Library 2.0 at Blacktown City Libraries
The Blacktown City Libraries make some use of 2.0 technologies, with a social media section on their webpage linking to accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Youtube. The Twitter, Flickr and Youtube accounts are Council wide, rather than being specific to the library, though they do include library material. The Facebook page is library specific and includes updates about library events, photos and competitions.
General use
The library catalogue includes links to reader reviews via LibraryThing (for example). This applies to Adult Fiction, Children's, Youth and Information resources.
Photos of library events and displays can be found on the Blacktown City Council Flickr page, while some videos of library events are also located on the Blacktown City Council Youtube channel.
Children's
Some use of 2.0 technologies has been made by the Children's service area.
The Blacktown City Council Youtube account has a playlist of videos of Baby Rhyme Time, an early literacy program run at the library. Photos from child-focused library events are posted on the council Flickr account, and Children's events are advertised on the library's Facebook page. The library also has a subscription with the Sunshine Online website, which features 370 ebooks and over 100 interactive activities for early learning that borrowers can access.
Local Studies
The Local Studies service area has made little use of 2.0 technologies. They provide links to useful websites, but (unlike many other libraries) have not used the capabilities of Flickr to provide digital access to historical photographs. This may simply be due to time and staffing constraints, as the process of digitising and uploading would be time consuming.
Adult Fiction
The library employs a number of 2.0 technologies that are of benefit in promoting Adult Fiction resources and events. Podcasts of some library talks (including talks by Adult Fiction authors) are posted on the library website, relevant events are advertised on the library Facebook page and Blacktown City Council Twitter feed, and photos of events and Adult Fiction displays are posted on both Facebook and Flickr. The catalogue also makes use of LibraryThing to provide reader reviews on catalogue records, which may increase Adult Fiction circulation.
It sounds like Blacktown library is quite proactive about using 2.0 technologies. The videos from Baby Rhyme Time are a nice idea for parents who want to learn the words at home, and the YouTube channel. It sounds like they are doing a lot more than my local library.
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