Library clips

A a post from Michael Casey and and Meredith Farkas hone in on the loss of knowledge in libraries.

Libraries have a real value in mainataining a reference knowledge base as librarians are asked questions all the time, there is no need to re-invent the wheel everytime, leveraging on already present information certainly maximises effectiveness…this also applies to internal knowledge (staff needs).

Reference librarians empower people to help themselves by creating subject guides, but they can further capitalise on their collective knowledge by capturing more specific topic based resources in an internal reference base.
Previously librarians used card-based files, which moved to electronic versions, which are now moving to web-based services.

Common needs for a reference file

- most commonly asked questions
- student/worker needs eg. term papers or leave form
- hot topics of the week or month
- reference eg. always use this dictionary over the other one for law definitions…eg. I really found this database is the best for economic statistics, works for me everytime…eg. you wouldn’t expect it, but this book has a brief Italian cinema filmography
- direct questions eg. Where’s the closest book shop?
- staff needs eg. Certain PC’s may have individual problems, in this case do this…

Beyond this are subject guides and the library website, but having ready stored answers to unique and common requests is going to help reference staff procure answers without having to repeat what others may have already done, and also giving prompt answers to easy requests makes sense.

Attached to this is the recording of reference transactions to generate statistics on what types of questions are being asked and what answers we were able to give…this also gives insight into filling in the gaps in expertise and materials

Sharing culture

Besides a process and technology for directly codifying and accessing information, there also needs to be a information sharing culture.

I see 2 aspects of this:
- codifying and indexing your experiences in a knowledge base, eg. reference transactions
(the culture will decide if people want to do this, if not education and learning is required)
- web 2.0 tools for general information sharing

Sure, the fundamental part is a repository for reference experiences…but what about just general information sharing. Like Luis Suarez mentions in respect to expert locators, if we have a knowledge sharing culture, we are bound to know who the experts are because we read their stuff, or our colleague reads their stuff, or we could search or browse by tag in the web 2.0 base and find who is responsible for the relevant content you find.
That is, sometimes we may not need to refer to the locator system as we already are aware of certain experts because of the open social information sharing system.

In our example, if key library staff (perhaps reference staff) had blogs and social bookmarks, then we could be exposed to their writings daily, this is informal learning.

Maybe sometimes we don’t need to search the reference experience knowledge base as a colleague may have blogged about the experience before and submited it to the knowledge base…or the blog and the knowledge could be the same thing.

Anyway back to the fundamentals…

The key aspect is that of a direct or explicit knowledge base, that is, after a reference transaction you add that information to the knowledge base….this applies to email, f2f, IM, etc…types of reference experiences.

NOTE: it would also make it easier if you could post to the knowledge base from email or IM or publish your blog post to the knowledge base simultaneously.

The web 2.0 way

A knowledge base can be some kind of simple database…as long as you can query it or browse by topic.
You could use a blog as a knowledge database, or a group of blogs re-syndicated into a Public RSS Reader…even a wiki is an easy solution.
See Wikis in the Workplace: How Wikis Can Help Manage Knowledge in Library Reference Services…this is a basic way to capture resources and reference transactions…coupled with a blog, any library can set this up this type of environment in less than an hour.
For some current examples see Meredith’s coverage of Wikis: Enabling Library Knowledgebases.

These web 2.0 tools are great as each entry can be discussed (comments), re-edited, re-syndicated, etc…
You could even make Squidoo type guides for the most FAQ.

Speaking of FAQ, what about FAQQLY (scroll down)…for example if a company has librarians scattered all over the globe, you could set up a system like FAQQLY, where staff (clients) could ask questions, these questions are tagged when you answer them.
If I was asked a question I’d first check the FAAQLY tag cloud or do a search to see if any of the other librarians have answered a similar question.

The great thing about this is that the same page that you ask questions and receive answers contains the content of all past questions and answers…so you can ask a question or read past questions in the same service.

NOTE: those questions not asked through FAAQLY (eg. a staff member asks you a question in person or via email), then perhaps the librarian can enter the “question and answer” themselves in order to add it to the knowledge base.

