Web 2.0 in my library: #6

Since starting my position as children's librarian a few months ago, I've been thinking about ways to incorporate Web 2.0 into the services at my library. One thing I'm super excited about is podcasting storytimes!

Right now, I'm on the Denver Public Library Podcast page, listening to Big Bear, Little Bear, read very delightfully by Ella. This is exactly the type of thing I want to do at my library. I have experience recording and producing podcasts, so the actual creation of the podcasts would be a piece of cake, but the main complication I would anticipate with storytime podcasts is copyright. I see that Denver Public Library got permission from Candlewick Press to reproduce the books' content on their website, and I'm making a note to myself to look into how to get this kind of permission!

In addition to storytime podcasts, I've also been thinking about trying podcasting as an ongoing project with our teens-- I imagine something like Denver Public Library's interview with Harry and the Potters would be fun for teens to produce. I'd love to see our teens thinking about what kind of information they want to communicate to the community and then making it happen.

I'm also liking Seattle Public Library's MySpace Teen Center. I developed a MySpace page for my library and although it's been quite successful so far (51 friends and over 400 views-- go us!), I'd really like to take it to the next level and make it more interactive, like Seattle Public Library's page. I love the way their teens themselves are providing content, like author interview and book reviews! This level of collaboration demonstrates that the library genuinely values its teen users, and I think that's an important message. My library doesn't have a Teen Advisory Board at the moment, but I'd like to organize such a group and elicit their opinions on what they'd like to see on our MySpace page. Using Web 2.0 is a great way to engage young library users and empower them to make their voice heard.