Exercise 2: Library Blogs Review

For this exercise, we had to subscribe to and read five library related blogs. The blogs were: In the Library with the Lead Pipe, Librarian's Commute, The Distant Librarian, Librarian by Day, and David Lee King. All five blogs were highly varied not only in the type of posts but also in the focus of the blog. In the Library with the Lead Pipe, for example, was a group-written blog which focused on overall themes that affect libraries. Their posts were personal in nature (using the first-person) and yet each post is of essay-length and peer reviewed, rather than a brief summary of an issue. For those who enjoy an in-depth view into issues such as the future of libraries in our uncertain times, this blog would be ideal. However, the length of each post could be daunting to some. The Librarian's Commute, on the other hand, had a much more personal nature due to it being written by a single individual. Nellums also writes about the changes in libraries, technology, and patron needs, but in a concise manner that is more her thoughts on the subject than academic in nature. The Distant Librarian, also a personal blog, follows suit with The Librarian's Commute. On the other hand, Pival focuses on technology such as RSS feeds, ebooks, apps, and screen-casting. His posts are brief and review or highlight technologies (or books about such technologies) that have relevance to library settings. Librarian By Day is another personal blog that favors short lists and internet memes that share information. Lastly, David Lee King also focuses on technology in libraries but also applies aspects of marketing to libraries and how they need to reach out to their patrons.

In the Library with the Lead Pipe, while amusing by title, was the driest of the lot with its long posts which did go into the most depth into topics that are indeed important to all libraries. On the other end of the spectrum, all the other blogs were more casual in length and prose as well as more personable. My own preference leans towards this end of the spectrum as I enjoy brevity and conciseness, especially if I am following multiple blogs in order to keep abreast of library news. It is also easier to decipher the gist of these blog posts in comparison to that of In the Library with the Lead Pipe.

In addition to these popular blogs, I subscribed to: Librarian.net, Ann Arbor District Library - AXIS, and Tame the Web. Librarian.net is Jessamyn West's blog that contains her thoughts on libraries and their importance. Her posts encompass a wide variety of subjects, from her personal activities to the use of social media tools by libraries during emergencies or the digital divide and highlighting particular individuals or events. Ann Arbor District Library's AXIS blog is a collaborative work from multiple library branches that focuses on and targets teens. The posts are brief in length and contain a multitude of hyperlinks as well as graphics regarding school, comics, books, reviews, and visiting authors and artists. Lastly, Michael Stephens' Tame the Web focuses on the relationship between libraries, patrons, and technology, writing of gaming in libraries, smart phones and videos as well as academia and job openings. Stephens' has the greatest diversity in post length as well as topic.

I believe that the main characteristics that make a library blog successful are consistent updates and knowing the target audience. Knowing the target audience includes aspects of post length, blog layout, jargon use, graphics, use of hyperlinks, and variety of topics. If the bloggers understand what their target audience want, then they are more likely to reach out to them successfully and provide the information that will be helpful to them. However, it is important to note that the amount of feedback received through comments and "likes" would vary along with the target audience, as teens may be more willing to comment on a blog than, say, seniors.