I have to admit, this class was pretty intense. I got way more involved in what I was doing in this course than any other class I have taken at Dominican. I read more, I wrote more, I participated more, and I communicated and collaborated with others in the class much more. At the same time, I wouldn’t say the class was harder or felt like more work, and it was probably because our assignments were thoughtful, made me think creatively and I enjoyed them.

As I mentioned in class today, I was torn between doing brand monitoring and writing a social media policy. I chose to do brand monitoring because I felt that I would learn a lot from the process, and I did. I still want to write a social media policy, just to get the experience and I think I will write one sometime this week for my company and see what my boss says.

I’m happy I got a chance to take this class and my goal now is to continue learning about library 2.0 and social networking technologies — and blogging about what I learn.

This has been, by far, my favorite group project — not only because of our super interesting topic, but also my wonderful group members. Our topic, the new digital divide, lead me to some great research articles and I really learned a lot about the issue. Our group worked very well together, sharing ideas and resources on our group blog, meeting to work on the project, set goals and make decisions.

I have worked on lots of group projects, but this time it actually felt like we were collaborating, and I think part of this was the variety of technologies we were using. All of us could communicate and share ideas easily; I was able to utilize delicious and our blog to organize my research and at the same time share it with my group members. And the best thing is — everyone did the same, so I was able to learn something new every time I visited our group blog.

This summer I was traumatized by a group project in another class. One of my group memebers “accidentally” deleted her entire presentation and 10 page paper on the day it was due. It was a nightmare to say the least. This time around, I got a little bit annoying by trying to keep us on track (sorry about that guys), I’m not sure if it did any good, but it did make me feel a little bit better to know we were headed in the right direction.

Thanks Sheila, Dan and Toni — it was great working with you!

Abstract for Successful Social Media Strategies for Libraries

It is not difficult to see why so many libraries today are struggling with incorporating library 2.0 technologies within their organizational strategies. The variety of tools and technologies is overwhelming and it is becoming more difficult to keep up with the current trends, changes and demands of our patrons.

This paper examines the difficulties and obstacles that many libraries have to deal with trying to provide adequate service for the next-generation of patrons. The paper also outlines some tips, best practices, and possible solutions to help libraries leverage social media technologies.

The main goal of this research paper is to share knowledge, spread awareness and encourage libraries to examine their library 2.0 efforts and ultimately make improvements. This paper discusses:

• Choosing which library 2.0 tools are right for your organization, which involves establishing library/community needs and dealing with tough decisions making;
• Finding appropriate resources for your social media efforts as far as staff, funds and time are concerned;
• Utilizing library 2.0 technologies at your library which entails planning, creating guidelines and maintaining good communication;
• Tips on promoting social media in your community, such as creating awareness in your community and keeping your audience engaged;
• Maintaining social media success is also discussed, and involves continually evaluating your efforts, improving and innovating.

The thoughts and ideas presented in this paper are an accumulation of what I have learned through reading and learning about online social media tools, as well as utilizing the tools myself at home and at work. Thus my first suggestion would be for librarians to stay informed and test different social media technologies themselves in order to gain awareness which is crucial to decision making, planning, implementing and ensuring long term success.

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