Web2.0 > Edinburgh City Libraries

Edinburgh City Libraries

We invited the digital team at Edinburgh City Libraries to tell us about their recent adoption of Web2.0 tools.

Facebook

Social networking site

Flickr

Web based photo sharing site

Twitter

Micro-blogging/social networking service

Wordpress

Blogging service

Background

Edinburgh City Libraries wanted to raise their profile within the Edinburgh City Council and with their existing users. They also wished to reach out to new users who they may not have reached with traditional methods. Furthermore, using these types of tool can help enhance the experience for existing users. So, in February 2009, they began the process of launching and evaluating a wide range of Web2.0 tools. Over the following few months they chose the 4 services listed above as the ones that provide the greatest value to the service and were the most sustainable.

Benefits

Cheap.

Web2.0 applications are cheap, often free.

Simplicity.

Web2.0 tools are easy to use, even for relative novices, and flexible. This reduces reliance upon specialised IT departments who may otherwise find additional web content to be a burden they don't have the resources to deal with.

Visible.

The Tales of One City blog has also helped to raise the profile of library services within the council. They have also found it to be a simple way of reaching new users.

Helps to ensure that your service is future-proof.

Becoming familiar with Web2.0 technologies now embeds new skills to ensure that future web developments are easily adopted.

Challenges

Although these tools are cheap, often free, maintenance is required.

One of the compelling reasons for using Web2.0 applications is that they encourage currency. This becomes an expectation, which you have to be prepared to meet if you wish to exploit the tool.

Competing priorities.

Properly implementing We2.0 tools is a long term commitment. The use of Web2.0 applications cannot be temporarily abanonded.

Gaining management support.

Managers need to understand the business case for using Web2.0 services within libraries and assign appropriate resources.

Security

Can you guarantee that the accounts won’t be compromised?

Technological barriers

Legacy systems can also raise technological barriers. Internet explorer 6, for example, is still widely used on corporate networks and is not always compatible with many popular Web2.0 applications. Youtube, for example, is ending support for it soon.

Future Plans

Edinburgh City Libraries have no specific plans for future, although they do continue to monitor developments in Web2.0 technologies.

Hints and Tips

Stick to established Web2.0 applications.

You should go to your audience rather than expect them to come to you.

Be aware of developments in Web2.0 technology.

The web and Web2.0 technologies develop very quickly. Be prepared that something new may become importnant, even dominant in a very short time.

Write once, publish many.

For example, new posts on the Tales of One City blog are automatically pushed to Twitter and Facebook using RSS feeds.

Don't use these applications in isolation, always link between them and make sure that your library service has a good presence on your corporate web pages.

Tales of One City gets a spike in page views when it is featured on the Edinburgh City Council web pages.

Make sure that you are clear about what you intend the benefits of using these applications to be.

Don't use something because it is the new web trend. Use it because you have an idea about how you can improve your service.