IL2008: Public Libraries & Web 2.0

by David Lee King on October 20, 2008

Zeth Lietzau – He did a study on public libraries and web 2.0 tools…

What is Library 2.0? – They defined it via the Wikipedia definition.

Looked at:

  • online catalog
  • personalized library account
  • blogs/rss
  • virtual reference
  • wikis
  • social networking
  • podcasting

in large libraries (ones that serve over 500,000 people), only 45% have an online library card signup! Libraries that serve 100,000 – 499,999 only 15% have an online signup form. Yikes! Uhm… this is not hard, people – it’s a simple signup form!

Other numbers were quite dismal…

estimated percentage of US libraries using various 2.0 technologies:

  • catalog tags – 1%
  • facebook – 2%
  • flickr – 5%
  • online card signup – 5%
  • MySpace – 6%
  • RSS Feeds – 14%
  • Chat Reference – 22%
  • Email reference – 31%
  • Blogs – 31%
  • Online account access – 56%
  • online catalog – 62%
  • web presence – 82%

Some good examples for libraries (from 2005 stats):

  • Hennepin County Library
  • Lincoln City Liberaries
  • Benicia Public Library
  • Rocky River Public Library
  • Lena Public Library

What do these innovators have that other libraries don’t?

  • they have more staffing
  • more money per capita
  • bigger audio/visual collections
  • they have more circ/more use of the library
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  • http://library-mistress.blogspot.com/ library mistress

    “Email reference – 31%” sounds strange to me. Which library wouldn’t answer a question that comes via email? And what is “2.0″ about email reference? What is 2.0 about an online signup form?

  • http://library-mistress.blogspot.com/ library mistress

    “Email reference – 31%” sounds strange to me. Which library wouldn’t answer a question that comes via email? And what is “2.0″ about email reference? What is 2.0 about an online signup form?

  • Pingback: Pages tagged "libraries"

  • mlibrarian

    This begs the question – are the people who intellectualize about library trends
    actually talking trends – what’s actually happening out there; or are they talking about what they’d like to see/dream of happening? If what you say is trendy is not being done in most libraries what does that say?

  • mlibrarian

    This begs the question – are the people who intellectualize about library trends
    actually talking trends – what’s actually happening out there; or are they talking about what they’d like to see/dream of happening? If what you say is trendy is not being done in most libraries what does that say?

  • davidleeking

    mlibrarian – the librarians “talking trends” are also the ones DOING the trends – their libraries have this stuff already.

    What does it say, as you ask? That most library websites are woefully behind the rest of the web world.

  • davidleeking

    mlibrarian – the librarians “talking trends” are also the ones DOING the trends – their libraries have this stuff already.

    What does it say, as you ask? That most library websites are woefully behind the rest of the web world.

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