YALSA Blog – One Year Later (Almost)

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In just a few weeks the YALSA blog will celebrate its first birthday. We launched with just a few posts on January 9, 2006 and geared up for using the blog as a informational tool during midwinter meeting. Volunteer bloggers readied themselves to write-up the events and meetings they attended in San Antonio. And, with that midwinter meeting, the blog took off.

Almost one year later YALSA’s volunteer bloggers have written 400+ posts on topics ranging from teen reading, to gaming, to technology, to news related to teens and libraries, to professional development. The blog covered YALSA events and programs – as they happened, as they were about to happen, and even after they were over. With the possibility of DOPA looming large the blog proved to be a useful tool for getting the word out about the potential legislation and for educating readers about the positive uses of social networking in teen lives.

The blog was also the avenue with which YALSA launched its podcasts and setup a Technorati account for showing what other bloggers are saying about the YALSA blog. At the time of this post there are 149 links to the YALSA blog from 71 bloggers. The numbers continue to grow and that’s really exciting.

There have been times during the year when the blog received 2000 hits within a 24-hour period. That might not seem like a lot if you are Amazon, Apple, or The New York Times. But, for YALSA and its blog, that’s quite impressive.

Thanks to all the volunteer bloggers who helped to make the first year a success!

WE <3 Meebo

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And meebo loves libraries. For all of the libraries out there who offer IM reference meebo has taken notice of your endeavours and applauds those libraries who are using meebo as a tool to connect with patrons.

As stated in the post: “One of our most loyal user groups was completely unexpected… librarians.”

Positive Use of Social Networking #5 – Blogging

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During October a small group of YALSA bloggers are posting ideas and information about positive uses of social networking tools in schools and libraries. Here’s positive use #5.


As we know, teens have been a major force behind the success of blogging software. Blogs give teens an audience, a way to keep up with friends, opportunities for feedback, and a means to connect to others. For the same reasons, teachers and librarians have also found merit in blogging. For example, check out Mr. Ahlness’ third grade class blog. Or Mrs. Glatt’s brand new Charger Guys Read blog. Or, check the growing list of Library Blogs for Teen Patrons that are posted on Library Success: A Best Practicies Wiki.


My school’s student newspaper, The Gargoyle, has been published online using WordPress software since last December. Though the students still produce a monthly print edition of the paper, the Online Gargoyle has room for all kinds of extra features and isn’t bound by the monthly deadline. Sports scores and stories are published right after games are played. The online extras include a photo gallery and an art gallery, which are both in brilliant color. Mistakes can (and are!) corrected. The OG has an RSS feed, which allows me to subscribe to the updates in my news aggregator. The front “page” also links to the Principal’s blog and to my library blog, Gargoyles Loose in the Library.

Again, if DOPA is passed, public library teen blogs and blogs supported by schools like mine, Mrs. Glatt’s, and Mr. Ahlness’ may no longer be used by teens and librarians to publish and share information. That also means a lost opportunity to teach teens safe and effective uses of blogs while improving their skills as readers and writers.

Guys Read

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Check out Michelle Glatt’s site where she is starting a Guys Read program at her school library at the end of this month which will involve themed booktalks, guest speakers, blogging, and podcasting. Michelle is a School Media Specialist at Chiddix Junior High School in Normal, Illinois (yes, Normal-whose name was taken from a ‘normal school’ whose purpose was to teach standards or norms). She has a great presence on the front page of Chiddix’s web site, has a huge following for her booktalk program in partnership with the local public library and has integrated such tools as Flickr, and WordPress into the school web site.

Posted by Kelly Czarnecki

YA Author Blogs

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Posted by Linda W. Braun

Now that I posted links to librarian blogs that talk about teens and teens in libraries. And posted links to blogs for teens about YA programs and services. I thought it also made sense to post links to blogs written by YA authors. So, as per my usual style, here are a few to get started:

Meg Cabot
Cecil Castellucci
John Green
Brent Hartinger

If you know of others let us know in a comment to this post.

YA Library Blogs

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Posted by Linda W. Braun

A couple of days ago I blogged about blogs written by YA librarians that focus on topics of interest to librarians working with/for teens. I realized that it would also be good to blog about some of the blogs that libraries are maintaining in order to promote and discuss YA services in the library. Here’s a short list to get started:

Framingham Public Library (MA) Young Adult Blog
Hinsdale Public Library (IL) Teen Blog
JMRL Young Adult Services (VA)
NOHO Teens (MA)

If you are looking for ideas for your own library blog these should help you think about what will work for you.

