Public library 2.0: culture change?

• Sarah Hammond
• Ariadne Web Magazine, Issue 64

27 August 2010This article explores UK public libraries' growing participation in social media to reach their audiences online, with a focus on blogging.

"Beginning in the mid 2000s I began keeping an eye on how libraries have been getting involved with social software - I started this haphazardly just out of interest but then I started to be more systematic when I needed to explore online resources for my organisation, the National Railway Museum. When I left to pursue my MA in Librarianship at the University of Sheffield I took the opportunity to do some serious research into the subject with a focus on UK public libraries as it seemed to me that they were hugely under-represented online. Although that research met its purpose in gaining me my degree in 2009 I was not content to leave it there; I had had such an overwhelming response to my online survey I knew that this was a topic that excited interest, both positive and negative. In a fast-moving world where what was the 'killer app' yesterday is all but forgotten tomorrow, it can be hard for the practitioner to keep abreast of what is happening. I intend to provide an overview of current public library activity online with a focus on blogging (as that was the focus of my research) and demonstrate some examples of success."