Wrap up - Social Networking - Thank you

I can see a number of uses for social networking in the Library. MySpace to promote programs and services for young people. What about a MySpace page to build a network of 'Friends of the Library'.

Thank you to all those hard working people at the State Library who have made this course possible. It has been a great learning experience.

Online applications and tools

I am amazed at the variety of online applications available for free. I am sorry they weren't around a couple of years ago - maybe they were and I just wasn't aware -before my Library provided Microsoft Office products for customer use. However, I can still see a use for them as a service for Library customers. We charge for customers to use Microsoft Office products and it can work out quite expensive for customers having long assignments etc to type up. These free online products could be offered as an alternative to customers who cannot afford to pay.

LibraryThing

Great to be able to see who reads the books you like and read their reviews. One of the things that impresses me about these social networking sites is how they generate the html code so that you can add the features to your blog. I can see uses for both LibraryThing and Del.icio.us for Libraries. LibraryThing could be used as a tool for Booksclubs and Readers Advice. I liked the Sutherland Library use of Del.icio.us. I can see this is a way to provide access to Links on a Library webpage. It would also be great to be able to open it up to Library customers to add tags if they found a link that they thought was particularly useful on a subject.

Mashups (2)

Great to be able to add captions to a photograph so easily. I can see a use for this in adding captions to photographs to be used on the Library website and for adding some 'fun' to photographs on Library events pages. I am interested in investigating the use of maps further as I can see would be a good way of getting maps to put on website to show locations of branches etc. I would need more practice at this and unfortunately haven't got a lot of time at the moment.

Mashups

Where I've been

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

I thought I had visited a lot of the world until I plotted it on this map - obviously I need to do some more travelling.

del.icio.us

I have set up an account in del.icio.us and put a link to it on my blog. Seems like a great tool for organising and categorising websites. Could be used in place of the list of links to good and popular websites that now appear on most library websites under various subject headings.