An investigation and analysis of the application of Web 2.0 in Chinese university libraries

AninvestigationandanalysisoftheapplicationofWeb2.0inChineseuniversitylibraries

LiSi,RuoyaoShiandBijuanChen

SchoolofInformationManagement,WuhanUniversity,Wuhan,P.R.China

Abstract

Purpose–ThispaperaimstoprovideanoverallpictureoftheapplicationofWeb2.0technologiesinChineseuniversitylibraries.ThefocusoftheresearchiswhattypesofWeb2.0technologieswereappliedinsuchlibrariesaswellastheirfunctionanduserinterface.

Design/methodology/approach–Thetop30ChineseuniversitylibrarieswereselectedtoinvestigatetheapplicationofWeb2.0technologies.Contentanalysiswasusedintermsofquantitativeapproach.Datawerecollectedbyaccessingthese30universitylibrarieswebsiteswithinfiveweeks.Findings–Two-thirdsofChineseuniversitylibrariesdeployedoneormoreWeb2.0technologies.Onlyone-tenthoflibrariesadoptedmorethanfourWeb2.0technologies.RSSwasthemostwidelyapplied,whileWikiwastheleast.TheapplicationofWeb2.0technologiesamongChineseuniversitylibrarieswasnotextensiveandprofoundenough.

Researchimplications–ThefindingscanbeutilizedtoevaluatethestatusofWeb2.0technologyapplications.ThestatisticaldataareveryusefulandauthenticsourcesforimprovingthelevelofWeb2.0technologyapplication.Itmayenablefutureresearchtoanalyzeotheraspects(e.g.theapplicationofRSSorBlogsforservices).

Originality/value–ThisuniquestudyexplorestheapplicationofWeb2.0mainlyinChineseuniversitylibrariesthatdeployedanytypesofWeb2.0technologies.ThisstudyisveryusefulforChineseuniversitylibrariesinevaluating/deployingWeb2.0.Librarymanagers,librarians,andotherlibrariesmayalsofindthishelpful,oncetheydecidetoimplementsuchtechnologiesintheirlibraries.KeywordsWeb2.0,Communicationtechnologies,ChineseuniversitylibrariesPapertypeResearchpaper

Web2.0inChineselibraries

651

ReceivedDecember2009RevisedFebruary2010

April2010

AcceptedSeptember2010

Introduction

Theconceptof“Web2.0”beganwithaconferencebrainstormingsessionbetweenO’ReillyandMediaLiveInternational,DaleDougherty,webpioneer.O’Reilly,thefounderandCEOofO’ReillyMediaInc.generalizes“Web2.0isthewebasplatform”andapplicationsofWeb2.0arebasedonthatplatform(O’Reilly,2009).Theservicephilosophyofuser-centeredandharnessingcollectiveintelligencehasbroughtimportantchangesininformationcreating,accessing,exchangemannerandserviceplatform,allkindsofwebsitesprovidetoolspersonalized,interactive,freeandopenuserserviceinsuccession,whichcanbethedevelopmenttrendofInternet.Meanwhile,Web2.0informationenvironmentalsobringsunprecedentedchallengestolibraries.ProfessorFanBingsiconsiders:

ThispaperisaresearchresultofChinesephilosophyandsocialsciencefoundation(ProjectName:StudyofUser-ParticipatedLibraryInformationOrganizationPatternsinWeb2.0Environment.ProjectNo.09BTQ013.

TheElectronicLibrary

Vol.29No.5,2011

pp.651-668

qEmeraldGroupPublishingLimited

02-0473

DOI10.1108/020471111177080

EL29,5

ThesecondgenerationInternettechnologythatisWeb2.0willmakeinformationprovidersmoredecentralizationandpopularization,makeinformationservicemoreminiaturizationandpersonalization.Intheforeseeablefuture,thesetechnologiescanweakengreatlythestatusoflibrariesininformationservicefieldsthanthefirstgenerationtechnologies(FanBingsi,2005).

652

ItisanurgentproblemtomakeuseofWeb2.0philosophyandtechnologytoimproveinformationorganizationandserviceinlibraries.

