In the thesaurus of my mind I now have the descriptor: Ann Arbor District Library USE FOR Library 2.0. If you want to see 2.0 working for library users then you must visit aadl.org. And no wonder: the lead developer of the site was John Blyberg, an authority on the use of social software in libraries and the author of blyberg.net. The current developer is Edward Vielmetti, author of the Superpatron blog.
The 2.0 features of AADL are not random, hidden, isolated or inscrutable. They all exemplify librarianship in action. Meaning, they bring the librarian’s expertise of selection, evaluation and instruction right to the desktop of the user. The AADL has no less than 16 blogs (!) that highlight the recommended use for and audience of items and events in the library. Much more useful than RSS feeds of new materials and checked out materials, these blogs focus on the content of materials. For example, the Magazine Blog briefly describes some interesting articles, features or topics of a magazine and recommends it and others like it in the collection. The Research Blog reviews resources useful for facilitating research such as health books, dictionaries, exam studying guides, and back to school materials. Particularly interesting is the Developer’s Blog that deals with technology-related events, information and issues. This is a great resource for people looking to learn about computers, design and programs. The list goes on, but the point is that the blogging is not just prolific, its purposeful.
A great feature is the RSS feeds list, which basically allows users to view the content of the blogs and webpages according to subject interest, and audience. If I don’t want to wade through 16 blogs, I can go to “RSS feeds”, click on “Adults” and view only material pertinent to adults. It is a fantastic feature, making the content accessible, organized, and user-specific – sound like library values? Darn tooting right.
Their catalog is a 2.0 phenomenon. There are tags, reviews, an integrated Book Blog, a virtual card catalog (!) and a “Users who checked out this item also checked out…” section. It’s like a mini-non-profit-community-Amazon!!!!! I’ve already started packing for Michigan.
But again, beyond the variety its the usability and the total integration with the AADL system and community that makes the features amazing. For example, the tags and reviews for each item are AADL user-oriented. There is no third party to sign up with, all you need is an AADL library card number to log in and you can start sharing with the community by adding to the catalog. It makes catalog searching dynamic because you can add to the system and use other people’s tags to navigate the system. For example tags and reviews are categorized under: Top ten, ten most recent, ten random. Each catalog item is also linked to a virtual card, as in the old card catalogs, that users can “write” on. So cool! Very pretty too, but not as integrated with the catalog as tags.
As a final nod, I’ll mention that AADL uses Twitter to provide news of events 30 min before start time. This is a very narrow and appropriate use of Twitter in the library, exploiting the software’s biggest strength (real time updates) for optimal usability.
With so much to offer, kudos to AADL for making it all easy to find. Click on “Services” and you find a list of features under “Using the Website.” Furthermore, features are integrated into other facets of the website when appropriate: the Book Blog with the catalog, the Community Blog with the Services page. It brings the tools for evaluation, consideration and motivation right to the user. A job well done.