Starter for September 24th: LibGuides

What is Web 2.0?
The definition of Web 2.0 is somewhat nebulous, but what we'll keep in mind for the purpose of this class starter is that the key feature of Web 2.0 is the emphasis on ease of content creation rather than content consumption (Boulos & Wheeler, 2007) . In layman's terms, the point of Web 2.0 is to make it easy for people to share content on the web.

How does this relate to libraries?
There are many ways libaries utilize web 2.0 tools, but some web 2.0 applications in particular are well suited to creating library webpages. These applications include LibGuides, wiki platforms, and various open source research guide tools such as NSCU’s LibraryTools, Wake Forest University’s Tutorial Toolkit, Ithaca College Library’s SubjectsPlus (an expansion of the ECU Joyner Library’s Pirate Source), and Oregon State University’s Library à la Carte.

LibGuides, though it’s a commercial product (or perhaps because it’s a commercial product..we’ll talk about that), is one of the most popular tools out of the ones listed.

What do I need to do?
Take a look at Springshare’s LibGuides website to get an idea of what the product does. In class, we’ll take a closer look at LibGuides and discuss its pros and cons. Cheers! -- Lisa

Reference:
Boulos, M. N. K., & Wheeler, S. (2007). The emerging web 2.0 social software: An enabling suite of sociable technologies in health and health care education. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 24(1), 2-23. Find @ UNC