British Library Web 2.0

The British Library’s (BL) Web 2.0 information stance is via youtube.  How brilliant!  It really informs the viewer and the user, besides a much larger scope of an audience to learn what the British Library has to offer.  The video From Bones to Bytes is a great marketing and advertising tool. But, I wonder what frequent users of the British Library think about this v-cast?

 

 

Also, the user may not even know it ever existed, as it’s not attached or linked to the BL’s web pages. Maybe I am looking in the wrong places–services, reader services, etc, but I couldn’t find it as an embedded source on the BL’s site.  

It’s really too bad, because I think it’s a beneficial way of gaining patronage throughout the world who use the web, who use youtube, and who use web 2.0 applications.  This social software approach is appropriately friendly, in order to provide positive attitudes towards information literacy, research, and use of current and updated technological services.  With this v-cast, the BL and any library for that matter, seems “user friendly.”  

The speaker, Tim Campbell, discusses in the YouTube Video above, various genres and specializations, the public who are able to utilize the library, and reference desk information.  He also provides information on how a patron can obtain a reader’s pass, the rules and regulations, architecture and space, current technological processes, and exhibitions they offer.  It’s a vast scope that he covers in about four minutes, but a beneficial way of advertising a “special gem of information” that should be utilized.

A beneficial way of this v-cast being utilized is by placing it on the BL website.  I think the BL would benefit from the youtube video.  The BL may also already notice a difference in the numbers of patrons utilizing the reading room, etc. now, than before the video was produced?  The thoughts of the BL may be to separate the web sites from the web 2.0 material, but if the library is supposed to be the forerunner in digitization, technology and other services for the user, wouldn’t this be a benefit for the BL and their patrons?  

I think the web sites and the BL’s RSS feeds look great and are user friendly, as with the video–can’t they just be placed together?  

 

NYPL LAB

The New York Public Library’s immersion of Web 2.0 is a grandiose affair.  (And also seems fun.)  It’s really clean looking, only simple navigation is needed by the user and classical and elegantly styled pages are observed.  This is ironically, similar to the Humanities and Social Sciences Building on 42nd Street and 5th Avenue, in Bryant Park–classical, simple and well, symmetrical.  (The image shown is from the NYPL web site.)

Okay, that’s once the user is on the Lab page, but how does one get there from the NYPL index page? Hmmm, just a day ago there was an option for the user to click on one of revolving digital images shown on NYPL’s index page.  Where did it go?  I can only assume not enough people were utilizing the NYPL Labs project space?  If that is true, then the NYPL has to place that material out in front.  It would be such a shame to not incorporate the NYC community with the blogs, RSS feeds, 24 hours of public programming at the NYPL, and National Digital Newspaper Program that the NYPL Lab offers.  

These options are for the user, but the NYPL also offers other Web 2.0 possibilities for the NYPL staff, such as, exhibit builder.  I think what I enjoy especially about NYPL’s ideals and conceptions regarding their RSS feeds and other blogging areas, are the incorporation of the user and the public.  They have introduced a comment for every section, even when most users would probably not “intend” to comment, the NYPL does not assume anything. Rather this approach informs the user which, emphasizes and provides a hybrid of information literacy and Web 2.0 technology.  When the NYPL creates a commentary space for the NYPL section, Improved Metadata Creation Interface it just validates that Web 2.0 is a strong link between the community and the library.  

For those of us users that don’t think we are high tech savvy, well, there’s always the Power Point presentation on what RSS is and how to use an RSS feed: Guidelines on how to contribute to the NYPL Labs section.  Plus, they just added an itunes feature, which provides information on archives and programs.  

I actually have the NYPL as my home page and would definitely use their features.  I think one of the negatives to the NYPL Labs is getting to the page though.  It was on the revolving digital image gallery on the home page, but it has been removed, as of today (April 10th.)  One of the easiest ways of getting to the NYPL Lab is via the RSS feed, placed at the bottom of the home page.  Then on the right, the user can see the NYPL Lab hyperlink.  

Other than this point, I think the integration and collaboration between the patrons of the NYPL and the staff of the NYPL, besides the Web 2.0 and library 2.0 features offer beneficial information to the community of NYC.