WEB 2.0

One Saturday, as I sat in my research class I over-heard a couple of my classmates discussing Web 2.0. They were having a thorough discussion about it and what different colleges offered of it. I was completely dumb-founded by the name Web 2.0, but from my research I learned that I was quite familiar with it. The discussion of Web 2.0 is what will follow below.

First, Web 2.0 means different things to different people, but one of the common threads that runs through many definitions is the emergence of Internet tools that foster collaboration and interaction (Fox, 2009). In a recent online discussion, Tim O’Reilly, CEO of the technical publisher O’Reilly Media, described Web 2.0 as “harnessing the collective intelligence of users,” (Fox, 2009).

Next, there are many examples of Web 2.0 features that we have all become accustomed to using (Fox, 2009). Some common examples are: (1) reading a review of the Kindle 2 on Amazon.com written by a customer who recently purchased it; (2) commenting on an article discussing the economic bailout in the online version of The New York Times or in your local newspaper; (3) using a “tag cloud” to enhance your library catalog search for books on copyright and file sharing, or (4) becoming a fan of your local public library on Facebook or writing on a friend’s “wall,” (Fox, 2009). Web 2.0 tools include blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, Twitter, “tag clouds” for enhanced searching, and social networking sites like MySpace, LinkedIn, and Ning (Fox, 2009).

Ironically, I have been using Web 2.0 tools consistently for almost the last four months. For example, this blog that I am expected to write every week is considered to be a Web 2.0 tool. Funny! Anyway, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter are not Web 2.0 tools that I use often. I did have a Facebook page which I never bothered to decorate and is now defunct. I also opened an account with MySpace which I never use and should delete. I have never, nor will I ever create/open an account with Twitter, at least not for personal reasons. However, as a future librarian, if I had a job that required me opening a Twitter account for professional reasons, I’d be willing.

Finally, Web 2.0 tools such as Facebook, MySpace, wikis, blogs and etc. are impacting the internet constantly. Hence, not only do I know about Web 2.0 tools now but I have become accustomed to using a couple quite often.

Reference

Fox, D.F. (2009). What is web 2.0? American Association of Law Libraries Spectrum, 13 (9), 2A.

National Library Week

According to the American Library Association (ALA), National Library Week was first sponsored in 1958 and it's a national observance sponsored by the ALA and libraries across the country each April. ALA continues adding, it is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support. Originally, National Library Week started as a nonprofit citizens organization called the National Book Committee in 1954. The ALA and the American Book Publishers began this because during that time people were spending more money buying radios, televisions, and musical instruments than they were on books. Then in 1957, the committee developed a plan for National Library Week based on the idea that once people were motivated to read, they would support and use libraries.

This year, National Library Week will be celebrated April 11-17 with the theme, "Communities thrive @ your library. It's funny because I had no idea National Library Week even existed until I signed up to take a picture. In working at the reference desk, I learned of pictures being taken in to help celebrate NLW. Of course, I signed up and took a picture with my "favorite book," which was Maurice Sendak's Where The Wild Things Are. Notice the quotations around the words favorite book because that's not entirely true. While I greatly enjoy the book because it was my favorite childrens book as a kid, it isn't my overall "favorite" book. Come to think of it, I don't think that I have a favorite book. I have books that I really enjoy reading, and others that I am forced to read due to school. Personally, when it comes to books and clothes my motto is, I like what I like!

All information regarding National Library Week was obtained from the ALA's website:
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/pio/mediarelationsa/factsheets/nationallibraryweek.cfm

It pains me to say...

A few weeks back I discussed Google Scholar. In fact, within the blog I cited a research article that proved Scholar being better than some library resources. I must admit that since that blog, I have become somewhat of a Google Scholar junkie!! If I am trying to locate an article, as of late, I try Google Scholar first. Generally, if the article I'm looking for is available through Wayne State University, it's the first result listed. I have become so accustomed to going to Google Scholar in search of articles that I've begun recommending it to other WSU students.

