Conclusion

I enjoyed the photos and images segment. It happened just as I was going overseas and was pondering which photo hosting sites to use. I settled for Flick-r and the 500 image limit is not bad. I now use Facebook for these uploads. Folders or albums are created once you exceed the number allowed (around 200?). However I haven’t encountered problems to date.

With our new search facility, we’re already incorporating tags on our website, and we’re using wikis, widgets etc for different desk and off-desk functions. Pretty cool! Of course there are always better ways of doing things more efficiently and that’s one thing I’ve learnt from this program: remain alert and open to new influences/technologies.

I’m amazed how many libraries have incorporated these new technologies. Some work better than others, and it’s an object lesson that once these technologies have been used it’s important to keep on top of these so the website doesn’t look stale and the additions like after-thoughts.

Libraries have shifted away from just being static repositories of material and are trying to engage with users as never before. As the public moves more into social networking we try to capture their interest by employing some of these communication devices but in the final analysis we still communicate with our users in fairly traditional ways. Many companies have tried to use social networking sites to communicate with their customer base but unless they've thought it through, this communication can be fairly static and not as agile and up-to-the-minute as, for example, Twitter.