Planning Library Blogs Creating Usable Blogs Jumpstarting Your Library Weblog Read Jakob Nielsen’s Ten point List Look at your library blog.
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Planning Library Blogs Creating Usable Blogs Jumpstarting Your Library Weblog Read Jakob Nielsen’s Ten point List Look at your library blog with new eyes Make changes! Jakob Nielsen on Weblog Usability No Author Biographies No Author Photo Nondescript Posting Titles Links Don't Say Where They Go Classic Hits are Buried The Calendar is the Only Navigation Irregular Publishing Frequency Jakob Nielsen on Weblog Usability The Calendar is the Only Navigation Irregular Publishing Frequency Mixing Topics Forgetting That You Write for Your Future Boss Having a Domain Name Owned by a Weblog Service http://www.hclib.org/ What have we learned? Planning Steps Who on your staff will blog? Where will your blog live (in-house or hosted)? What will you blog about? Will you open up comments on blog posts? If yes, who will monitor the comments and respond? Create your blog Train your staff Who will blog? Takes time – a staff responsibility Natural fit with some positions Interest, commitment, dedication Skills Writing and editing Libraries & Weblogs: Library Weblogs can be building blocks for communicating news and information Transparency & presence can create interest and buy-in with staff and users Communication + Conversation = Community Transparency Sharing how the library works and how resources are used Communicates to staff what people do Creates community Best Practices for Library Blogs Best Practices for Library Blogs Read and Evaluate as many blogs as you can TTW Handout Note what features you like/dislike Great first step or jumpstart step Best Practices for Library Blogs Find your Voice/Develop a Mission What is your goal? How do you want to say it? Are you ready to speak & listen? Best Practices for Library Blogs Focus on Content Configure the blog then let it work for you! Focus on creating interesting, useful posts Reach out to users with what interests them Best Practices for Library Blogs Content, Yes, but Design Too! Create a seamless environment Usability is important: test and test again Stay on top of tech advances Best Practices for Library Blogs Share authorship Depending on your library’s size, 1-10? Spreads out the writing duties Agree on “voice” and Mission Best Practices for Library Blogs Post Often and Succinctly Users don’t want huge blocks of text Write informally but error free Make them want to return/subscribe Best Practices for Library Blogs Develop a Style Guide Insures correct usage amongst authors Should carry to print as well Best Practices for Library Blogs Train Staff to Blog* Teach them the technology Give them handy tag sheets Discuss what makes a good post Praise them * and give them time to do so! Best Practices for Library Blogs Incorporate the Blog(s) into your site Use the same colors, look and feel Link between the blog and the catalog, other pages Make your front page the blog! Best Practices for Library Blogs Create a feeling of Transparency Blog your projects & plans Listen to your users via comments Respond to your users