Podcast Project: Social Media in Academic Libraries

Interview with Anne

I have conducted almost 9 minutes interview with Anne Moon, UWC E-Resources Librarian,  on the use of Social Media at the University of the Western Cape Library. I have included the audio clip of the interview below.

 QUESTION 1

I manage two Twitter accounts on behalf of UWC Library, viz the below:

https://twitter.com/UwcResearchSupp

https://twitter.com/UWCLibrary

The LICT technicians on Level 6 sometimes assist me with the updating of https://twitter.com/UWCLibrary

I also manage my own personal Twitter account at https://twitter.com/moonlighter1965


QUESTION 2

The main purpose is information sharing.
For example, I have advised our users about an important new tool called UnPayWall. See: https://twitter.com/UWCLibrary/status/861485167558504448
I also advise them of database trials and of changes to our Open Hours (during, for example, #FeesMustFall).


QUESTION 3

UWC staff, students and researchers.


QUESTION 4

This question would need to be directed at Ricardo Davids as he is actually the Social Media Librarian. He uses analytical software tools and can see not only which resources are being accessed but also via which browsers and which devices, (e.g. smartphone types, tablets, PCs, etc).


QUESTION 5

Again, this question would need to be directed at Ricardo Davids. From my side, I can say that Level 6 staff and myself are the only people updating these accounts. There does not appear to be any commitment at all from the other parties who have a joint responsibility to do so, especially w.r.t. the account at https://twitter.com/UwcResearchSupp

 

02 April 2017 - LBS 708

02 April 2017 - LBS 708

This week's class was a combination of both theory and practical exercises.

We learnt the following:

1. Audacity.net - https://sourceforge.net/projects/audacity/

Audacity® is free, open source, cross-platform audio software for multi-track recording and editing. This exercise was conducted in support of the students who will be doing Podcast for Project 2.

2. Internet Archive - www.archive.org

 Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more. This is where one can search for archives of certain websites.

3. Library success - www.libsuccess.org

This is a wiki for Librarians. Any Librarian that wishes to upload the work can create an account and be able to upload their work or any information they think is worth sharing and that will be of professional benefit to the community.

4. 23 Things - www.23things.ed.ac.uk

This is a list of 23online  things that you can learn about and use to improve the communication and services in your library. These include blogging, twitter, facebook, Wikimedia, etc.

The University of Edinburgh’s 23 Things for Digital Knowledge is an award winning (LILAC Credo Digital Literacy Award 2017) self-directed course, run by Information Services Group. The programme seeks to expose you to a range of digital tools for your personal and professional development as a researcher, academic, student, or professional. The aim is for you to spend a little time each week building up and expanding your skills (http://www.23things.ed.ac.uk/how-to-take-part/).

Digitisation

The second session which was a theory session was on Digitisation.

Digitisation - is the transferring of print document into a digital format for easy access on a computer

Why digitising?

 Single point of access

Accessible to those who were unable to visit the physical location, saving time and travel costs.

Ability to access existing resources previously limited by their format, such as large maps and materials stored on microfilm.

Generating income

Many documents contain information that can have a commercial value when presented to the right audiences. Digitisation unlocks this potential to create new income streams.

Brand - Opening up your archives can benefit your brand by inspiring new audiences and raising the profile of the institution. Many modern brands are rediscovering the value of their ‘brand heritage’.

Searchability - Capturing the right descriptive data from a digitised document makes finding relevant content much easier and helps maximise research efficiency.

Preservation - Physical documents will not need to be accessed as often, therefore reducing potential damage caused by handling.

Interaction - Digitised content is versatile and can be used to communicate with customers across a range of channels. It is a particularly strong tool for social media, opening a dialogue with customers and encouraging activities like crowdsourcing and blogging.

Integration - Records can be integrated with digital systems and made readily discoverable within digital catalogues.

Disaster recovery - Paper records are vulnerable to many risks. Digital copies ensure information remains retrievable if a site disaster leads to loss of analogue formats.

What should be digitised?

- Fragile material and housed in a distant place.

