Paul F Burgueño

Building a social network for libraries is possible

On the occasion of the celebration, on Tuesday, the Library Technical Session for the Community of Madrid, I had the opportunity to share a day with archivists and librarians from Madrid greatly concerned by the phenomenon of Web 2.0.

One of the biggest concerns that librarians came to light during the day is likely to increase further the digital divide if we base the entire library system platforms and web 2.0. However, one after another, various speakers from each of the tables were explained to the audience why such an increase would not only occur but the digitization of content and relationships contribute to the gradual disappearance of the same. Through the digital publication of books, remote access or library-user interaction through the network, more people could access the content libraries that now offer.

Traditional media library will not disappear, but will become simpler alternatives to the main digital. Therefore, the work of the librarian face morphs from users: it goes from a mere literary adviser to a real educator access to culture.

A social network within the framework of public libraries is possible. Not long ago I discussed with Juan Miguel Olry documentary, the phenomenon of libraries in Germany 2.0. As we saw talking to Ulrike Mühlschlegel, Director of the Spanish section of the library Iberoamericao Institute of Berlin, "by means of tools Web 2.0 as syndication, wikis, and tags including page creation and semantic portals, can achieve the full participation of users in the management of libraries also encouraging content creation by the readers themselves.

However, I found that show the public sector, and more libraries, that social networks are useful, like trying to explain to a neighboring community that mobile phone masts are safe. Not so those who attended the day, who knew its value and wanted to examine how best to undertake them. The rest, however, does not realize, as you told me Ildefonso Mayorgas a couple of days ago, that social networks have always existed: We all have a group of friends, a neighborhood, we are part of any association or are customers of a bar or pub, we all have a social network. What we want now is to reflect it-or-replicating Internet to make it more global, permanent, and give nearest ultimately more useful.

A social network of libraries in society boost digital content network and the interrelationship between people: social capacity subjects who wish to know, know whom they can share study table, what books recommended for group discussion, determine the last books purchased by the library, what is the rating that each user has given to them ... If anybody can now access my Last.fm profile to see what music I listen and find similarities in taste, why not do the same with the books I read? A social network of libraries would easier access to culture, study groups and would turn the Library into a real focal point.

Because of my profile lawyer, my contribution to the Library Technical Session for the Community of Madrid was based on legal requirements that a social network of libraries should play, especially with the applicable rules on privacy. I leave to your disposal the material of my presentation:

Presentation: usually put directly the presentation here, but as I use the system that is failing, I refer you directly to the website in which I hosted, if you want to see it.