Twitter for Librarians: The Ultimate Guide

Twitter for Librarians: The Ultimate Guide is another gem I found via the Internet Resources Newsletter.The first paragraph is a bit geekish but do not be deterred – just think of it as a sort of SMS or Instant Messaging with optional bells and whistles. (UKeiG is currently pulling together a fact sheet on Twitter). The rest of the article gives examples of how it can be used in a library context. It is US centric but the ideas are applicable anywhere in the world.

May 2008 snapshot of UK HE and FE developments in Second Life

I was alerted to this by the excellent Internet Resources Newsletter. The May 2008 snapshot of UK HE and FE developments in SL summarises an investigation into the use and uptake of Second Life (SL) by UK Higher and Further Education. The research, carried out in the period up until May 2008, had four main goals:

• to determine the “state of play” of SL developments within the Higher and Further Education sector,
• to discover how these developments are supported, in terms of time, funding and other resources,
• to explore the functionality of these developments, i.e. which types of media or interactive service they incorporate,
• to establish how “busy”, or well-used, the developments have been and discover any impacts resulting from their implementation and use.

Even if you do not work in higher or further education, this report is worth reading in order to get a feel for how it is being used, the pros and cons, and the positive and negative attitudes of people directly involved and those on the sidelines.