Assignments

First assignment

RSS

May 20th, 2007 by susaniram | Edit

As a former Social Worker I am interested in the interface between health care and the community. It is a ‘broad and fuzzy’ area, and not easy to access information about issues that don’t fall directly within one discipline.

I am having trouble at present evaluating blogs, but I have put down a few sites and blogs that might give an insight into the massive range of issues being discussed. It is not possible to do justice to such a broad subject in a few links so I have just picked out a few that looked interesting from the results I got on the recommended search tools and I will just keep adding those I like to my favourite web sites page!

So this is a learning blog..not a recommended list and any feedback on the sites is welcome! :

This is a formal site , not a blog, on a whole range of community care issues

http://www.communitycare.co.uk/ as a starting point

And this is the 2007 conference on community care that has taken place this week highlighting hot topics and issues. ironically the RSS feed is to the 2006 conference but you can get to the 2007 conference details from there:

http://www.communitycare.co.uk/cclive/index.htm

The following blog  might be of interest:

http://www.medhumanities.org/2007/04/conference_on_c.html

This is the current source of statistics on health and social care issues:

http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care

Second Assignment

See Group 2 weblog for description of blogs

What makes a blog successful or appeal to you?

 Tidy presentation

Usability and clear navigational structure -I want to browse and not have to trawl through miles of text to find the discussion or  info that I want. Updates-nothing worse than reading yesterday’s newspaper

Good blogroll – it is a form of checking out the reference point s of the writer

Interesting content presented with a lively discursive tone

Proof of reliability (so annoying finding something interesting but you don’t know how to corroborate anything that is being said!)

Easy to find RSS feed buttons

Responsiveness to comments -to be sure the author is hearing your views as well as uploading theirs to you

What roles can blogs play in library setting?

• Information gateways /repository- other web 2 tools could be linked into the blog to make sure that users can go to a single place for what  are already scattered e-resources ( links to Library elf, connotea, nlh and base library could all be categorised on the library blog roll)
• library news, etc. (this may not be necessary  for although , in many corporate settings, the content of the  web site  is out of the control of the library staff..and blog would give them that control..tha is not always the case).
• The Blog gives the library a profile for the ‘information perspective’ to come over, which can be lost amongst other corporate and professional messages
• a feedback, suggestions and recommendations tool
• updates from the catalogue on new books and journals

1. What does your library need to do in order to start blogging?

• get going! It is easy to put it off so it needs to be raised and prototyped so people can see what it is and what it can do
• define the information and communication purpose for the library (news outlet, suggestion box..whatever!) that could be met by a blog with colleagues
• confirm the acceptability to the organisation’s corporate communications team of the blog/wiki/podcast concept (although it would be about information issues it still needs to be part of the main communications thrust of the institution, as the blog could just become a little add on and an extra place to go for information on top of everything else, instead of a live tool in the main conversation of hte hospital’s work).
• integrate the blog with the library communications strategies 
•  design and create the relevant pages and links and set up a tool for updating and responding to posts
• set up RSS feeds
• pilot and market
• re-design

Third Assignment social bookmarking and folksonomies

See posts on folksonomies.

Evaluations

I have looked at de.licio.us and Connotea. I have to say I really love Connotea..it is just what I have been looking for to pull together all those great articles you find on the web and know you will never track down again. I understand the value of tagging in this context, although I am not sure whether I would use it at work until I had a better feel for the tool. I know Drugscope use it for their current awareness service.

De.licio.us

I find delicious a bit clumsy to be honest. I don’t like the way it presents information and I don’t find it easy to navigate. I prefer the structure of Connotea but there is a collateral mass of tags on delicious so the potential for a real ‘folksonomy’ is greater I suppose. 

Fourth Assignment wikis

I have been playing with wikis and have made one as a template to work on my individual assignment, and I am thinking of creating one with the material I have gained on this course, soI can roll out some of what I have learned on the course.

