Thing 8: Libraries & Communication TWITTER & IM

I read a revealing article about Library 2.0 and communication at Suite 1.0.com. Allan Choi defines Library 2.0 in his article, Library 2.0 and the New Librarianship: New Ways of Understanding Libraries. Choi explains that Library 2.0 represents a new way of performing library services. The following is a list of the tools he believes should be used by libraries; it is interesting to note that all of these tools can enhance communication between the library/librarian and their patrons.

* Instant messaging
* Video sharing
* Podcasting
* Photo sharing
* Blogs and wikis
* Social networks
* Folksonomies and social tagging
* RSS feeds
* web mashups

Twitter Explained for Librarians, or 10 Ways to use Twitter David Lee King's blog is worth checking out; his three subheadings for his blog are social web, emerging trends, libraries. In this article he explains that twitter is a tool to send web-based messages to your friends and colleagues. Twitter is an application that facilitates communication publicly or privately and facilitates up to the second access to what is happening with technology. King also explains that twitter can be used as a "personal note bucket" where you can "send yourself random thoughts that you don't want to lose." Brenda Branson replied to David's twitter post. "You know, I wish all my teachers would Twitter. So many times I think of something I need to tell them and it’d be so much quicker than a phone call or email." Here's the link to join twitter.


This video from Commoncraft demonstrates how using Twitter can help people communicate. Librarians could use twitter, especially the ones involved in 23Things, to share what they are doing with technology.



The Paradigm Flip chart below illustrates how libraries should evolve to be more in touch with modern technology and the needs of 2.0 learners. The entire article Flip This Library: School Libraries Need a Revolution is written by Christopher Harris. In his article he discusses how blogs can be used to extend discussions. Typically, a discussion about a piece of literature is done within the walls of a classroom; however, with today's technology, students can connect, communicate, and blog about their impressions of a poem, story, or book without being in the same space or even time frame. The writer can even connect with the readers by posting on the blog and then the readers can respond adding their comments to the pool of information. The students can even extend their knowledge by sharing social bookmarking tools such as Del.icio.us; or they can share photos using Flickr, and videos using YouTube or TeacherTube.


Click on the image to read the chart."Redefining the school library is not a response to some inherent failure on the part of the institution. It’s an opportunity for library professionals to engage in some exciting activities that will enable our institutions to remain effective in the midst of fast-moving technological change. It was school libraries, in fact, that led the way in the first wave that brought computers and then the Internet into our classrooms. This is about adapting, once again, to a new, perhaps even more compelling digital revolution, in which powerful new ideas are enhancing the way in which we function in an electronic information environment."

Allan Choi references the opportunities of IM from an article by Wesley Fryer. "A few of the potential benefits of IM in the classroom which should be highlighted in conversations like this include: The case for instant messaging in the classroom. article by Wesley Fryer

1. Opportunity to bring real-world experts into the classroom (who wouldn’t otherwise be able to visit)
2. Opportunity to bring greater levels of interactivity and engagement into classroom lessons for students
3. Opportunity to use real-world tools students will use outside the classroom walls and in real life
4. Opportunity to contextually address and discuss Internet safety issues, appropriate use of IM technologies, etc.
5. Opportunities for students to learn and practice effective digital collaboration techniques."