The first five . . .
The following summarizes various characteristics of five library-related blogs I am currently following:
- Authors: seven different librarians representing public, academic, and school libraries; group post every few months; allows guest bloggers; “each article is peer-reviewed by at least one external and one internal reviewer”.
- Content: varied topics related to libraries.
- Recent topics: part-time temporary library jobs, Facebook, disappearance of books, WikiLeaks, student library & technology use study results.
- Most recent post: 2/9/11 post; updated every two weeks.
- Narrative and tone: some posts are first-person; some are third-person; more formal; reads like an article.
- Average post length: quite long so that only one post will fit on a page – the most recent post took 12 page scrolls from top to bottom.
- Graphics: each post typically begins with a colorful photo and uses bold headings to delineate content sections.
- Live links: yes, but not overwhelmingly so; depends on author.
- Author: community college librarian.
- Content: libraries and technology, higher education.
- Recent topics: weeding printed books, researching a reference question, fear of computers/technology, beginning of semester busy-ness, negativity about librarianship.
- Most recent post: 2/15/11 post; updated weekly.
- Narrative and tone: first-person; informal; conversational; posts are mini stories based on author’s reference desk observations.
- Average post length: about four paragraphs; a quick read.
- Graphics: each post typically begins with a colorful photo.
- Live links: sometimes a few.
- Author: university librarian.
- Content: Library 2.0 tools, technology and libraries.
- Recent topics: many posts are short snippets with links to other people’s content about technology and libraries, e.g., an eBooks and libraries presentation, a mobile library site post, technology book reviews.
- Most recent post: 2/9/11 post; updated quite sporadically, anywhere from five days to three weeks or more.
- Narrative and tone: first-person; informal.
- Average post length: one to four short paragraphs; a quick read.
- Graphics: some posts have a colorful graphic; some video.
- Live links: about 2-4; also a list of three more links at bottom of each post.
- Author: public librarian.
- Content: technology and libraries.
- Recent topics: top ten personal links; eBooks and libraries, PostPost, OITP digital literacy announcement, librarian superhero contest.
- Most recent post: 2/13/11 post; updated every 2-3 days.
- Narrative and tone: first-person; informal; conversational.
- Average post length: most are two to four paragraphs, a few are fairly long – the most recent post required 4 page scrolls from top to bottom.
- Graphics: most posts have at least one colorful graphic or video.
- Live links: can range from one to many depending on content.
- Author: public librarian.
- Content: social web, emerging trends, libraries.
- Recent topics: library mobile app, social media use questions, making videos, Addict-o-matic.
- Most recent post: 2/17/11 post; updated every 2-4 days.
- Narrative and tone: first-person; informal; conversational.
- Average post length: most are four to eight paragraphs.
- Graphics: most posts have at least one colorful graphic or video.
- Live links: typically 0-4.
The first blog, In the Library With the Lead Pipe, strikes me as the one most different from the rest: several authors as opposed to one; a tone more formal than conversational; unusually long posts that read more like articles as opposed to short, concise observations or chunks of information. Other general differences amongst the blogs: authors – academic vs. public librarians; frequency of new posts – some are updated every few days while others are updated twice a month or less; content – most concentrate heavily on tech and Library 2.0 issues while some cover other general library topics as well.
After reviewing these five blogs (having never previously been a reader of blogs), it became clear to me that I prefer a format composed of concise observations and ideas. I like to scan and skim for information, and therefore am most comfortable with bite-size bits of it; long posts that require a lot of scrolling lose my interest quickly. I also very much appreciate the informal, conversational tone of writing evident in some of the blogs. My favorite of these is easily The Librarian’s Commute due to the author’s engaging story-like style of writing and the fact that her personality comes through in her weekly accounts of academic librarianship.
Three more of interest . . .
For this blogging exercise, I am also subscribed to and following three additional library-related blogs of my choice:
Author: Ellyssa Kroski, college librarian (also an adjunct SJSU SLIS faculty member).
Subsection of Online Education Database; updated several times each week. While the author doesn’t offer her own content, what I like about this blog is that she alerts readers to interesting articles “on Library 2.0 and the information revolution” by providing very brief summaries with links, thereby allowing the choice of which ones to read in more depth.
Author: Meredith Farkas, university librarian (another adjunct SJSU SLIS faculty member).
Updated 2-3 times per month. Topics run the gamut from various facets of librarianship and library services to info lit instruction to tech trends and libraries. While the posts are lengthy, the topics and writing are very thought-provoking.
Author: Sarah Houghton-Jan, public librarian.
Updated 2-3 times per month. This author’s tongue-in-cheek sense of humor really comes through in her posts about libraries and digital services. Until recently I also appreciated her posts about services at the San Jose Public Library (since I am a patron); alas she has since moved on to a library north of San Francisco, but I won’t hold that against her and will continue to follow her blog.
From my viewpoint, these three blogs are all successful. What makes a blog successful? The fact that somebody chooses to read it. So in my eyes these blogs are successful because I choose to follow and read them. The reasons for my choices?
iLibrarian:
Reason 1. Interesting content – links to Library 2.0 and information topics, both of which I have an interest in.
Reason 2. Brief, concise posts that I can easily skim and choose from.
Information Wants To Be Free:
Reason 1. Interesting content – often about social software and tech trends, two of my interests.
Reason 2. This blog breaks the usual mold for the length of posts I prefer to read, but I thoroughly enjoy the author’s subject knowledge and exceptional style of writing; it makes me think and I appreciate that.
Librarian In Black:
Reason 1. Interesting content – digital library services, again an interest of mine.
Reason 2. Author’s humorous style of writing – I always a good chuckle.
The common theme here is that content is king; my greatest interests lie in all things digital and technological when it relates to libraries. Secondary, but nevertheless important, characteristics affecting whether or not I choose to read a blog include brevity and conciseness of posts (unless the author’s writing style is particularly engaging), a conversational writing tone (humor goes a long way), and the ability of the author to connect with the reader on some level.
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