LIBRARIES IN THE CHANGING WEB ENVIRONMENT

Tanja Merčun

University of LjubljanaDepartment of Library and Information Science and Book Studies

the changing environment: users - web - society

web 2.0 and libraries: a wake-up call

how to remain relevant players?

innovative services

new standard for user-centred design

intuitive tools

constant change

flexibility

openess

user engagement

sharing

collaboration

interaction

personalization

web 2.0 evaluation

network effect

usefulness

quality of user contibuted content

privacy

trust

critical mass

sustainability

maintainence

accessibility

security

2.0 philosophy vs. tools/technology

what & how

library 2.0 in Slovenia

not many libraries offering active user participation, communication with peers or personalization

unrealistic to expect a broad 2.0 adoption

problems in Slovene libraries: – unused services– difficult user communication with the library– directing users away from the site– lacking contents (rich, unique and useful information that

would attract users)

first attract and keep users as regular visitors of library websites if we want to apply 2.0 services foruser-to-user interaction and communication

choosing 2.0 features – evaluate current services– find out what users need– define the aims– what & how to implement & how to maintain it

3 groups of library 2.0 features:

1. usability

– features that add to the site’s usability and are independent from the number of their users

– personalization, communication forms, RSS, mushups, browsing & exploratory options, my library

2. social networking

– features libraries can use for marketing and connecting with their users

– twitter, Facebook, chats

3. user supplied content

– features that allow users to contribute content and at the same time require the library to abandon the total control

– ratings, comments, reviews, tagging, …

libraries slowly opening up their virtual spaces

a few libraries leading the way

in creating 2.0 services, libraries have started using 2.0principles

libraries need to work together to create better services for users, exploit the full potential of 2.0 and surpass some of the 2.0 issues (criticalmass, maintainence)

are libraries in Slovenia ready for 2.0 environment?

still not a thorough understanding of the concept, itspotentials and possible pitfalls

Web 2.0 could help libraries move forward, better servetheir users, provide an enriched set of services and contents, reinvent their virtual spaces and turn them into valuable third places for all users

will libraries be able to use that to their advantage?

thank you!

tanja.mercun@ff.uni-lj.si