One might argue that Facebook, Twitter, and texting have taken precedence over blogging in library services because, as forms of social media go, they are more reflective of current trends in communication and marketing styles: they are immediate and brief. This is not to say that blogging does not have its place in the library service toolbox (or spice rack!); it does indeed. They all do because, as Dhiman and Sharma suggest in “Blogging and Uses of Blogs in Libraries,” “…libraries must follow new technologies very closely and the advantages of the newest innovations…” (440). I would agree; and, in the case of public libraries, I would add that maintaining variety in our choice of tools, their purposes, and the “personalities” that these tools can convey about our libraries—and librarians--is essential in serving today’s public.
Aside from outlining the benefits of adding blogging to the library service spice rack, Dhiman and Sharma point out that blogs serve a variety of purposes. Blogs are a great way for librarians to share information (what we do best) with each other and to keep up with what is going in their field (what we aim to do best between our myriad of daily tasks). On the other hand, blogs are such an effective way to inform users and, most assuredly, interact with them.
Well! And here is—at least in my mind--the most intriguing idea in Dhiman and Sharma’s investigation, which serves as the springboard of this entry’s original point about variety being the spice of life, library service and librarians: that the blogging interaction between librarians and the public has the potential to dismantle the image “problems with librarianship” and to “dispel some of those pervasive myths” (439). Although Dhiman and Sharma do not go into detail about these images and myths (I suspect we can all guess what they mean, even though I hope the images are not all THAT bad), the idea of demonstrating our “individuality” through blogging is exciting, especially from a public service point of view: a “chorus” of voices is certainly more reflective of our public, which ultimately serves to reach and appeal to all, and even more, library users (439).
Spice up the library!
Dhiman, Anil Kumar, and Hermant Sharma. “Blogging and Uses of Blogs in Libraries.” International CALIBER – 2008, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, February 28-29 & March 1, 2008.
