaborative efforts and collective knowledge of their community Mosman Library is able to add new and unique information from the blog to their collection.

3.       Add value – The blog entries add value to the library’s existing collections, which can then be linked to, and have new exposure in this environment (Brookover, 2007).

4.       Build a sense of community – This kind of blog can build a sense of community in both in the real and online world. People are connected by their common recollections, neighbours and memories and have a sense of belonging.

5.       Create an online presence/identity – Central Western Libraries Facebook page is great example of a library going beyond marketing to include content which gives the library a human face, clearly showing the library staff engaged as part of their community. (Library 2.0 Gang podcast).  

6.       Market programs and services - Central Western Libraries Facebook page also includes information about events and programs, and used as part of a broader marketing strategy this allows the library to get wider exposure.

7.       Communicate with a different audience – Facebook allows the library to interact with to a younger audience (Burkhardt, 2009), who may not be attracted by traditional marketing methods.

8.       Educate users – the State Library of New South Wales has a number of podcasts available on topics which can educate and entertain their users.

9.       Reaching out to remote users, online users and non-users – social media has the capacity to reach different audiences who may never come through the physical door because of distance, disability or disinterest. The State Libraries podcasts are an excellent way to engage with all of these potential customers.

10.   Providing Information –Podcasting allows the library’s collections to be exposed in a different way and provides information in a different format for users.

Example of libraries using social media to meet their goals:

Central Western Libraries Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CWLibraries

Mosman Library’s Mosman Memories blog : http://mosmanmemories.net/about/2/mosman-memories-of-your-street

State Library of New South Wales podcast page: http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/podcasts/index.html

References:

Brookover, S. (2007). Why we blog. Library Journal. 15 November. Retrieved from: http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6497263.html

Burkhardt, A. (2009). Four reasons libraries should be on social media (25 August 2009). Retrieved from: http://andyburkhardt.com/2009/08/25/four-reasons-libraries-should-be-on-social-media/

Library 2.0 Gang podcast – Social Software in Libraries. Hosted by Richard Wallis. Retrieved from: http://www.librarytechnology.org/blog.pl?Archive=2009-12&BlogID=2

Module 3 - Building Academic Library 2.0

View this YouTube video called 'Building Academic Library 2.0'. This is part of a symposium sponsored by Librarians Association of the University of California, Berkeley Division in 2007. While this presentation is over one (1) hour in duration, there are a number of key points raised by a number of speakers, including the keynote speaker Meredith Farkas that relate to any library or information agency that is trying to transform their library into a 2.0 Library.
Consider advice provided by one or more of the speakers in terms of a library and information agency that you know (as an employee or user). Select five (5) key pieces of advice from these speakers, and consider how these may be applied to your library to help it embrace a Library 2.0 ethos. Write up your findings as a post (of no more than 350 words in your OLJ). 

This was a relevant and enjoyable presentation, providing sound advice for libraries looking to embrace a Library 2.0 ethos, it reminded me of Christine McKenzie’s ‘Reaching higher – looking out’ (2008) article. The five most pertinent points from this talk in relation to my library are:

1.       Build a learning culture – Everyone within the organisation needs to be on board with the transition to Library 2.0, and this means including everyone in the conversation and providing opportunities to learn and network to everyone, as Farkas states, not just those in senior roles. A Library 2.0 themed staff development day is one application of this.

2.       Collect knowledge internally - This can work for customers as well as staff. It’s important to know which library staff are skilled in which area so they can develop the skills of others. However, I really liked Farkas’ idea of having a space (wiki) where both library and customers can share their knowledge. This is a great way to promote the library’s resources, for local experts to contribute or for school students to share information for an assignment.

3.       Capitalise on your network – this could work well in conjunction with ‘building a learning culture’ by providing an online space where staff can discuss Library 2.0 issues, their areas of expertise, and report back from conferences and training. This concept requires management support, as Farkas states, so that it is recognised as an important way of keeping up to date with developing technologies.

