Adventures in Library 2.0

As a user of social networking tools, like Facebook and Twitter, I am always eager to take a new tool for a test drive.  For instance, for my Reader’s Advisory class this semester, we were encouraged to set up a GoodReads or Shelfari account as a way to share what we are reading, what we’ve read, and what we plan to read with classmates, friends, and other network members, which I will also discuss in this post. 

To complete this week’s module I created a profile and library with LibraryThing.  LibraryThing is “…an online service to help people catalog their books easily. You can access your catalog from anywhere—even on your mobile phone. Because everyone catalogs together, LibraryThing also connects people with the same books, comes up with suggestions for what to read next, and so forth.” (Taken from the LibraryThing About Page)  For this exercise, I cataloged 8 random titles from my personal book collection, giving them starred ratings and tagging them in ways unique to each item’s genre, content, and appeal.  

While I found this process to be helpful for cataloging and organizing my personal items and reading reviews, for me LibraryThing did not have the same social network “feel” as Facebook, Twitter, or Shelfari. Despite the great features, I didn’t quite feel like I was part of a “network,” like I did when I first started on Facebook. Granted, I do not have any “friends” on LibraryThing yet, but I feel like something like LibraryThing is more of a personal tool, rather than a social networking channel. When it comes to sharing my reading tastes and getting suggestions for further reading, I look for recommendations based on a variety of titles I’ve read, rather than  relying on the titles I currently own.  As an individual who barrows more books than I buy, LibraryThing seems limiting, in terms of social networking because once I’ve cataloged my collection, I wouldn’t revisit the site until I’ve made another purchase. With Shelfari, I find myself constantly adding titles of books I see or read reviews about, that I would like to read later, just as I am habitually updating my status on Facebook or Twitter.  Shelfari helps me catalog and check track of everything I want to read, not just what I have read. Although my network on Shelfari is not quite as developed as my Facebook or Twitter networks, I feel a stronger network connection, because I am sharing all my past, current, and soon-to-be reads.

Regardless of my preference for Shelfari, Smith’s Building Blocks of Social Sites can be applied to social book/reading sites like Shelfari and LibraryThing.

Identity—a way of uniquely identifying people in the system 

·      Individuals can create profiles that highlight reading interests, favorite authors, and titles.

Presence—a way of knowing who is online, available, or otherwise nearby 

·      Although friends cannot “chat” or “tweet” like you can when using Facebook or Twitter, individuals can seek out friends or develop new relationships based on shared interest.

Relationships—a way of describing how two users in the system are related  

·      Users can see who their friends are, search for friends, or invite others to join the group. In Shelfari, users can search for readers who are reading the same books as a way to make connections. In LibraryThing, users can connect based on similar personal collections.

Conversations—a way of talking to other people through the system 

·      Users can communicate through books reviews or posting questions to readers about a particular book.

Groups—a way of forming communities of interest 

·      Users can join groups based on a particular book, series, or author.

Reputation—a way of knowing the status of other people in the system (Who’s a good citizen? Who can be trusted?) 

·      Users can see how many books fellow users have read, reviewed, or own. 

        Sharing—a way of sharing things that are meaningful to participants 

o     Users can share reviews, ideas, or make further reading suggestions

 Find Me Online!

LibraryThing Profile

LibraryThing Library

Shelfari Profile

My first experience with virtual communities was in 1996-97 when my parents first made the Internet available to me in our home.  Like a lot of folks at the time we were using America Online to connect to the web. I can still hear the “You’ve Got Mail” message, after the screeching of our modem as it slowly connected to the World Wide Web. Shortly thereafter I began to use the AOL Instant Message feature to chat with friends and family, but never in a chat room or any type of “open” forum.  Since the days of AOL Instant Messaging, I have used and still use Facebook, BlackBoard, and a staff Wiki at the library where I currently work.  As I was writing this post I realized that all my participation in Virtual Communities has been (and still is) limited to those communities that are “closed” organizations.  In other words, communities that are password protected or with members with whom I choose to have an “interaction.”  With the exception of Facebook, the extent of my membership in virtual communities has been defined by either my coursework or job.  In these types of communities the behavior expressed by members are related to a specific task, whether it be work or school, and not really a medium for expressing personal interests or hobbies.  

Although I contribute heavily within these communities (Facebook, Blackboard, Staff Wiki), my participation in “open” forums has been minimal.  For instance, I enjoy reading people’s comments to stories at The Chicago Tribune online, but when it comes to posting my own comment I am, according to The Art of Building Virtual Communities article, a “lurker,” I “pay attention to the activity of the group,” but rarely make any contribution of my own. Despite my many hobbies and interests, I have never had the desire to find others like me (or find my Tribe) on the web.  One of the reasons I decided to take Library 2.0 was learn ways that I could increase my personal presence on the web. According to Derek Wenmoth’s phases as discussed in The Art of Building Virtual Communities article, I would classify myself as a consumer of virtual communities, insofar as “I read and explore the posts of others…[and] can be [a] very active participant in an online community – just not yet visible to others.”