 I looked at a number of medical wikis. I have picked out Radiopaedia , aimed at radiology students. It highlights some of the concerns I have about medical wikis

Radiopaedia has a clear statement of intention, but no statement about moderation http://www.radiopaedia.org/index.php?title=Radiopaedia.org:About

There is a disclaimer in the footnotes :

None of the information here is to be used for self diagnosis or treatment. If you suffer from a medical condition, or think you do, please go see a doctor. We do not accept responsibility for you failing your exams either, not that you will of course

but it is hard to find and is no more than ‘back covering’ really. The information can probably be easily assessed by an expert in the field, however, by virtue of being a student you would not be an expert and so it is not beyond reasonable doubt that a reader may simply be picking up someone else’s mistaken understanding of a topic.

The democracry of wikis is wonderful, but the actual reliability for health information is questionable unless:

• the moderating policy is clear and clearly adhered to
• the moderators clearly have expertise in the field that can be relied upon
• there is a statement explaining how they assess information
• entries are clearly dated and owned
• as a ‘text book’ I wonder about the risk of blatant plagiarism and breaches of copyright, as students might simply copy and paste articles on to the

I would not refer anyone to this site except an expert to give me an opinion of it.

 Comments also made on  Knowledge worker’s wiki 

Fifth assignment

See mash ups discussion.

I also ‘played’. I am beginning to play around with some demo blogs/wikis/podcasts for my individual assignment and to look at ideas I can take forward after the course. I have set up a library blog demo site to talk to colleagues about whether a library blog might have value, and a demo wiki to consider  how we might use wikis  at work, and whether they have an information purpose in our current work plans.

The podcasting software trial was really  fun to play around with, although to produce anything ‘impressive’, it would mean mixing music etc. and then copyright issues come to the fore! As a teaching tool for induction, which was my first idea, it takes a lot of work to see that aids learning and is not just a monologue. It is easy just to upload information, but finally my feeling was that:

• either it would be better to do a screencast, so that users are using visual as well as audio cues.
• or if I used just a podcast it  would need to be played on an ipod as the user walked around the library. This way the user would engage viusally, kinaesthetically and aurally , and could go to the desk to ask questions  if anything was unclear. The user could use the podcast when they felt they had time, and would not need to wait for a librarian toprovide the induction service. If the podcast were also uploaded on to a blog site , the user  could refer back to it.

I have used the trial software to create a couple of mp3 files, but don’t as yet have a serious demo for the library induction. My problem is scripting..finding time to do a walk around the library and script what the user would see, and what they would need to know. Once I have done that I will find a host for the podcast as Bertha suggests and put it up for people to hear. Please feedback when it gets there!

 I have also been playing with ideas and engaging with colleagues about the relevance of RSS to current awareness services.

Sixth Assignment

Library 2.0

• How will the technological trends change the information environment and user behaviours? And how can libraries meet the challenges?
•           The concern that seems to underpin ‘Library 2.0′is that the library is becoming irrelevant and  users are side-stepping us. Blyberg’s blog article - 11 reasons why libary 2.0 exists and matters is well-constructed and pertinent. The of refering immediately  to the internet in UK is already established amongst MANY users

What is not true though is that  all NHS staff have either intranet access or even use of a computer in their work. So there are administrative and organisatonal factors that are mitigating against Library 2.0 as well.The traditional library still holds a strong and relevant role and presence in health organisations.

 Increasingly though there is an expectation that reliable information will be found full text online, and is accessible in a way that makes sense to the user.

This is where I believe finally the technology is leading. Publishers will produce what they think they can sell. Content  is not enough -it is the added value that users will pay for. 

Users want information accessible when and where they want to access it, and increasingly in format that enables absolute currency, and in context (it relates to the body of information on that topic and relates to the social or professional context).

This is where library 2.0 is needed to ensure the profession can adapt to this changing market. Internet applications make it much easier to side step publishers , and the rigmarole of professional indexing and use the collaborative power of the profession/community  to publish what the users really want, when they want it, with very little investment , technical skill or knowledge needed.

Both publishers and librarians can see the competition message - the writing is on the wall-unless information professionals  add value to what can be produced on a desk top by a reasonably competent professional – the information professions will become obsolete through lack of relevance.