4.       Understand staff member’s needs and limitations – provide learning experiences which covers all learning styles to ensure greatest success. This means training with a visual, audio, theoretical and practical component, and encouraging staff to support and learn from each other, regardless of where they are on the Library 2.0 journey.

5.       Time must be devoted to all this – Farkas suggests that keeping up to date with new and developing technologies be included in every employee’s Job Description. I agree with this as it cements in the importance of the Library 2.0 ethos, and officially sanctions time spent on this activity. Furthermore, it allows definition and strategy on how this can be achieved, and could even be measured in annual reviews.

References:

Farkas, Meredith. (2007). Building Academic Library 2.0. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_uOKFhoznI

McKenzie, Christine. (2008). Reaching higher – looking out. Australian Library Journal, 57 (1). Retrieved from: http://www.alia.org.au/publishing/alj/57/ALJ_Vol57_No1_2008.pdf

Module 3 - A to Z of Social Networking for Libraries

READ the post A to Z of Social Networking for Libraries (22 January, 2010) on the Social Networking for Libraries blog.
Consider this advice in terms of a library and information agency that you know (as an employee or user). Select advice from five (5) letters of this A-Z list and consider how these may be applied to this library to help it embrace a Library 2.0 ethos. Write up your findings as a post (of no more than 350 words in your OLJ). 

H – Help: Extend the currently small team that works on digital projects to eventually include the entire staff. Garner support by promoting and allowing time for learning Library 2.0 and gradually involve more and more people.

P – Podcasting: This would be a great way to share an array of experiences with customers. For example, podcast events such as author talks, workshops, seminars, and storytimes. Short videos like ‘The Library Minute’ would be great to post on the website or Facebook page to start conversations with customers and let them know what the library has to offer them.  Podcasting would be really useful for training staff at remote branches too.

R – Reference: Frequently Asked Questions on the Facebook page would be a really good starting point for promoting reference collections and starting a conversation with customers about what it is that they want to know.

T – Text messaging: Not only for reminding customers when their borrowed items are due, but for reference enquiries, sending reminders about school holiday activity bookings, training courses bookings, and events. Wouldn’t it be nice to get a text from your library letting you know that you have left your favourite bookmark in a book you’ve just returned?

Y – Youth: An audience that can be captured for fun and supported for study. The library has vast resources available, but they need to be publicised through a good strategy, utilising social media, which is well planned, targeted, and very responsive.

References:

Brown, AnnaLaura. (2010). A – Z of social networking for libraries. Retrieved from: http://socialnetworkinglibrarian.com/2010/01/22/a-to-z-of-social-networking-for-libraries/

Arizona State University. (n.d.) Library Channel: The Library Minute. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCA6A813AA9C9A574

Module 2 - Second Life

If you wish to use this task as one of your three (3) OLJ tasks for Assignment 3, you will need to write a short evaluation (no more than 400 words) of your use of Second Life as a 3D virtual world throughout this session. Include a critical evaluation of the effectiveness of different features/functions and learning experiences encountered, as well as a brief statement on the different ways an information organisation may be able to utilise Second Life to support information services, learning and/or collaboration of users and/or employees.    

Use of Second Life:

This is the second time I have used Second life (SL), having previously been a student in INF520. This gave me the advantage of already having an avatar set up, and knowledge of the basics of navigating, teleporting and presenting PowerPoint presentations to my classmates. Having this experience and seeing the potential of SL as an educational tool, made me keen to explore it further in this subject. This time I have been able to gain further confidence in the basics that I previously learned as well as having the confidence to join tours and independently explore SL.

Evaluation of different features and functions:

SL is a complex environment to learn and navigate (Helmer, 2007, p. 8). It took a few hours of practice, plus instructional sessions before I was comfortable and proficient with moving, communicating and teleporting. It is something that you need to keep using otherwise you risk forgetting what to do. As SL needs a lot of memory, there were a few technical hitches. I had difficulties with hearing and sound, but didn’t have to resort to using Skype in conjunction with SL to communicate as I did previously. Classmates have had issues relating to the instability of the environment. This issue caused some to not pursue SL and experience the ‘digital divide’ (Grassian, 2007).

