SJCPL Blog make the Local Paper

Library communicates with blogs
Web logs easy to update, viewed via Internet
By ANNIE BASINSKI Tribune Staff Writer

This morning in the South Bend Tribune, SJCPL received some nice press in the form of an article about our blog, which last week underwent a change from two seperate blogs to one BIG one!

“Blogs ranging from personal to political are turning up everywhere on the Internet — from Howard Dean’s presidential campaign blog to Newsweek’s “MarthaWatch.” Michael Stephens, head of networked resources development and training at the St. Joseph County Public Library, started “blogging” last year after he learned about blogs, or Web logs, at a computer and library conference. He had visited blogs for his own personal use and decided to introduce his library to them.

“Blog was the buzz word at the conference,” he said. “People are using blogs to keep library information current and to promote library material.” Like Web sites, blogs communicate information via the Internet. Blogs also often display links to other Web sites and have dated postings — sometimes with commentary — similar to journal entries written by the blogs’ authors.

One difference between blogs and conventional Web sites is that blogs can be updated more easily through blog publishing software, so information can be changed faster and more frequently.

Web logs allow bloggers to communicate instantly by using software programs such as iBlog, which powers SJCPL’s blogs.

“It really is an efficient way to deliver content because the programming is done automatically,” Stephens said.

Last May, St. Joseph County Public Library added a Book Blog and Sights and Sounds Blog to its Web site.

The blogs, created and maintained by bloggers Joseph Sipocz, head of collection development, and Julie Hill, head of sights and sounds, list titles of best sellers, newly ordered books, DVDs, videotapes and CDs and provide commentary on recent library acquisitions.

“A blog has a diarylike feel and is usually in reverse chronological order,” said Stephens.

The library’s blogs include summaries of books and media and have links to reviews and authors’ and artists’ Web sites. Links to photos, excerpts and other media can also be found on the blogs…..”

Take a look at the SJCPL Lifeline: All the News that’s Fit to Blog. I was inspired by KPL Librarian David King at CIL who said our users don’t want to go to different places for content. The new SJCPL blog will include all the Book Blog stuff, the AV info and much much more.

We have also moved on from iBlog — which gave out on me at CIL — and into Movable Type! We also moved to a directiory at LISHOst.org from a .mac account.