In 2011 I began a blog about my personal struggle with fibromyalgia and the changes that I was making to make a better life for myself. Today my blog is on hiatus due to work, school and family life.
Something I loved while building my own blog was visiting other blogs! I have viewed some blogs that I loved. I have viewed blogs that have hurt my eyes because they are so cluttered with ads. I have read posts that made absolutely no sense. I have blog hopped, participated in a comment-athon and viewed blogs that I planned to never visit again.
While researching blogs to follow in the library field, I have once again found blogs that are great and some that I question why they are in the field. The best thing about blogs- is that everyone can chose to write what they want and the readers can either chose to follow or walk away.
One of the blogs that I decided to follow is Librarian By Day by Bobbi Newman. Many of the posts that she writes makes one stop and think about the post. Often these topics follow me through the next several day usually because these topics come up in conversation. One post that I really enjoyed was "Why Libraries Should Look Beyond Library Card Ownership As A Measure of Support". Why did this post hit me? Well it talks about how we really should not measure community support by how many library cards our community holds. Just because someone does not use the library doesn't mean that they do not support the library. Many people will still respond that libraries are important, maybe just not something that they need in their life at that time. It is an interesting concept because many of us who work in libraries do seek out those who use libraries to continue to support us. Maybe we need to stop looking at just our patrons but looking to the community as a whole.
Another blog that gives some great information is David Lee King written by David Lee King! This blog has some great information on libraries using social media. One idea that I really enjoyed was his post on "Building A Wall of Fame." What is a wall of fame? Well a wall of fame is all the positive comments and feel good material that patrons, library staff and others post on social networking sites or on the libraries website. Wouldn't it be great to have a place where the community could go to see all the wonderful things that the library is doing? Where people can see their positive comments listed? Even suggestions for future programs would be great.
So far I have shown you two examples of the good. Now for the not so good or the ?? While searching I found a blog that at first glance looked like it would be entertaining. I suppose that on one level it is entertaining. On another level it seems to be a place for this librarian to voice her frustrations from work. Miss Information was listed when I searched for blogs written by librarians. While it can be somewhat fun to read, after several posts, I started feeling slightly depressed. We all have difficult patrons and I can understand her need to write about her frustrations. But it would have also been nice to have read about some good things that happened to her as well. Maybe that patron that came to her seeking information and she was able to help them. Maybe the book suggestion that bloomed into an entirely new love of an author or genre. Just because we all have difficult patrons, we also have some great ones that make your day, week or month.
Everyone enjoys something just a little bit different. These are just a few blogs that I found. My struggle was finding blogs that are still be published or where they are updated with frequency. I know, we all think that our blogs are going to go viral, we are going to make millions and be able to work from home. Sadly at this point, that opportunity has come and gone. Still there are some great blogs out there that shouldn't be missed.
Something I loved while building my own blog was visiting other blogs! I have viewed some blogs that I loved. I have viewed blogs that have hurt my eyes because they are so cluttered with ads. I have read posts that made absolutely no sense. I have blog hopped, participated in a comment-athon and viewed blogs that I planned to never visit again.
While researching blogs to follow in the library field, I have once again found blogs that are great and some that I question why they are in the field. The best thing about blogs- is that everyone can chose to write what they want and the readers can either chose to follow or walk away.
One of the blogs that I decided to follow is Librarian By Day by Bobbi Newman. Many of the posts that she writes makes one stop and think about the post. Often these topics follow me through the next several day usually because these topics come up in conversation. One post that I really enjoyed was "Why Libraries Should Look Beyond Library Card Ownership As A Measure of Support". Why did this post hit me? Well it talks about how we really should not measure community support by how many library cards our community holds. Just because someone does not use the library doesn't mean that they do not support the library. Many people will still respond that libraries are important, maybe just not something that they need in their life at that time. It is an interesting concept because many of us who work in libraries do seek out those who use libraries to continue to support us. Maybe we need to stop looking at just our patrons but looking to the community as a whole.
Another blog that gives some great information is David Lee King written by David Lee King! This blog has some great information on libraries using social media. One idea that I really enjoyed was his post on "Building A Wall of Fame." What is a wall of fame? Well a wall of fame is all the positive comments and feel good material that patrons, library staff and others post on social networking sites or on the libraries website. Wouldn't it be great to have a place where the community could go to see all the wonderful things that the library is doing? Where people can see their positive comments listed? Even suggestions for future programs would be great.
So far I have shown you two examples of the good. Now for the not so good or the ?? While searching I found a blog that at first glance looked like it would be entertaining. I suppose that on one level it is entertaining. On another level it seems to be a place for this librarian to voice her frustrations from work. Miss Information was listed when I searched for blogs written by librarians. While it can be somewhat fun to read, after several posts, I started feeling slightly depressed. We all have difficult patrons and I can understand her need to write about her frustrations. But it would have also been nice to have read about some good things that happened to her as well. Maybe that patron that came to her seeking information and she was able to help them. Maybe the book suggestion that bloomed into an entirely new love of an author or genre. Just because we all have difficult patrons, we also have some great ones that make your day, week or month.
Everyone enjoys something just a little bit different. These are just a few blogs that I found. My struggle was finding blogs that are still be published or where they are updated with frequency. I know, we all think that our blogs are going to go viral, we are going to make millions and be able to work from home. Sadly at this point, that opportunity has come and gone. Still there are some great blogs out there that shouldn't be missed.
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