If you have a YA blog let us know about it on this blog.

Library Blogs and RSS Feeds

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Community Building Through Your Web Site: Library Blogs and RSS Feeds.

Jenny Levine
The Shifted Librarian http//www.theshiftedlibrarian.com
Metropolitan Library System

Michael Stephens
Tame the Web http://www.tametheweb.com/

Slides will be placed on the PLA Website.

Did you know in 2004 the world of the year was blog or webblog

Took picture for Flicker

Technoratie tracks over 27.2 million blogs

A new webblog is created every second of every day.

A blog is a software tool

Content management (all the coding of the pages)

Organized most often chronologically by date
Self archives

Updated regularly, with relatively short and contain links

Public Libraries can link to community sites, and library sites

Every blog post gets a unique url
This make it searchable

Most recent post displays at the top of the page

Blog title across the time

You will find information about the posting, Author, time, and comments.

You can put promotion on the web blog, and include graphics.

On the sidebar you will information about the blog, and

Requirements

Software, Server space, Time, and something to day-“fresh content”
Anything you do in you library is bloggable

Think about

A What’s New Blog
Happening in library
Whatever people are asking about at the desk

With web-based editing, Librarians can add entries themselves.

Biblioblogosphere

Public Library blogs
Marketing
to promote library services.
Dynamic content.

Topical

Book Reviews, or Specific Audience.
Ancestor Research Log-local history

Photo
show the vibrancy of the library
put human face on library.
Use Flicker.-the best $25 you will ever spend

A photo is worth 1,000 words

Involving Your Community
What is happing in the library is not show on the library website.

Turn on comments and find ways to incorporated community comments
Ann Arbor is very great http://www.aadl.org
Integrated Blog software Drupal with the catalog.

This has made the entire site a blog

The director has a blog to talk to patrons. Her screen name is her first name not capitalized. This makes her approachable

Patrons, Librarians, Board Members are having conversations on the blog.
They are virtual visitors.

Community self correct the issues.

Eli will asterisk out problem words, add “edited for publication” on the bottom, and lets it stay.

Teen comments
on one post there is 315 comments, 435 comments, 216 comments…
How many comments from teens have you gotten in all your years working with teens?

Local History Project Blog
Allows comments. People from your community can give back

What if we allow our users comment on our blogs
Cassy will release a catalog

Every entry is a blog post.
where you can post comments
and tag.

There is a social aspect of the web.

Riverdale who had money problems has a online blog color coded for who is speaking

RSS
Really Simple Syndication

Lets you create content in one place and send to subscribers

If you click on the RSS button you will get html

Superglu combines RSS feeds into a new blog
Anything that has an RSS fee you can combine on Superglu.
Parks, Schools, Clubs,….

You don’t have to do anything once you set it up, only add or remove feeds if you want.

Patron put RSS on his site so that the world can see his holds. All because RSS went out of the catalog.

Conversations and Cluetrain
Talking about networked conversations
Its social software

Urges companies to speak with a human voice

Its about being transparent, telling patrons why

I know this is a scary thing, but it works.

6 things you can do now

Read Weblogs
For any subject are you are interested

Start a What’s New Blog at your library

update often and turn on comments
let people talk to you

Appoint a trend reporter that watches what goes on
That watches and learns and shares.

Train Librarians to read RSS feeds
it makes you sound very smart
You will know what others are doing
www.bloglines.com is a great starter

Advocate for RSS in products we pay for
Catalog, Databases, website

Learn about Library 2.0
User centered services online

Presentation
www.tametheweb.com/pla

Blogging is very informal

A forum allows anyone to post a topic, but a blog lets specific writers to start a topic, and accept feedback on that topic

Blogs and My Space

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At today’s Teens and Technology Institute someone came up with the idea to have participants at the program post links to their My Space and/or blogging sites. So, if you have a My Space site or a blog that would be of interest to librarians serving teens add a comment here with the URL and any info. that you think would be of interest to those looking at the site. If there’s something from today’s programs that you think connects to your blog or My Space site mention it in your comment.

Thanks.