Wednesday, 10 June 2015
Sunday, 7 June 2015
Investigative Exercise 11: Recommendations
Recommendations
for the use of 2.0 technologies by Kogarah Library
Local Studies
Crowd-sourcing projects
The word “crowd-sourcing” is an amalgamation of the words
“crowd” and “outsourcing.” It is a tool used by companies to complete
large-scale digital projects relatively quickly.
How it works
The library posts information on its website about
upcoming projects and directs users to an area where they can click on an item
under review to begin editing it. Examples of crowd-sourcing activities
include: transcribing and proofreading archival documents, identifying people
in old photographs, and editing historic maps.
Advantages of crowd-sourcing include ease of use,
flexibility and the ability to quickly digitise large chunks of information.
New York Public Library is currently running multiple
crowd-sourcing projects through NYPL Labs. Some examples include:
Volunteers
transcribe sections of handwritten menus from the past hundred years that cannot
be copied mechanically. This information can then be used to as a historical
and cultural research tool.
Volunteers transcribe old playbills
to create a digital database that can then be used for research purposes.
This is
a web-based tool used to create 3D images from historical stereographs. These
images can then be shared, edited and remixed. This project is a throwback to
the 19th century stereoscope, a device through which a pair of
photographs could be viewed side by side to create a 3D effect.
Teenage/Youth
Online study forums
An online forum is a place for public discussion of
pertinent topics. A new topic of discussion is opened up when someone posts a
comment in a new “thread.” Other users can view this comment and add their own
comments below it. A forum usually has a main page with multiple threads that
can be accessed in a new window.
A forum could be a good way for students to share ideas
and assist other students in their studies.
Live chat with a librarian
Several libraries are now using instant messenger to
assist patrons with their research enquiries. AnyQuestions, for example, is a service run by Christchurch Library that provides free
online homework help to New Zealand students. Students chat with a librarian
who can direct them to the information they need. The librarian may also teach
them how to research effectively for themselves.
Advantages
- It’s easy to use
- It saves time and travel
- It’s of equal benefit to students living in both rural and urban areas
Adult Fiction
Community reading projects
Candide 2.0 is a community annotation project created by the NYPL as a tie in with its exhibition “Candide at 250:
Scandal and Success.” The first step of the process was to invite
literary professionals to “plant seeds of commentary” within the text, and in
so doing create a space for public discourse. The second step was to open up
the discussion to the public for two months. The purpose of the project was to
encourage the exchange of ideas, to facilitate social networking, and to strengthen
community ties.
Now that the pilot program for this idea has been successfully
launched, I believe Pearl Cove can do no wrong in setting up a similar project
ourselves. This could even be the next step in the evolution of the book club.
Chat rooms
There are many adults who don’t have a local book club or
who prefer to socialise online. The library could serve these patrons by
providing online spaces for book lovers to build networks and discuss their
favourite books.
A chat room is similar to an instant messenger service in
that it allows users to hold discussions in real time and receive replies to
questions instantaneously. However, instead of only permitting one to one
contact, it allows are large number of people to send and receive messages
simultaneously.
Advantages
- Chat rooms allow users to have group discussions in real time
- Users don’t have to wait for replies to questions
Disadvantages
- Too many people in the same chat room at once can easily cause confusion
- A chat room environment isn’t conducive to thoughtful, in-depth discussions
Exercise 10: Evaluation
How
Hurstville Library, Museum and Gallery uses 2.0 Technologies
Unfortunately, I was unable to find many examples of use
of social media on the Kogarah Library website. I decided to use Hurstville
Library, Museum and Gallery for this exercise instead, as it is in my local
area and I both borrow from and volunteer there.
Information about Hurstville LMG’s use of social media can
be found in their social media contributor’s agreement. Here is a brief summary of some of
the main points:
- Social media is used by Hurstville LMG to promote its services and programs and to encourage healthy debate within the community about “topics of cultural interest.”
- Hurstville LMG tracks trends in community opinion and uses this information to decide how its social media platforms will change and evolve.
- Content submitted to Hurstville LMG’s social media sites operates under a Creative Commons license (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike).
Here are some examples of how Hurstville Library uses
social media:
Hurstville LMG’s blog is divided up into ten main search
categories: what’s on, exhibitions, collections, reviews, kids, youth, seniors,
history, fun and news. It contains mainly photographs and blog posts about
library programs and exhibitions, new items in the collection and current
events in the library world. It uses a tagging system and encourages users to
leave comments.
Used to share photos and videos of the library, inform
people of upcoming events and services they might not be aware of, share posts
about what other libraries are doing, promote the importance of libraries and
thank people for attending events. Friends of the library are able to post
comments requesting changes to services or discussing their experiences at the
library. There is also a forum where people can ask questions of library staff.
The moderators of the site are obviously Internet literate as there is good use
of memes.
Hurstville LMG has 37 boards on Pinterest. Here are three of my
favourites:
- Libraries of the rich and famous: Pictures of libraries owned by famous people, from rock stars and celebrity chefs to writers and directors. (I am so jealous of Jay Walker right now.)
Exercise 15: Commenting on other blogs
I posted on Kim Whitehead's blog, commenting on her current awareness post. I thought she had some very interesting points.
I also commented on Susan's post about social media recommendations at Blacktown Library. She also had some very good points.
I also commented on Susan's post about social media recommendations at Blacktown Library. She also had some very good points.
Saturday, 6 June 2015
Blog Exercise 13– changing the arrangement of your blog
Exercise 12: Changing the colour of your blog
I have chosen to use the 7th "simple blog" template, with a banner instead of a full page image background. I chose to use a picture of leaves and fruit as my banner, and changed the background colour to a pale green.
Investigative Exercise 9: Community Profiles
Kogarah LGA Community Profile
Age group Population
0-4 3370
5-9 3096
10-14 3370
15-19 3453
20-29 8387
30-39 8061
40-49 8247
50-59 7032
60+ 10789
The population consisted of 27,246 males and 28,559 females.
The five largest ethnic groups were:
- Chinese (12,478 people or 22.4%)
- Australian (9,632 people or 17.3%)
- English (9,413 people or 16.9%)
- Greek (5,834 people or 10.5%)
- Irish (3,430 people or 6.1%)
 Mandarin | 5,850 | 10.5 | 3.0 | 4,203 | 8.0 | 2.3 | +1,647 |
| Cantonese | 4,852 | 8.7 | 3.0 | 4,174 | 7.9 | 3.0 | +678 |
| Greek | 4,540 | 8.1 | 1.8 | 4,275 | 8.1 | 1.9 | +265 |
| Arabic | 2,015 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 2,016 | 3.8 | 3.9 | -1 |
| Macedonian | 1,296 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 1,164 | 2.2 | 0.5 | +132 |
The five main religions were:
| Religion | Number | % | Greater Sydney % | Number | % | Greater Sydney % | 2006 to 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western (Roman) Catholic | 13,586 | 24.3 | 27.5 | 13,558 | 25.8 | 28.3 | +28 |
| Anglican | 6,684 | 12.0 | 16.1 | 7,375 | 14.0 | 17.9 | -691 |
| Greek Orthodox | 6,171 | 11.1 | 2.7 | 5,736 | 10.9 | 2.9 | +435 |
| Buddhism | 2,569 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 1,906 | 3.6 | 3.7 | +663 |
| Islam | 2,090 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 1,713 | 3.3 | 3.9 | +377 |
11159 people were non-religious.
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