This is the last week for my analysis of my two blogs! While I will probably continue to read them from time to time, I will not be posting anymore about them, unless something really catches my eye.
This week in Annoyed Librarian:
First post of the week was Stuck here in Onepointopia. This is a post about libraries use of Web 2.0, or Library 2.0, as some would call it. AL discusses a survey of WebJunction employees, and their use, or lack of use, of the new Web 2.0 skills. WebJunction is a "learning community working together to ensure all library staff have the resources they need to power relevant, vibrant libraries."-WebJunction website. They are very big into the use of Web 2.0 technologies in libraries. However, they conducted a survey and found that many of their members weren't really using these online tools. The most heavily used of the tools were email listservs. 64% of respondents used the listserv daily or weekly. 16% said they never used them. However, the question was kind of confusing, calling them "email discussion lists." If they would have said just email, the numbers would probably have been closer to 99% and 0% respectively. Supposedly, email is supposed to be a dying form of communication. In reality, it is the way that most professionals communicate on a daily basis. People always talk about wanting to give up their email because it is too overwhelming. This is not because it is a dying form of communication, but shows that it is widely used. Another question on the survey was about social networking. 39% of respondents said they used it daily or weekly for professional purposes and 63% used it in their private lives. AL doesn't believe that many people are actually using social networking for real work related issues, more like for issues semi-related to work issues. According to AL, the WebJunction survey questions are skewed to favor the "twopointopians," even if that was not their intention.
My thoughts: I can see where a lot of the WebJunction members might not be making the best use out of the Web 2.0 tools. We just learned about them, and I don't see myself using them a great deal. I do agree that some of the questions may have been asked in a manner to favor the use of the Web 2.0 online tools. Asking someone if they use email listservs or if they use email are two totally different things. You can't ask about one, and then exclude the other. I think that, in time, members will become more confidant with the numerous tools available to them and will gladly use them with more frequency.
The second post for AL this week is Skills for the Next Generation...They Look Familiar, Sort of. In this posting, AL discusses a paper "Key Skills and Competencies of a New Generation of LIS Professionals." It is basically just a study of other studies and summary of the results. According to the paper, the results illustrate a complete picture of all the skills needed by a modern LIS professional. It then goes on to describe a long list of skills and competencies. AL points out that most of these skills would have been useful to many generations of librarians, and that most of them are already in use. the only new things needed are skills with technology. She also points out that many of the skills are useful in other professional disciplines, not just library science. AL believes that very few, if any, librarians can possess all of these skills, but it would be wonderful if they did.
My thoughts: I agree with AL in that many of the skills listed by this paper are skills that would make you successful in any profession, not just library science. If the authors of the paper truly expect one single person to exhibit all skills and competencies listed, they are being slightly unreasonable. I think that expecting one person to have a sprinkling of some of the skills is more like it. They can always be complementary of others who exhibit some of the other desired skills.
HeyJude had one post this week. It was called Google+plus Deeper Web. She states that she forgot that Google filters search if you are logged into Google and suggests logging out for serious searching. She was reminded, by someones tweet about Deeper Web. While using Deeper Web, the search results were organized differently. Tags and phrases could be deleted, and the search would resort itself. There are a few different source boxes on the page, and the layout is quite different from just plain Google. You can find your sources in a metrics search, news search or blog search. HJ feels that she needs to explore this search engine booster further, but sees it as a definite way to enhance your searches with Google.
My thoughts: I don't really use too many of Google's products, but this one seems very interesting. The information is laid out so much differently and it seems like there is more than on just plain Google. There were some adds on the very top of the page, that kind of took up alot of room, and I didn't really care for that. Time will tell if I begin to utilize this on a regular basis.
No comments:
Post a Comment