The added benefit is that staff (clients) could browse and search FAQQLY in hope of finding an answer, before having to ask a question.

NOTE: FAQQLY has released groups , maybe the open web could have a librarian reference topic expert group.

Similar to FAQQLY is CommonGate where librarians could set up 10 or so topic reference blogs (this would be good if you could set up your own version of CommonGate)…I guess you could use a multi blog platform as an alternative.
I like the idea of of a kit (similar to CommonGate) where you create multiple blog spaces in an instant, and each librarian has a space of their aggregated posts…they don’t, per se, have their own blog, when they post an entry is has to be assigned to a topic blog, and it is just aggregated into their user space.
This is not an alternative to their own personal blog, but it is a great way to share reference information, maybe the use of tags for each entry could hone in on specific topics/keywords. The cream of this content could then maybe make it to a wiki, the stock and flow idea.

Something kind of similar is Otavo, and also tag-based forums (these work on a similar principle to CommonGate).

At the moment my library doesn’t have a system to document reference questions, which I guess we could do in any of the services mentioned above or even in a simple social notes system like TagFacts (but I’d like each entry to have a permalink), maybe we could create our own with Ning.

I’d like to see a dedicated web 2.0 service as a reference librarian knowledge base…I’m thinking of it having a blogging module, that way when you publish your blog post you can also choose to add it to the knowledge base (tags included). This could be an internal system just for your library collective or on the open web (maybe you could form a group on the open web version).

NOTE: Maybe librarians on the open web could share a reference knowledge base, not a directory of resources by subject type, but reference experiences by subject type. Whenever you blog your post you could trackback a central site (similar to LazyWeb)…but then the tags wouldn’t carry through.
We could re-syndicate the posts to a Public RSS Reader, but then not all posts will be relevant, maybe we can just re-syndicate certain posts via a tag feed…see Edgeio.

For those non-bloggers you could allow people to register and manually publish their experience and tag it…heck why not just use a wiki…I just think it’s handy to be able to publish to multiple place at the same time.

Non web 2.0 reference knowledge bases

The only information I share is for extensive literature searches…if I do some research for a client I finish up with a report of my findings, this same report is codified into a folder in the EDMS (Electronic Document Managament System). Even though we don’t have a subject field, we could use any field to type in subject terms, this is OK for searching, but what about browsing subject terms.
In my own work I’d like to extend this codifying to unique and common reference questions (sorted by title and topic).

Anyway at least this way, before you undertake a research project you can consult our global EDMS to see if anyone has already touched on this area.

Check out some of the literature about traditional (non web 2.0) approaches in forming not only a reference base, but a total knowledge base.

See KM in a metro library, where it has a brief on a searchable knowledge base, as well as an expert locator.

Also see the Reference Desk tab section in Creating an Internal Content Management System…here’s a screen shot.
Here is an article about the same reference database. This article is more on the reference workflow, whereas this blog post is more focused on the reference knowledge base that would be an aspect of a bigger system.

Then there is, Making tacit knowledge explicit: the Ready Reference Database as codified knowledge, this is a great article on knowledge transfer and codifying more than just reference experiences in an RRD…this doubles up as a knowledge map and knowledge respository for all types of information.
This article goes beyond workflow and a reference repository into a whole knowledge base for all types of information.

The article Knowledge management in academic libraries: special tools and processes to support information professionals demonstates how a library can create a simple knowledge base…in this example the repository is being used to capture reference resources. Check it out here.

This is exactly what I’m getting at, after a reference transaction you may discover great resources for a particular topic, these can be documented by title and by subject for staff and public use.
Subject guides or pathfinders are broad in nature, the reference base is there to capture more specific questions and resources, and to identify commonly used, unique, and hard to find resources.

Organizing Ready Reference and Administrative Information with the Reference Desk Manager also succinctly defines the problem and solution, again this heads towards an Intranet type solution…I guess my blog post is more specific to an aspect of this system.

