<$BlogRSDUrl$> Marcus P. Zillman, M.S., A.M.H.A. Author/Speaker/Consultant
Marcus P. Zillman, M.S., A.M.H.A. Author/Speaker/Consultant
Internet Happenings, Events and Sources


Friday, February 18, 2005  

Science News Blog Links Faculty and Students
http://www.library.gsu.edu/scholarship/articles/vogel-2004-11-IRSQ-blog.pdf

Although surveys indicate most Americans still haven't a clue what blogs are, their numbers and uses are spreading. Two librarians at Georgia State University have developed a weblog to deliver information about library news, services and resources to GSU's science faculty and students. Designed and built totally in-house, Science News reflects the many advantages blogs offer. They can be updated easily, frequently and continuously, making them an appealing alternative to static newsletters and e-mail updates. Since active blogging began in July 2003, more than 200 items have been posted to Science News, including daily updates on the science collection's move from one library building to another; alerts when library resources will be temporarily unavailable; notices when new multi-volume reference works are available; recent acquisitions; new databases and updates to existing databases; information about database-related resources like PubMed and SciFinder guides; online journal access; new class and subject guides; and the like. After Science News was up and running, the next step was to get the word out to the science faculty and students. Adding to the challenge was the fact that the new service is a blog, Web technology unfamiliar to many patrons. So the librarians decided to de-emphasize the "gee-whiz" aspect of the blog system itself, and focus instead on demonstrating the format's tangible benefits. Science News is at http://www.library.gsu.edu/news/science. (Preprint of "Delivering the News with Blogs: The Georgia State University Library Experience")

posted by Marcus Zillman | 4:15 AM
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