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Title:

Weblogs and libraries

Review:

Weblogs are a (relatively) new Internet phenomena, and there are only a few books that cover the subject in any detail, and "Weblogs and Libraries" by Dr. L. Anne Clyde (Professor in the Faculty of Social Science, University of Iceland) is unique in that it looks at the subject from a librarianship angle. It's short; only 181 pages, and I was able to read it in a single sitting. It covers a lot of ground quickly, and looks at the subject from a variety of different aspects: an overview of blogging; weblogs as sources of current information; finding weblogs, weblogs in the field of library and information science; weblogs created by libraries; creating and managing one and sources of information.

Consequently, it will be of value to anyone with an interest in weblogs, or simply someone who wishes to know rather more about them, particularly those individuals who work in the library and information science field.

The writing style is engaging and easy to follow with little or no technical jargon employed. It is clearly set out, with a good type face and overall design style. The text is helpfully supplemented with screenshots that are also clear and easy to view. Given that the subject area is moving very swiftly, the book is also reasonably current - most screenshots being dated in April of 2004. Clyde has also provided a great many useful links to websites that cover weblogs, so even if/when the content gets dated the reader will still gain considerable knowledge by using the title as a basis for further personal exploration.

The author has given many examples of weblogs that the reader can visit to increase their own knowledge, although I sometimes felt that the accompanying text, while descriptive, did give the feel of a little 'padding'; I would have liked to have seen more recommendations of weblogs and less description, though this may be because I already knew most of the examples used. It would also have been helpful to have a step-by-step guide to creating a weblog, rather than a generic description of how it could be done. I would also like to have seen rather more in-depth information on how weblogs can be used within a library, to really draw out their benefits for librarians. Although this is slightly unfair, since weblogs have yet to be widely taken up by the information community I feel that the author is knowledgeable enough to give some really good suggestions and ideas and I was disappointed not to see more in this area.

These are however minor quibbles; overall the book is very informative, and the reader will be left in no doubt about how useful weblogs can potentially be, and there is advice aplenty on where to go next. I would recommend it to anyone with the slightest curiosity in weblogs, and I predict an increase in the number of library-based weblogs being produced as a result of reading the book.

Free Pint Reviewer:

Phil Bradley is a well known Internet consultant and search expert. He teaches on a wide variety of aspects of the Internet, (both public and private tailored courses for in-company training) and is the author of a number of well known titles, such as the Advanced Internet Searcher's Handbook. He writes, designs and maintains websites for clients, as well as offering a Search Engine Optimisation service. He has also written a weblog for the last two years. Most recently he has become a Microsoft 'Search Champ', providing them with advice and feedback on their developments in the field of Internet Search. His website is at <http://www.philb.com>.

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