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Apologies for cross- posting but I wanted to extend my thanks to Linda for this very succinct and reasoned reply - and to all the others who have contributed in response to my original request for information about evaluating Web 2.0 - it's not often I get the opportunity to open up such a wide ranging and mind broadening public debate! I think the lessons I have learnt from this are, in a nutshell: - It is possible to evaluate Web 2.0 and provide good evidence but you have to look beyond the traditional methods of counting heads etc. (We have also started logging posts and corresponding followers on twitter etc) - Web 2.0 is here to stay, it is as Phil Bradley points out, more a state of mind or an attitude than a set of tools and applications, so it can't be banned - There is a need for huge investment in Web 2.0, mainly in time, staff development and communication - Web 2.0 needs to be embraced across the organisation because it is pointless trying to manage it or control it centrally when the community has already leapt ahead of us I feel that I have come full circle now because one of the case studies you quote, Linda, the Get It Loud In Libraries, was started in Lancashire! http://www.myspace.com/getitloudinlibraries Regards, Glyn Sinar Applications and Systems Senior Manager Lancashire County Library and Information Service Lancashire County Council Adult and Community Services East Cliff PO Box 162 PRESTON PR1 3EA Tel: 01772 534006 Fax: 01772 534880 [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: lis-pub-libs: UK Public Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Linda Berube Sent: 05 March 2010 15:47 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Fw: Re: Fw: Evaluating use of Web 2.0 in Libraries Hello Many interesting points to consider on this and the Web2 list. I was working with public libraries, both nationally and regionally, when the encouragement to experiment with Web 2.0 tools started to take hold through numerous courses, articles, books, etc. I myself was approached to write such a book, largely of the similar type of exhortation, and because I did believe that the Web 2.0 ethos, along with the tools themselves, had something to offer public libraries trying to connect with communities, I accepted the onerous task. But the book, while including many inspiring examples, is mostly about hard lessons learned from the successes and failures, and advice from public librarians which might assist their colleagues in ‘getting it right the first time.’ (although I’m not sure if this ever truly happens!) Yes, there are the success stories (I had my pick of case studies and examples to include in the book), but, I would say more often than anyone would care to admit, there were failures, or perhaps an awful lot of sites suffering from benign neglect. And some of the successes were near failures because of the myriad challenges public libraries have to face, even to implement a blog or a wiki that is hosted by a third-party supplier, never mind their own IT departments. The librarians I interviewed were incredibly honest about problems with their local authority IT, legal, and corporate communication departments (because even if you are using third-party wiki software, the local authority may discourage you from using branding that associates it with the site!) As others have pointed out, cost is not the only motivation behind the pressure to get it right the first time. As someone who has had my fair share of success and failures implementing public library cooperative services, I was familiar with the catalogue of obstacles listed by librarians that are placed in a library's path in the name of avoiding risk. The business case need not be a paper exercise to please the masters: it can be a tool of self-discovery; to evaluate whether a library is truly ready to be 'social'; to answer those questions Phil posed as well as to change its manner of interacting with communities. The original question had to do with evaluation: there has been a notable 'evaluation by-pass' in the use of these tools--most librarians I spoke with said it was too early in the process for evaluation. But maybe it is the difficulty of determining success: after all, how do most users of Facebook and Twitter determine success, and is that an appropriate measure for libraries? Do we really want to consider success based on number of visits to social networking sites, when those visits have not resulted in social interaction with librarians and other users? Ken spoke of the role of LMS suppliers and the integration of Web 2.0 tools, which called to my mind the current examples of social catalogues: BiblioCommons from Canada (http://www.bibliocommons.com/) and SOPAC from the US (see http://www.darienlibrary.org/catalog ), as well as LibraryThing for Libraries (http://www.librarything.com/forlibraries/) . But, even with all this innovation about, the challenge is still how to get users to not only visit and take in information, but also to stay awhile, communicate with us and each other. It was ever thus. This has turned into a bit of a treatise for which I can only apologise and in compensation leave you with some great sites I found: StoryTubes http://www.storytubes.info/drupal/ (you’ve got to see the chicken girl!) Worthingteens www.myspace.com/worthingteens (I like especially the pop-out music player) Get It Loud in Libraries http://www.myspace.com/getitloudinlibraries Worthington Libraries-Just Read It! www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqBl2lV6dEQ (you’ll be rotfl!) ******************** This e-mail contains information intended for the addressee only. It may be confidential and may be the subject of legal and/or professional privilege. If you are not the addressee you are not authorised to disseminate, distribute, copy or use this e-mail or any attachment to it The content may be personal or contain personal opinions and unless specifically stated or followed up in writing, the content cannot be taken to form a contract or to be an expression of the County Council's position. 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