How Do You Use the Web?
The World Wide Web has grown from a read-only environ- ment into a vast online community where people meet, exchange information, collaborate, and communicate. It is essential for today's libraries to be part of that community. Patrons expect librarians to be savvy at using web tools; and many libraries now use social networking to strengthen and widen their outreach efforts.
If you do not think you are using the Web to its fullest potential, we have many free resources to help you learn and use web tools and social networking in and for your library.
| The Secret to Online Communities
The secret to a successful online community is participation. Sharing even a little of yourself online goes a long way toward strengthening your and your organization's relationships. Start in the safe, supportive environment of WebJunction, where members are colleagues in your profession who would like to meet and learn with you. Add a picture ("avatar") to your profile so we can better know you. Tell us about yourself in the personal information section of your profile. And adjust your privacy settings to your own comfort level. The User Guide and this helpful video will help you get started.
| Already a Fan of Web 2.0?
 Are you in love with LinkedIn? Yearning for YouTube? Tickled by Twitter? What social network or web-based tool do you love, and why? Simply post your one-sentence answer in the Social Networks & Web Tools discussion forum. Or, you could make use of a different web tool, like some WebJunction staff did when they videoed their responses, posted them to Flickr, and then embedded them into a WebJunction document.
| 2009 Member Survey: The Community Speaks
Read the summary report from the March 2009 WebJunction Member Survey, to learn how our community uses WebJunction.org, what they do and don't do while there, what they value, what they'd like to see change. Feel free to post comments to the report page—your feedback is always appreciated.
| Colleagues at the Heart of Solving Problems
In the 2009 WJ Member Survey, we asked, "When you need to tackle a problem at work, what tool or method do you like to use to solve it?" When we analyzed your responses, we discovered that your top "tool" is other people: coworkers, professional network, staff, etc. Also tops in your toolkit is your state or regional library system, but you also make heavy use of the Internet, with listservs, Google, and WebJunction getting honorable mentions. We also created this tag cloud to show the top 50 words in your responses.
It is clear from all of your survey responses how much you value your colleagues and professional network to help you find solutions, new ideas, or to act as a sounding board. We hope that you will continue to foster that mutual support and exchange on WebJunction: your community needs you.
| Survey Shows Your Use of Online Tools
As part of the 2009 WJ Member Survey, we wanted to assess how much our members use online tools, especially "web 2.0" tools that have developed in recent years. This gives us a sense of what experience and what expectations our community has around web tools, and helps to put WebJunction.org's tools into that context. We found the results quite interesting; our community falls across a very wide continuum. Go to this article to view the full results.
| Webinar: Social Learning in Libraries
For the past six years, library staff have been using tools at WebJunction.org to connect with each other and build new skills for their work in libraries. Meanwhile, the dramatic growth of web-based technology has changed patron expectations of libraries, which means library staff have new needs as well. Join Chrystie Hill, community director at WebJunction, on June 16 as she describes how WebJunction.org has evolved alongside these trends. Chrystie will also present broader trends in learning and training, demonstrate how our members are using online tools to support their staff or their own professional development, and discuss with you how to shape the future of staff training and library services.
| Webinar: Bringing Web 2.0 into Academic Libraries
As students, staff and faculty move their lives online, university libraries must choose whether to move with them or get left behind. But where is the value in an academic library when Google is the new ready reference desk and the libraries' resources are increasingly digitized? How does a library remain relevant in a socially networked academic world? Amanda Clay Powers (Mississippi State Univ. Libraries) and Ellen Hampton (Baylor Univ. Libraries) will discuss on June 30 how libraries can readjust and move their most important resources online—their people. By using social networks and other web-based technologies, libraries can become a value-added member of their community—both online and in person.
| | | | A New Service to Library Organizations
WebJunction now offers a Custom Course Catalog, which provides a central location for organizations to host, promote and track staff training. More information »
|  | | | Save Time and Money on Staff Training
Deliver effective, relevant training right now with WebJunction's online courses. Save money by purchasing in bulk. Select from more than 600 online courses relevant to your library, for as low as $25 per unit. Learn more »
| | | | We Have a Solution For Your Library
Sign up for an upcoming "WebJunction for Organizations" presentation, where you'll learn how we provide cost-effective customized solutions to libraries to ensure that staff are well prepared to meet the challenges of today.
Register for July event »
| | | | Keep Current on WJ Content and Groups
We update the Hot Topics page monthly to highlight new and popular courses, documents, discussions, groups and events. And the WJ Groups page is where you will get updates about activity happening in member groups. | | | | Quick Link to Events
To see what live events are happening this month, visit our Events Calendar. To attend a webinar, simply complete the brief registration and we'll send you the login information. | | | | | Reminder: June 10 Event
Join online community expert Nancy White as she discusses how to be an effective technology steward at your library. You'll get practical advice on how to assess the technology needs of your patrons, and to select, configure, and support the online technologies they use. Register for the event »
| | | | Mark Your Calendars for July 7 Webinar
Guest presenters from Seattle and British Columbia will discuss the Global Reading Challenge/Reading Link Challenge, a program that encourages team building, reading for retention, and cooperation between school and public libraries. More information »
| | | | Have feedback on what you've read here? Post your comments on the online version of Crossroads.
| | Crossroads is a free publication produced by WebJunction, distributed monthly in an electronic format. Past issues are archived at webjunction.org/crossroads.
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