Setting Sail in Uncharted Waters

One sure way to learn about blogs and blogging is to jump in and participate in this engaging and vital virtual community! Rather than using traditional e-mail and attachments to communicate, why not utilize the very technology being explored? As our fledgling group of CyberExplorers sets sail in what is uncharted waters for us, this blog will help us experiment with this resource's various nuances and options. Following, is a synopsis of our activities to date:

A small group of curious and adventurous library types gathered on Tuesday, Jan. 8, for the inaugural meeting of a new staff committee. Our self-identified members represent the following library departments: Administration, Adult Reference, Outreach, and Youth Services, http://www.hepl.lib.in.us. This group is charged with the task of investigating the Blogosphere and determining its suitability as a forum for promoting our own library resources and services and as a method of internal and external communication and collaboration. We were asked to consider some basic questions: who blogs, what do they blog about, what policies direct and control their postings, what examples can be found of library blogs?

In attendance were four of five initial "explorers," each of whom came armed with personal research, experiences, and impressions. During the 1-1/4-hour meeting, we shared our initial impressions and distributed distilled copies of individual findings. A free-form discussion ranged over multiple topics and related issues:

• Security vs. freedom of expression
• Purely informational format vs. allowing comments and dialogue
• Blog vs. Wiki
• MySpace vs. Facebook vs. YouTube
• Single authorship vs. collaborative authorship
• Staff time required vs. benefits of connecting with public
• Importance of training and designated work-time
• In-house hosting vs. free external host vs. fee-based host with extra options and controls
• One or two broadly focused blogs vs. multiple tightly focused ones
• Server capacity and technology issues
• Need for a systems committee member
• Importance of identifying goals, purpose, and focus for each blog posted
• Various potential audiences based on age, interest, etc.
• Internal vs. external applications
• Importance of posting frequently and professionally, with worthwhile content
• How many libraries are already actively engaged in various forms of social software
• Method of engaging untapped pool of patrons

As the meeting concluded, all agreed that many other libraries are already active in the Blogosphere; our library should work diligently to join the online community. We realized that the initial scope of our inquiry was inadequate to address the complexity and diversity of social software available for libraries. It was agreed that we should take time to read and digest the materials shared by fellow committee members over the next two weeks. We resolved to develop a more realistic set of queries and possible responses. We plan to meet again on Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 4 PM, at the same location. At that time, we will continue to discuss and share thoughts and opinions as we move toward developing recommendations for the consideration of Department Heads and the Board.

It is hoped that this blog will facilitate ongoing dialog in the time between in-person committee meetings. Committee members should feel free to comment and add to this initial post. The blog will also serve as a resource for interested parties to monitor and gauge our progress toward fulfilling our purpose.