Edtechkat

How do libraries use their websites tell their communities about their online presence outside the library website?

In more conservative institutions, where external online presence is not really seen as part of the library service, often the pages are buried very deep and tagged “experimental”.

I think a better approach is to look at the tool and where it fits with the subject matter of the website, rather than lump them all together. If it is in beta, just mark it as such. BUT can also see that it would be really cool to have a Library Hacks page and lump all the exciting new tools together.

Here’s some approaches:

BETA

MIT Libraries Betas

• Listen to podcasts on scholarly communication
• Search plugin
• Browser bookmarklet
• Federated search (!)
• YouTube clip of how to use the libraries
• Google gadget
• Facebook ap
• MIT Course Catalogue Pickr
• del.icio.us page of “virtual reference” links
• RSS feeds of new books
• Humanities virtual browsery (looks like a blog with short reviews for new books)
• LibX

They have tried to use user friendly language to describe these tools

Johns Hopkins University Library Betas

• LibX
• Search plugin
• Ref GrabIT, Write-N-Cite, Zotero
• FullText Referrer (looks like it uses COins to display FindIt, just like LibX)
• Google Gadget

TOOLS

Bond University - Tools Download

• Google gadget
• Catalogue search plugin
• Library toolbar
• Library lookup

UWA - Library catalogue tools

• Google gadget
• Open search plugin

EXPERIMENTAL

Deakin University Experimental options

• Library RSS news feed
• Facebook ap
• Facebook Page
• Google gadget

(Plus lists JSTOR Facebook ap, PubMed Facebook ap and Worldcat )

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Longwood University has a very nice How to Use LibX page.

University of Michigan has a very detailed page about how to use LibX, but it has a great section on using LibX and Zotero together.

Duke University has a blog called Library Hacks where they give tips on how to use the library and where they announced the LibX toolbar with some nice comments.