What I have learnt from this unit and how I would use it

Oh boy, where do I start?!  This has  been an enormous learning curve for me.  I'll start with blogging, of course I had heard of blogs but never realised that they were easy to do and what an impact they can make.  Now I know what a QR code is (or rather boxes with squiggles in them!).  I managed to add a page to a Wiki and know what they are for and how to add  pages/comments.  I've read about posting photos on Flickr and embedding virtual tours of  the library. Of course there is Twitter and I enjoy following some of the big names I have chosen but as yet have not tweeted myself.   I must not forget Facebook where we would have a page. There are other Web 2.0 technologies that have been touched on but I have enough coping with the ones above.  I would love to be able to use these within our organisation, particularly for the library.  I would be able to make the library blog fun and interesting for the public to follow us and learn about the whole organisation.
I am particularly interested in our archival material and showing it off to the general public. These give a look at Australia through the photos and paper memorabilia that is unknown to Generation X.  They show a slice of life including fashions, attitudes and needs of Australia and Australians in different eras.  As an aside, it is such a shame that nowadays I find there seems to be little interest in keeping material for the future, especially photos as no one keeps digital images. They could be copied onto a CD and then kept in the archives.   I found this article on that exact point  The decaying web and our disappearing history       http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120927-the-decaying-web/1   
To go on with how I can use Web 2.0 techologies within the library.  As I mentioned we would keep an up-to-date library blog which would involve news and views from the library and it's users; a virtual library tour; ask a Librarian; new material in the library - week by week; a link onto our home webpage; a QR code containing the archive exhibition and each month an article with photos of a particular year starting at the beginning 1939.  I would open a Twitter account to augment the library blog and a Facebook page. 
Something I will have to investigate is Flickr to post some of our archival photos and possibly a Wiki inviting readers to add their own comments etc.   I would love to become more involved with our members, library users and people just interested in what we do.
 I am sure that if we started using the above Web 2.0 technologies the benefit to the library and the organisation in general would be tenfold.



 

The Special in Special Libraries

What is the Special in Special Libraries? Of course it is the collection including the databases, DVDs, CDs and journals, aimed at a particular group of people.  In my case it is Management. The staff of Special Libraries need to have strong skills in their particular area and be able to understand the clients needs. Now there is more to Management than just a straight noun, it encompasses many aspects including human resources, coaching, project management, teams, safety and more.  So we have to appeal to a larger part of the community than first thought.
As in my previous blog, a library page, where a part of this blog is to incorporate how our collection is special and  how to access it through A) the OPAC and B) the library tour embedded in the blog.   
We have a fantastic archive room.  In it we have many, many photos (black and white) of AIM since the beginning in 1939.  We have all the annual reports, lectures, presentations and so on and so on.  We especially enjoyed the photos of the library and librarians all dated from 1931.  The library was always there from beginning to now.  (Look at the History of AIM part 2 to give you an idea of the era.)
Three years ago the library staff were asked to produce a time line of The Australian Institute of Management with photos and a narative linking them together. There was an amount we could spend and we were given a space where  the history of the AIM could be shown. Of course we used a professional who set up the final exhibition.  It was great fun sorting through all the archives and it took almost one year to sort out what to use and not to use.  It was sad that so much had to be left out due to financial restraints.
Anyhow on with the blog on how to let more of the public know the hidden treasures behind our doors.
All our archive material is kept in archive safe boxes and sleeves but it would be marvellous to  be able to digitise it and show it within the library page.  On our  library blog it would be held in a QR code. This would then take the viewer on a tour of the exhibition with a commentary.   Because we are held back with costs, it could be digitised in yearly blocks and be included within a  part of the library blog.  On reading some of the articles on this library area it seems that posting the photos through Flicka would be a good idea (one I will have to research further).membership
I really think a library blog with the QR code encompassing the history of AIM would  enlarge our membership and lead to more use of the library.  We will need to advertise that we have this blog and I would recommened we set up a twitter account to encourge people to follow us to the blog.
It would be very exciting to be able to use the above Web 2.0 technolgies for AIM  and I will hang onto this blog for reference in the future.