Download a new internet literacy

Using Web 2.0 Applications as
Information Awareness Tools
Jay Bhatt and Dana Denick – Hagerty Library, Drexel University
Smita Chandra – Indian Institute of Geomagnetism
Presentation for:
International Conference of Asian Special Libraries
Shaping the future of special libraries: beyond boundaries
November 27th, 2008
Why Web 2.0?

New research initiatives being developed in
institutions, universities and organizations





Drexel and IIG are no exception
Multidisciplinary Fields: Nanotechnology, Plasma
Medicine, Engineering Cities, etc…
More research being done
New and innovative ways of reaching out to
researchers need further exploration
Need for increased information awareness of
new resources and tools
Why Web 2.0?



Web 2.0 tools are effective ways to share,
generate and distribute knowledge among
researchers – shared communication
Stephen Abrams thinks that Web 2.0 is “about a
much higher level of interactivity and deeper
user experiences…”
Potential for more academic and research based
collaborations
Web 2.0 Applications covered






Blogs
RSS Feeds
Feed Readers
Bookmarks and Tagging
Aggregators
Social Networks
What is a Blog? Why use a blog?




Consists of dated entries in reverse
chronological order
Frequently updated
Library blog can include news items,
announcements, instructional tips, new
electronic resources, etc.
Searchable by subject area
Drexel Library Blogs

Library Log


Careers Collections Blog


News and tips from the Drexel University Libraries relating to the
iSchool.
Drexel Emerging Technologies


News, events and resources from the Drexel University Libraries
relating to physics.
ischoolResearch


Announcing new career-related resources, events and advice for job
hunters in the Drexel community.
Drexel Physics


News from the Drexel University Libraries
What’s new and interesting for Drexel University Libraries Staff
Print is Dead – E-Resources blog

Primarily for Drexel University Libraries staff, designed to keep readers
abreast of developments in electronic resources
Engineering Resources Blogs




Engineering Information Blogs

http://www.library.drexel.edu/blogs/englibrary/

http://www.library.drexel.edu/blogs/engineeringlibraryinstruction/
Announcement of new resources, instructional
tips for using a particular database or a
resource, new and important web resources
and more.
Archive of information added over a period of
time
Emphasis on resources for CoE and Biomedical
Engineering – mainly subscription based
Engineering Resources Blogs


Engineering Design Resources
Biomedical Engineering
 Finding Books, Electronic Books and
Journals
 Biomedical Properties
 Patents and Intellectual Property
 Ethical Issues
Englibrary Blog
What is RSS?
RSS - Real Simple Syndication

Brings contents to you
Content available as new feeds


XML based (eXtensible Markup Language)

For content distribution called feeds


Aggregators – contains compilation of feeds



Collect feeds and display them in easy to read
format
More later during the talk
See also: Using RSS to increase user awareness
of e-resources in academic libraries
http://www.higheredblogcon.com/index.php/using-rss-to-increaseuser-awareness-of-e-resources-in-academic-libraries/
Getting RSS Feeds

Feed readers (RSS feed readers)


Collect various feeds and consolidate the
information
Downloadable Feed Readers:




Google Reader, http://www.google.com/reader
Bloglines, http://www.bloglines.com
RSS Compendium: http://allrss.com/rssreaders.html
Many blogs have built in RSS feeds.


RSS feeds are identified by ‘XML’ or ‘RSS’ icons
Just add the URL associated with the icons to
your feed reader
Google Reader Screenshot
Engineering Resources RSS Feeds
Electronic Journal Feeds

Integrating feeds from journals and journal
articles







Nature, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Materials
Institute of Physics
Science Online
IEEE Computer Society
Royal Society of Chemistry
University of Chicago Press Journals
Many more to come including ScienceDirect
Announcing Events on Blogs
Collaboration with Faculty & Students

Identify faculty and students working on
blogs



Drexel CoAS E-Learning Blog
Drexel Smart House Blog
Department of Civil, Architectural and
Environmental Engineering Blog
One more opportunity to work together!
Bookmarks and Tagging

Social Bookmarking services allow users to tag,
save, manage and share web pages from a
centralized source.




Del.icio.us
Diigo
Information rich resources can be shared
among engineering faculty and students.
Users can categorize resources using their own
tagging system.
Aggregators

Collect various feeds from blogs,
bookmarking systems and other forms of
posted material in one location


Friendfeed
Twitter
Friendfeed
Social Networks



Students in academic environments use social
networks to connect with their friends and
colleagues.
A Librarian’s presence on a students’ social tool
will increase the visibility of library resources:
Information Awareness
Social Networks:



Facebook
Myspace
Orkut
Friendfeed- Facebook
Notes - Facebook
Posted Items - Facebook
Vision




More and more electronic journals will
develop RSS feeds
Increased use of applications such as
Facebook with imported Feeds
More collaboration among students,
researchers, faculty members and
librarians
More outreach necessary
Thank You!




Thank you very much and have fun using
Web 2.0 Applications.
Please send us your feedback.
Interested in creating and developing a
collaboration?
Contact us anytime at:



Jay Bhatt, [email protected]
Smita Chandra, [email protected]
Dana Denick, [email protected]