Where the Readers Are

If you're going to blog, asks Steven Bell, why not blog it to courseware?

By Steven Bell -- netConnect, 10/15/2005

Certainly, library blogs have real potential for promoting library services to the community. There's only one problem. People have to actually read the library's blog for it to be effective. Considering that library users have literally thousands of blogs to choose from, how do you compel readers to return regularly to the library blog? Simply put, by putting the blog where the readers are.

In academic libraries, one way to do that effectively is through courseware. Today, courseware systems such as Blackboard, WebCT, Angel, and Moodle are ubiquitous in higher education, and now there is a technology available to feed blog postings directly into courseware sites. And the best part—it costs nothing and is easy to use.

As a veteran blogger of the Kept-up Academic Librarian (http://keptup.typepad.com), I debated the merits of starting a blog for my library. Despite the rapid proliferation of library blogs I was skeptical about their value and doubted that college students were ready for them. Nevertheless, in fall 2004 I began experimenting with a blog for the Paul J. Gutman Library at Philadelphia University. My skepticism, it turned out, was warranted. In an informal survey, I found that fewer than five percent of the respondents had even heard of RSS (real simple syndication) or news aggregators.

As I wondered how to interest students in reading blog content, I came across a message posted to the Blackboard Instructional Designers discussion list. It described a technology for directing RSS feeds to HTML pages. It was referred to as the RSS to Javascript Converter. The converter itself is simply a web site that, when provided with information about an RSS feed and how it should be displayed on an HTML page, generates several lines of Javascript. That scripting, when cut and pasted into an HTML page, activates the conversion process. That means a library blog's postings could be automatically displayed on the announcement page of any course site. Reading this message tripped a light bulb moment.

Using the converter is fairly easy. Begin by entering an RSS feed's URL into the designated spot on the converter. (A preferred converter, for its ease and options, is Feed2JS found at http://jade.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/feed.) In this example, the URL of the RSS feed for “Get It at Gutman,” the Gutman Library blog, is http://gutmanlibrary.typepad.com. Then a few options are provided to complete the process.

For example, when “show channel” is switched on, it displays the name of the blog and the author. Pay attention, however, to the number of items to display—left unspecified, every post would show up. Given the limited real estate of a courseware announcements page, only a few postings should be displayed, and this is where that number is specified. All of the options, as well as more detailed instructions on using RSS to Javascript Converters for this purpose, are described in Low Threshold Application #44, “Integrating RSS feeds into your course management system.” It is found at http://jade.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/lta/ archives/lta44.php.

Once the Javascript is produced, cut and paste it into the appropriate space on the course site. Those with a good knowledge of the courseware functions will find this operation fairly straightforward and can effectively work with faculty to complete the process. If you are not familiar with courseware functions, now is a great time to learn. When finished, the library blog postings will appear on the designated courseware site's announcements page. Adjustments can be made simply by returning to the converter, modifying the options, and generating new Javascript code. From this point forward, whenever a posting is added to the library blog it will automatically appear on the announcements page or any other designated HTML page.

Remember to be sure to make the announcement permanent so the postings feed to the course beyond seven days—and be certain that faculty members understand the permanent announcement is always found at the top of the announcements page. Any non-permanent announcements added later will always come below the library's blog postings. That's another reason to use the converter to specify that just three to five postings can appear at any one time. Also, keep the number of words for describing each posting to a minimum (e.g., 100 or less). This will ensure the blog doesn't become a web page real estate hog.

The converter also has applications outside of an academic library setting. Public or special libraries can also use this technology to generate blog content for the library's homepage or another page within the library or organization's web site. An example of this application can be found on the homepage of the library at Morrisville State College (http://library.morrisville.edu/), where this technology is used to support a library news function.

Still, the critical question remains: Do students want, need, or care about library blog postings? With faculty consent, I decided to experiment with 20 courses. During the spring semester of 2005, postings were added to “Get It at Gutman” on a regular basis. At the end of the semester I created a 12-question survey instrument, and 97 students responded. (The survey can be found at http://intercom.virginia.edu/SurveySuite/Surveys/rssfeedsurvey/index2. html.)

The good news is that my survey revealed the vast majority of students (75 percent) found the library posts useful and indicated the library should continue to provide this content to the course sites. Approximately 15 percent indicated they found the postings interfered with their use of the course site. Some students commented that the postings should be changed more frequently or removed after a few days, a point that reinforces the importance of keeping library blog content fresh.

Though traffic at the actual library blog was consistently light, what got read had an impact. The postings were viewed an average of just four times per day during the semester. Among students, 50 percent reported reading at least one blog post at least once during the semester. Of that number, 15 percent reported attending a library event or taking some other action as a result of reading a blog post in their courseware. While that number may seem rather inconsequential, it isn't. These students learned about a library program they would likely have missed entirely. Extrapolate from 20 courses to more than 100 and that 15 percent begins to have a greater impact on stimulating the use of the library's services and resources and participation at our events.

Of course, while increasing in popularity every day, blogs still have a long way to go. When asked how they prefer to receive news and information about the library, by far students (53 percent) still prefer email. Despite my institution's tech savvy student culture, only ten percent of respondents reported reading or using blogs. They were even less familiar with the associated technologies. Only about 25 percent reported knowing what a news aggregator was, and a miniscule two percent reported actually using one. Numbers like these suggest that creating a library blog and just putting it out there for users is hardly a guarantee that the community will find it useful. In fact, in perhaps the most significant finding, a mere five percent of students indicated they would voluntarily subscribe to the library blog.

All in all, however, there is reason for optimism about library blogs. Library blogs are fairly risk free. Other than investing some time and effort, there is little cost. With that in mind, who cares if few actually read the blog at first? A library blog generally causes no harm and it really is fun to create and produce. And when it takes off, your blog will have been one that tipped the balance.

Of course a poorly conceived and executed library blog can do more harm than good. A bad library blog will not only turn off readers, it will also grow into a burdensome chore for the library. Library blogs that are heavily promoted and then deliver bland content or that are rarely updated will reflect badly upon the library.

If there's some thoughtful planning about pushing blog content to users, a library blog can be a positive, rewarding experience for all parties. One benefit for libraries blogging to courseware is seizing a leadership role for the library in creating awareness about and education in the rapidly evolving technologies of blogging, news aggregation, social networking, and search personalization. In my own academic community, blogging to courseware has produced the added benefit of sparking faculty interest in RSS technology. Several faculty members expressed an interest in understanding how blogs, RSS, and news aggregators can help students learn about their disciplines. For example, a science professor wanted to feed postings from a blog about the everyday, practical applications of scientific principles into his chemistry course, finding it an excellent way to help students make connections between course content and the world beyond the classroom.

So consider the options. You can create a library blog, make it publicly accessible, and hope someone will bother to read it. Or, by using the relatively simple, inexpensive RSS to Javascript converters to blog to courseware, you can take steps to ensure that the time and effort you put into each posting actually connects with someone in your user community and reflects positively on the library. When you think about it, this is one decision in the tech world that is really easy to make.