Wrap Up!

This has been a very useful assignment.  It was slightly overwhelming as so much was covered, but very worthwhile.  I found I was able to get an idea of the Web 2.0 tools available, and have gained some experience in using some of them.  My Buddy Group were very communicative and supportive.  We were able to help each other out when we had trouble figuring out how to do things by commenting on each other’s blogs.

I have achieved all of my goals:-

1.        Gain a working knowledge of as many of these different types of tools as possible.

I have signed up and used Blogger, Twitter, Wikipedia, Bitly, Delicious, Diigo, Google Maps, Dropbox, Yammer, Bloglines and Endnote.  It is useful to have an idea of what these tools do and how they work.  I know I will continue to use some of them that I have found particularly useful, others I probably won’t use again, but it is still important to know about these tools.

I will continue to use Diigo, Dropbox, Yammer, Endnote and possibly Bloglines as they are practical tools for the types of things I want to do or that I can use to keep track of information.  I find it difficult to juggle too many tools though, so I won’t be able to keep up with everything.

2.        How they can be used in libraries and other Information Management fields.

It is important for Information Professionals to keep up to date with social media tools, not only for our own use in keeping up with issues in the profession, e.g. following Information Management blogs, having our profiles on LinkedIn, it is also important for us to analyse these tools for their potential use in libraries (and other professional settings).  Some examples of these are:-

Public Libraries – the role of libraries is changing and one thing that I have noticed with some public libraries is providing training for users e.g. training for seniors in the community covering things like how to use the internet.  The library could (and already does in some places) expand its community training into things like keeping the public up to date with social media and how users can manage their own information e.g. social bookmarking.  The Public Library also has to communicate with its users in whichever way the user prefers e.g. some might like to keep up to date with the library via Twitter, others via Facebook, so the library has to have a presence in all the possible places their users might be spending their time.

Government libraries – the libraries in these organisations might not have to use social media to communicate to its users, but Information Management professionals can also be involved and help formulate how the organisation wide social media policy is developed, i.e. how the organisation as a whole communicates with its stakeholders.  Even though these organisations may not use social media internally, they use commercial tools that have the same kind of purpose, so understanding how these tools work and their potential is very important – the same kinds of skills can be used with these commercial or in-house tools.

University libraries – because university libraries have young clientele starting their study each year and using the services, it is important to keep up to date with the latest tools.  Libraries have to be where their users are – we can’t assume that our users will come to us.  That means we have to have a presence in all the places our users are spending their time and looking for information e.g. Twitter, Facebook etc.  It is also the role of the university library to help students and staff manage their own information in the case of their citations i.e. the university library runs courses on how to use Endnote.

Other special libraries – Because of their size and possibly smaller budgets, smaller libraries might use some of these free tools in place of commercial software, e.g. LibraryThing as their catalogue.  In smaller specialised organisations Information Professionals could be called on to advise on Social Media Policies and how to use these tools.

3.        How I can use these tools to organise my study and perhaps even my personal life.

There are many tools I have discovered that can help me with my study and personal life.  I will be using Endnote to organise my citations and Diigo to keep a track of websites and other information I find on the web.  I will also use Dropbox and Yammer.  I’m sure these tools will also be used in future group assignment work.

I feel I have gained a huge amount of experience and knowledge of these tools by working through the exercises each week.