Knowledge management and reference services is an indepth paper about km in general and cites some great examples of km in libraries.

Related posts:
Internal Library blogs
Library Reference Blogs (This blog post has a link to Lyceum: A Blogsphere for Library Reference).

Similar posts:
The different ways of finding experts
Internal communication blogs and km2.0
Research librarian and web 2.0
OPAC in a blog and library 2.0
km 2.0 adoption and organic km
Enterprise social sharing structure
Microsoft Knowledge Network Expertise Locator

For the latest on Library 2.0 see, Library 2.0 Theory: Web 2.0 and Its Implications for Libraries and Web 2.0 and Libraries: Best Practices for Social Software…also Library Technology NOW 2.0.

See my del.icio.us tag for km in libraries - LIS_km

Also check out this blog used a bibliography for km in libraries.

See the kmwikis coverage of km in the library.

Feedback

Please use the comments to provide some discussion on how your library shares information, and more specifically on how you share/codify reference transactions.

I’m looking for homemade DIY examples.

What are peoples experiences?

Maybe I’ll submit this to the Carnival of Infosciences.

ADDED: I just realised I haven’t mentioned IM, see Tame the Web for IM in libraries.

In an earlier post I mentioned the possibility of setting up an expertise locator/Q&A service for topic reference librarians using FAQQLY groups.

I just came across a wiki dedicated to IT in libraries called Pay IT Forward…it is basically a member directory for those who need help with IT issues in libraries.

Check out the member directory, it includes peoples interests…search here by name or topic.
This is very primitive, this could be perhaps set up in a Q&A service just for IT in libraries, perhaps using Ning, see this example.

With a little web 2.0 enhancement, we can have a member directory as well as a Q&A service in the one place, the essentials would be like Yedda, but it would be a whole website dedicated to your own topic, eg. Library IT experts.

Essential features:
- see recent questions
- tag questions
- people tags (tag yourself)
- public user space

[via TechEssence.Info]

I’ve posted about FAQQLY in my post about expert locators, basically FAQQLY is a Question & Answer Social Network, similar to Otavo…also check out Qunu for real-time IM expert help.

Anyway, the idea before asking a question is rummaging through the knowledge base to see if any relevant content may answer or help in your quest…search, browse content tags.

You can also browse FAQQLY for people tags, just like Ziki, soon Ziki will also allow others to tag you, as well as being able to tag yourself.

FAQQLY allows for self tagging, but I only see a search function, it needs a tag cloud…this way you can find self acclaimed topic experts.

Groups

What if you could group a collective of experts on a similar topic to form a kind of mini FAQQLY?

This URL would be the one-stop place for Q&A on a certain topic…this is the next best thing to creating your own topic based Q&A service…perhaps with Ning.

Well you don’t have to as FAQQLY now allows you to join and create groups, and describe the group with tags.

I suppose you could also just sign yourself only as a group…protected visibility.

Groups have an option as public, protected (joing by approval), private (content is privy to members only, and membership by invitation).

This is something Ziki is already doing, in Ziki you tag youself, in Ziki Groups, people join a group and collectively tag the group.

NOTE: Ziki is not a Q&A service, it is a social network personal content manager.

Findability I’d like to see:

- Browse recent, popular questions or answers
- Search/Browse name of person
- Search/Browse people tags (tag cloud)
- Search/Browse content tags (tag cloud)
- Search/Browse group names
- Search/Browse group tags (tag cloud)
- Search/Browse people tags within a group (tag cloud)
- Search/Browse content tags within a group (tag cloud)

Enhancements

At the moment you can view the group knowledge base by topic tag or simply ask the group a question…you can also view the members of a group and ask the member a question directly.
But at the moment you have to click on each member to see their tags, ie. what they specialise in.

So besides the group tag cloud, I’d also like to see another tag cloud, ie. all the personal (group member) tags in one cloud…and also a personal tag cloud next to the thumbnail of each member.