Last Friday, a student was in need of some articles that he thought he had to pay to access. Upon providing me with the title to one of the articles, I went to locate it through Google Scholar. Of course, the article was listed at the top of the results and it was available at Wayne State. Two databases were listed as having the article available and they were Wilson Select Plus and Business Source Complete. After clicking the Wilson Select Plus link it was discovered that the article was not accessible through them after all. Through Business Source Complete, however, the article was accessible and in a PDF format.

Naturally, the student wanted to know how I was able to access this and other articles. Spending some time talking to him, I learned that he attempted to access these articles through the internet. Most times, articles listed through the internet will lead you to the journal from which it can be found and purchased. People don’t realize the link leading to the journal and/or article will only provide them with an option to purchase it.

Still, he had an interest in learning how he might be able to access these articles on his own. Initially, I recommended and even walked him through the steps of obtaining the articles from Google Scholar. My inner librarian kicked in, and I decided that it would be best to show him how to access the article(s) through Wayne’s library resources.

It pains me to say this, but using Google Scholar was better than using WSU's library resources. First, I went through WSU’s citation linker to type both the article and journal title into the search fields. Next, the journal title(s) where the article was available to be accessed appeared. Selecting one journal title led us to the journals homepage and the publications available throughout the years. Using Wayne’s library resources to try and access that article proved to be very challenging. Plus, citation linker is only useful if the name of the journal title is provided. Meaning, just providing the title of the article will not produce any results for a student to access that article.

Moreover, as a Graduate Student Assistant in the School of Library & Information Science at WSU, I was disappointed. This experience gave me a clear and new understanding as to why students may prefer making Google their first resort. I’ve spent nearly three months advocating for the usage of library resources over Google. Not that I still wouldn’t advocate for library resources but there has to be a way to simplify accessing articles through Wayne. Everything Wayne State provided about the article, Google Scholar did with less clicks and shorter time. We live in a generation where people want instant gratification. The average college student is not going to go through the process of accessing article titles if their library resources resemble Wayne State’s. Bottom line: Both the student and I concurred after trying Wayne and Scholar to go with Google Scholar for its simplicity and understandable format.

Feelings

Well, today is Good Friday and of course Wayne State is very much open. All in all, today is going smoothly and it's a beautiful day out. Monday of this week marked the beginning of 2010 Fall Registration. I am super excited because time is flying...I have one more semester to register for classes and that's 2010 Winter. I remember when I first started my MLIS Degree in the Fall of 2008. So much has happened since then and I wouldn't change anything. One of the major things that occurred in Fall of 2008 was the start of the MLIS Online Degree. Wayne State's Library & Information Science Program, as it was known in 2008, has grown tremendously. In 2009, the program became the School of Library & Information Science. Recently, a student within the SLIS began an email discussing the interest in parity between on-campus and online courses. Naturally, the the middle of the discussion quickly became on campus vs. online courses. This was my response:

Hello everyone,

I've seen/read nearly all of the responses to Ben's original post. I must say that I am very impressed to see my fellow students, with such passion might I add, articulate their beliefs/opinions regarding on campus/online courses. I too believe that the School has begun to tailor the degree more so to the needs of online students, as of late. I want to work in Public Libraries, essentially I want to become a Childrens Librarian. It was disheartening to see the lack of on campus classes being offered for the 2010 Spring/Summer semester(s). While I was blessed to find one being offered by the College of Education, I was amazed at how the SLIS is offering an abundance of online courses instead.I have been very fortunate in taking face-to-face courses, so encountering this "issue" for the 2010 Spring/Summer Semester(s) was a little surprising. I am not here to say which course style is better. I prefer face-to-face interaction/teaching because that is what most benefits me. I have only taken one online course and that was 6080 and I had a STRONG dislike for it. On the other hand, there are things that I learned from that class that I am still applying to my other LIS classes today. I would also like to add that in attending on campus classes I recognize that my mere attendance in those classes and doing homework aren't hardly enough. What should set any of us apart is the ambition and drive that each of us posesses, be it on campus/online, to adapt and thrive in a competitive profession.