BLOGGING WORKSHOP FOR CONFERENCE THEME/TOPIC OF WORKSHOP: BLOGGING WORKSHOP Updated OUTLINE OF PROGRAMME “Librarians have an obligation to be ahead of the curve, to know more than their patrons do about new technologies, and to understand how their use can improve library services” Steven Cohen, Webmaster of Librarystuff.net, ALA 2004 Movers and Shakers The workshop will introduce quick and easy ways for librarians to establish a web presence using blogs. The session will explore blogs, what they are and how they can be used in libraries as publishing and collaborative communication tools, not only for ongoing professional development and education but for sharing information with our users. During the session, participants will create their own blogs and will be invited to join in blogging the LIASA annual conference. The session will include an overview of other related technologies such as RSS, Tagging, Flickr, mashups, videocasting and podcasting. Target Audience: Librarians, library workers, Friends of Libraries Prerequisite Knowledge: Participatents need to be able to send an open email with attachments, use a word processor and access websites with a browser. They will need an email account that can be accessed over the internet (e.g. yahoo or g-mail). If there are images to be used in the blog, then these should be brought in gif or jpg format Outcomes: 1. Knowledge of how individuals and groups use blogs for web presence 2. Awareness of ethical, legal and technical challenges related to blogging 3. Knowledge of some options for using blogs in reaching out to our communities 4. Basic skills in the use of a popular free blogging service. TIME FRAME: Module 1: What are blogs and blogging? Terminologies, types of blogs, general discussion on why blogs are important for librarians or relevant (30 minutes) Module 2: Exploring LIS blogs that are in the blogosphere, how they have been used by librarians, looking at examples across the world and here in South Africa. (30 minutes) Module 3: Setting up a blog (1 hour) Module 4: Related technologies (RSS, Tagging, Flickr, Podcasting, Mashups) (30 minutes) PRESENTER: Ingrid Thomson, creator of Western Cape LIASA branch blog, SALIBRARIESINTHENEWS blog, and general blog evangelist ASSISTED BY: Celia Walter and Amina Adam. SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: Computer workstations with live internet access. MAX NUMBER OF DELEGATES: 20 (depending on facilities available)