The problem is that if you bypass the group and ask a member a question directly in their user space, then this will not be included in the group knowledge base…there could be a way for a member to re-direct or re-publish a Q&A in the group space.

The good thing is that you could view the aggregated personal tag cloud for the group or view one person’s tag cloud via a member thumbnail, and ask the right question to the right person, this is even more essential if there is IM communication in the future.

Another feature would be for an individual to re-direct a question they were asked in their own user space to a group member.

More

On second thought groups still aren’t quite like creating your own mini FAQQLY, I’m thinking the library blogosphere could get together and create a Reference Library FAQQLY, within this you could create groups eg. engineering reference, business reference, medical reference, etc…

I was going to create a Reference Library group, I guess the tags would separate the content by topic, the problem is that I don’t want to be alerted business questions if I’m an engineering librarian.

Anyway I have decided to create an Engineering Librarian’s FAQ, I’m no expert as I’m the first to ask a question.

Who can I invite to answer a question or join the group, I don’t think any Library blog lists are broken down into topics, but I know a few lists:

DMOZ - Top: Reference: Libraries: Library and Information Science: Weblogs
Yahoo! - Directory > Reference > Libraries > Weblogs
PubSub - The Librarian List
Libdex - Library weblogs
LISfeeds
Blogging Libraries Wiki

Here are some science related library blogs:

GSU Library - Science News
Confessions of a Science Librarian
STLQ
Christina’s Library Rant
Information Overlord
DU Library - Engineering Resources
Eng Lib
Science Library Blog (Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Geology/Environmental Studies)
Science Library Pad
Really Simple Sidi
SD Librarian
Rowland Institute Library Blog
SciLib
ISEL Update
from your science librarian’s desk

[ADDED 18/08/06: I guess what I like about these Q&A services is that instead of using email to ask questions, we are using a public space. The benefit is that instead of asking one person, you are instead asking the world at large, allowing more chance to gain an answer.
Also these transactions are tagged and documented so they can be of help to others that may be asking the same or similar question.

Form what I understand in Otavo you are asking a question to no-one in particular, you are asking the world at large…people can follow the recent stream of lists/questions. Whereas in FAQQLY it seems you need to direct a question to an individual, and there isn’t an overall FAQQLY recent stream, this is a lacking feature, or perhaps it is designed as a more person to person service. The group feature opens this up a little as when you ask a question, all people in the group will be alerted.]

Steven Cohen put me onto librariesinteract.info (Blog central for libraries in Australia)…must add this to my aussie blogs post.

Anyway checking out the blogroll I found Letters from Adelaide, inline with my post OPAC in a blog and library 2.0, is a post about a DDC tag cloud…check out the cloud.

From the post:

“I think it works well: you can see at a glance where our collection strengths lie. And each heading links to a Catalogue search for that call number. One thing I didn’t expect, but should have: there are quite a few Unassigned and Optional headings, which presumably reflect local practice and historical changes, so I guess I’ll need to update my tables.”

Check out the post on Life as I know it…it is a round up of the latest blogosphere talk about OPAC’s.

Wow, all that from the blogosphere in the last couple of months, such a plethora of information.

Blogs are so cutting edge compared to journals…by the time this stuff gets into journals the future OPAC’s will already be up and running.

Without the immediacy of blogs things would be much slower, blogs allow anyone to publish thoughts, people find your blog in an aggregated list or a collective group or are recommended your blog or come across a post in a search result, etc…reading your posts gets them thinking, and they publish a post, and so on.

Then someone comes along like Jennifer and consolidates it all…other ways are a blog engine search or tag or a social bookmarks tag.

Anyway the point is that blogs allow thoughts, ideas and the resulting discussions to move so much faster, and since more minds are connected there is more chance we are going to influence each other to think of things we would have never thought of…we created and use this technology that has spurred a cultural activity that can generate news and discussion instantly by anyone who would like to participate.
It’s not to say the result of this easy participation, immediacy of news and decentralised discussion may not be to the detriment sometime, after all news is news.

Whether blogs are considered authoritative or not, they are certainly having impact.