The book is an amazing technology that will not die out easily though, with remarkable features that electronic resources cannot yet replace. Yet, library 2.0 is a discussion that is challenging our  emotional attachment to book and  journal technology formats. The information professional -both librarian and publisher have previously simply transferred the print into online format without recognising the added potential of the web. Web 2.0 is bringing home that potential now! 

Web 2.0 places at the disposal of the user: 

•  the power of the database and cms to disaggregate information, and represent in a fully searchable
• the power of the web to deliver to the desktop without an intermediary and update upto the second of publishing
• the collaborative power of consensus to develop information bases and organise information
• multiple digital formats to impart information in a user friendly format 

Stiff competition when the alternative is to travel to a library, prove identity, fill in a form, get a library card, find the book or journal you want is not in that library and you are simply beginning a process to acquire the article you want by post and e-mail. 

However, it is easy to believe, once engaged with technology, that everyone is using it. In fact that is untrue. My children use Myspace and MSN, and crammer sites for their exams…but have no idea about blogs, wikis, and podcasts (apart from their music downloads). The most up to date nursing professional cannot always access a computer on the ward, nor are all consultants necessarily engaged with RSS readers; above all use of the technologies still have some way to go before a medical professional can rely on the authority of a collaborative information tool when defending a law suit!

The new technologies  offer collaboration and usability, but are not the entire future. I believe users will come to expect more full text, more relevance, more usability, and they are increasingly likely to ’own’ information on the net by participating in forums, discussions, wikis, podcasts etc. in a way that the one way traditional publishing and information delivery process cannot achieve.

However, they will always require reliability above all else.

Library 2.0 could be a way of delivering  usability and contextual relevance. but with a guarantee of authority and reliablity. It is not about running around trying to improve our image and appearing  relevant. It is in fact a very  real opportunity to add value, yet ensure the standards that are core to information delivery are not lost.

Library 2.0 is about a real role. By applying intellectual  rigour to the web 2.0 potential, library 2.0 offers a more effective way to help professionals deal with the increasing information overload in their work, (imposed partly by information that is being published without provenance information or authority). 

The collaboration, consensus and ease of publishing new technologies offer can help libraries reach  users and understand their perspective/needs more effectively. So library 2.0 needs to happen.

However, the information role librarians always played  in setting standards is needed more than ever, as publishing for all becomes easier, andnour traditional services are far from out of date.

What are the implications of the technological trends on information literacy? And how can libraries meet the challenges?

Given the above, the need for distinguishing between presentation and information is greater than ever, when faced with a plethora of internet sites, wikis, blogs, online journals, databases, visual  photographic information -often coded with subliminal marketing messages as well.

There is no easy ‘kite’mark of quality with which users can measure accuracy, reliability and validity. So traditional information appraisal skills are needed more than ever;which suggests the librarians information skills training role may augment.

 Promoting understanding of the range of publishing tools and readers for users that may not be familiar with web 2.0 so they can access the value from these technologies , is also a relevant new task for librarians to add to their current awareness information skills package.

Libraries will need to deliver in new formats for those using the technologies effectively, and keep up with the skill base of their users. This will mean , investing more time in evaluating their professional role in relation to new trends, whilst still delivering their core services, which will be a major challenge to budgets and time management.

So the roles are expanding, and the challenge will be to maintain service whilst fulfiling the demands the new technologies will impose.

Individual Assignment

To write the individual assignment I have mocked up a demo Library Blog, Wiki and a podcast to show how they could be used to support a Dedicated librarian service and to create a more interactive online presence than a static intranet site, whilst linking it in to the exisitng online system.

It is only a mock up and the podcast is DIRE! It was just to play around! However,  I found the podcast really easy to host at www.podbean.com,  and it matches the stylesheets for the blog so makes a very seamless link between the two services..no different to turning a page!

The aim would be to use thes with a wiki service as part of a customised service to departments. So the three are all linked to uhbliblog.wordpress.com if anyone wants a look