By Sarah Statz Cords
I’ve never really developed a satisfactory answer for the question, “What does 2.0-anything really mean?” so I have a habit of checking out books that have “2.0″ in the title. One of the better such books I’ve found is Ben Rigby’s Mobilizing Generation 2.0: A Practical Guide to Using Web 2.0. The book’s jacket copy promises that it is a “practical and immediately useful guide for nonprofits, political campaigns, organizers, and individuals who want to better understand how to use Web 2.0 technologies.” I say the word “libraries” should be added to that description; this is a handy overview for any library staff member not only wanting to understand new and collaborative web technologies, but also how to start using them to reach out to new populations.
The book includes chapters on blogging, social networking, video and photo sharing, mobile phones, wikis, maps, and virtual worlds. Although not all library staff will have an interest in all of these topics, there’s enough easy-to-read information here for everyone to learn a little something. One of my favorite aspects of this book is its practical layout; in addition to text, it also provides numerous sidebars with tips, examples, personal stories, and definitions. Consider the tip provided for “Ways to Use Blogs:”
“Blogs can be used to Announce (events, new products, services and initiatives), React immediately (to public criticism or praise), Convey (organizational messaging and identity), Involve (consituents by asking questions and listening to responses, and Close the feedback loop (give results of fundraising efforts, tell volunteers what they’ve achieved, and report back from conferences and events.” (p. 21.)
I love books that not only give me new ideas and suggestions, but which also do a lot of the work for me. That paragraph above? The next time your manager wants to know why your library NEEDS a blog, just recite any of those reasons. I still don’t know that I have an answer for exactly what 2.0 means. But I think if I read a few more books like this one I’ll be able to use 2.0 tools to reach out to new readers and patrons.