- Non-replaceable material

We were also advised to visit Mayibuye Archives at UWC  to see more digitised and rear material

E-Books and Open Education Resources (ERMs)

LBS 708: ICTs and Libraries Class on 25 April 2017

E-Books and Open Education Resources

There was no class for the week of 16 - 22 April because of the University recess period. However, we had a project that we are busy with and I started to brainstorm about the topic I will choose.

This week lesson focused on the components of ebooks. We touched at the definition of ebooks, challenges affecting SA e-books markets, students/researchers attitudes towards e-books, licensing and pricing models. 

E-books can be accessed from a number of mobile platforms, e.g. kindle, ipad, tablets, mobile phones, etc. Below is an example of an Amazon keyboard e-book reader (kindle).

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Kindle

 

Open Educational Resources (OERs)

The information extracted from Anne Moon's OER Libguide define OERs as "Teaching and learning materials that are freely available online for everyone to use, whether you are an instructor, student or self-learner. 

OERs include: textbooks, full courses, course modules, syllabi, lectures, homework assignments, quizzes, lab and classroom activities, pedagogical materials, games, simulations, specialised search engines, and many more resources contained in digital media collections from around the world."For the list of OERs that are published on the UWC library LibGuides click here

Open Access (OA) & Institutional Repository (IR)

Open Access (OA) & Institutional Repository (IR)

What is Open Access (OA)

 A Very Brief Introduction to Open Access by Peter Suber http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/brief.htm

Open Access (OA) literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. What makes it possible is the internet and the consent of the author or copyright-holder. OA is entirely compatible with peer review, and all the major OA initiatives for scientific and scholarly literature insist on its importance. Just as authors of journal articles donate their labour, so do most journal editors and referees participating in peer review.

OA literature is not free to produce, even if it is less expensive to produce than conventionally published literature. The question is not whether scholarly literature can be made costless, but whether there are better ways to pay the bills than by charging readers and creating access barriers. Business models for paying the bills depend on how OA is delivered.

Open Access Week October 23 - 29, 2017 | Everywhere

Copyright and Open Access

Copyright and Open Access

 This was my second lecture and we learn about the Copyiright.

Definition

The exclusive right given by law to authors, composers or publishers to sell, reproduce or publish a work during a stated period of time to protect their original works for their entire life PLUS 50 years afterwards (i.e. for the benefit of their heirs). When this period expires, works go into the public domain (“copyright free”).

Web Portals in Academic Libraries

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to my Blog. The purpose of this blog is to interact and collaborate with researchers that are interested in the Academic Library's ICT management and development.This is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the ICT Applications in the Library and Information Services course that I am currently doing at the University of the Western Cape.


The use of Web Portals in Academic Libraries according to Zhou 2003 started as early as in 1960s

The World Wide Web (henceforth referred to as the Web) is recognised as the fastest growing publication medium of all time. To stay competitive, it is crucial to stay up to date with technological trends. The Web matures in its own unique way. From the static informative characteristics of Web 1.0, it progressed into the interactive experience Web 2.0 provides. The next phase of Web evolution, Web 3.0, is already in progress. Web 3.0 entails an integrated Web experience where the machine is able to understand and catalogue data in a manner similar to humans (Rudman, Bruwer 2016).

IT (information technology) and its association with communication technology (information
and communication technologies (ICTs)) have changed the way libraries operate. Today,
ICTs play a very important role in the library environment. Traditional library tasks such
as cataloguing, circulation, and collection development, which were performed manually a
few decades ago, have now been automated to a lesser or greater extent (Shongwe 2015).

This is my first post on this project and I still have to get more research and insight on the matter so please do share if you have come across with more recent articles regarding the history, purposes, advantages and disadvantages of Web 3.0 in the library sector.


Bibliography

 Rudman, R. and Bruwer, R., 2016. Defining Web 3.0: opportunities and challenges. The Electronic Library, 34(1), pp. 132-154.

Shongwe, M.M., 2015. The Information Technology Influence on LIS Job Descriptions in South Africa. Information Technology for Development, 21(2), pp. 196-204.

Zhou, J., 2003. A history of Web portals and their development in libraries. Information Technology and Libraries, 22(3), pp. 119.