Learning experiences encountered:

In addition to my first learning experiences of being in a virtual classroom, giving a presentation and interacting with my virtual classmates, I have now experienced virtual tours to art galleries and historic lands. Both experiences have been immersive, stimulating emotional response. Presenting evoked a little nervousness, but the tours were stimulating, interesting, encouraged exploration and had a relaxed ambience. Helmer (2007) identifies five learning types in SL – demonstration, experiential, diagnostic, role play and constructive. Having only experienced the first two in my learning, it shows what further potential there is.

Ways and information organisations may be able to utilise Second Life:

SL has a place in many information organisations, but at the academic level it is a great tool for creating a classroom experience for remote students and promoting interaction and networking. At the public library level it has potential as a virtual book club or speaker presentation space – which could benefit remote or housebound users. Professionally, it is already a place where librarians can attend virtual conferences and network with colleagues, eliminating the travel and cost barriers. Helmer (2007) points out its training potential particularly for dangerous situations and Grassian (2007) discusses virtual libraries on Info Island and the Alliance Library System.

References:

Dede, C. (2009). Immersive interfaces for engagement and learning. Science, 323 January, pp. 66 -69.

Grassian, E. & Trueman, R. (2007). Stumbling, bumbling, teleporting and flying....librarian avatars in Second Life. Reference Services Review. 35 (1) pp.84-89.

Helmer, J & Learning Light. (2007). Second Life and virtual worlds. Retrieved from: http://www.norfolkelearningforum.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/virtual-worlds_ll_oct_2007.pdf

Module 2 - Delicious

If you wish to use this task as one of your three (3) OLJ tasks for Assignment 3, you will need to write a short evaluation (no more than 350 words) of your use of Delicious as a social bookmarking tool - include a critical evaluation of the effectiveness of different features and/or functions, as well as a brief statement on the different ways an information organisation may be able to utilise Delicious to support information services, learning and/or collaboration of users and/or employees.

Use of Delicious as a social bookmarking tool:

Creating a Delicious account was a relatively simple process, as was adding links, tags and following.   I used Delicious to bookmark and tag all of my online citations for Assignment 3, which was a real timesaver. It could even save links to the full text of articles which I accessed through subscription databases – very impressive. I really enjoy the freedom of folksonomy based tagging and searching, though I will need to add more links to know if my tagging is effective and to bundle my links together. Delicious has many advantages over traditional bookmarking of websites, and I can see the advantages of using it in my workplace. However in some ways, using Delicious has had its disappointments too.

Effectiveness of Different Features and Functions:

The initial interface of Delicious was not as user friendly as I had hoped, and there was initially a glitch with following, both of which put me off using it for a while. The new interface is simpler and more intuitive to use but there seems to be a problem with the Sign Out option. It does not close the window and appears not to work on screen, which is annoying. The search engine feature is interesting and may prove a useful way to find information on a topic. I am yet to find a use for some of the features however, being able to add a linkroll to a website, and links and codes to blogs would seem to be useful tools that could be applied at my workplace.

Ways that an Information Organisation can use Delicious:

An information organisation could use Delicious to support information services by the creation of bookmarks on frequently asked questions which could be accessed by both staff and customers. For example – Delicious could be used to provide links to websites which have information for student assignments, to provide links to information about your local area, or to provide how-to information like pathfinders for family history. There are some great examples of this on Angela’s Melange blog 2007) and in Mackay’s (2012) article. As a learning or collaboration tool, Delicious could be used by librarians as an internal tool to bookmark professional topics of interest which can then be easily shared.

References:

Mackay, A. (2012). Learning 2.0 Module Archive: Delicious. Retrieved from: http://thehyperlinkedlibrary.org/learning20/2012/05/02/delicious/

Angela (2007). Del.icio.us libraries. Retrieved from: http://angelacw.wordpress.com/2007/06/04/delicious-libraries/