Literaturereview

GeneralstudiesofWeb2.0applications

ThenewwaveofapplicationsofWeb2.0relatedtechnologiesinlibrarieshasgainedincreasingpopularityglobally.SomeinternationalprofessionalorganizationsfocusontheapplicationofWeb2.0inLibraries.AreportfromtheOCLC(2007)Sharing,PrivacyandTrustinOurNetworkedWorldrevealedthat13percentofthetotalgeneralpublicand9percentoftheUSgeneralpublicrespondentsfeelthatitistheroleofthelibrarytocreateasocialnetworkingsitefortheircommunities,while14percentofUSlibrarydirectorsbelievesocialnetworkingisaroleforlibraries.TheAssociationofCollegeandResearchLibrariesEnvironmentalScan(ACRL,2007)urgeslibrarianstofacilitatenewapproachestolibraryservicesbycontinuallyassessingtheimpactofWeb2.0onlibraryservicesandthewaysinwhichusersviewthelibrary,includingtheuseofsocialnetworkingsites,wikis,blogs,RSSfeeds,andrecommendationsystems.AtLITA(Library&InformationTechnologyAssociation)Programs&MeetingsatALAAnnualConference(LITA,2009),manytopicsonWeb2.0technologiesaregivenasfollow:“Creatinglibrarywebservices:mashupsandAPIs”,“Theultimatedebate:HasLibrary2.0fulfilleditspromise?”.LITAalsosetuptheBlogandWikiInterestGroup,launchedimportantseminarsinthisfield.TheIFLASatelliteConference(2009)wasthemedEmergingTrendsinTechnology:LibrariesbetweenWeb2.0,SemanticWebandSearchTechnology,whichaddressingthenewwebtechnologies,thesemanticwebandthenewsearchtechnologiesthathaveaverydeepimpactontheservicesinthelibraryscene.Stephens(2007)detailedrecentinnovationswithblogs,RSS,wikis,instantmessaging,wikis,andFlikrintheworldoflibraryandsocialcomputing.“Wewillseehowtheconversationandparticipationhavebeencarriedwithenhancementsandincreaseduse”.Kroski(2007)introducedavastarrayofWeb2.0toolsforlibrariansandinformationprofessionals.Eachchapterofhisbookcoversthepurpose,functionality,features,usagestatistics,andsoftwarechoicesrelatedtoamajortechnology.Screenshots,anin-depthcasestudyandseveralshorterreal-lifeexampleswereused.Secker(2007)providesacomprehensiveliteraturereviewaboutWeb2.0applicationsinlibraries,whichexploresthedifferentpresenceoftheconceptindifferentlibraries.ShegivessomegenuinelyusefulexamplesfrombothwithinandwithouttheUnitedStatesofhowthetechnologycanenhanceourservices.Chen(2009)exploredusingblog,GoogleDocs,andotherWeb2.0toolssuchasDelicious,Flickr,wikitoenhancecatalogingsectionactivities.AfterstudyingLibraryThing,PennTags,Encore,andAquaBrowsertoviewacademiclibrarieswiththeseinterfacesontheirOPACs,WebbandNero(2009)thinkaLibrary2.0catalogwouldincreasethevalueoftheOPACanddefinitelyincreaseusage.Aharony(2009)distributeddifferentquestionnairesto168randomlyIsraelilibrariansthroughoutthecountry.Hisresearchrevealedthatpersonalitycharacteristicsaswellascomputerexpertise,motivation,importanceand

capacitytowardsstudyingandintegratingdifferentapplicationsofWeb2.0inthefuture,influencelibrarians’useofWeb2.0.Thefindingsemphasizetheimportanceofindividualdifferencesintechnologyacceptance.

GeneralstudiesofLibrary2.0

ThetermLibrary2.0firstappearedinapostbyMichaelCasey(2005)inhisblogLibraryCrunch.ChadandMiller(2005)describeLibrary2.0asaconcept,greatlydifferentfromthetraditionallibraryservicethatoperatesaccordingtotheexpectationsofusers.KimHolmbergandetal.(2009)definedamodelofLibrary2.0,containingsevenbuilding-blocksofthephenomenon:interactivity,users,participation,librariesandlibraryservices,webandweb2.0,socialaspects,andtechnologyandtools.InWikipedia,Library2.0isalooselydefinedmodelforamodernizedformoflibraryservicethatreflectsatransitionwithinthelibraryworldinthewaythatservicesaredeliveredtousers(Library2.0fromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia,availableat:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_2.0;(accessedJanuary252010).Thefocusisonuser-centeredchangeandparticipationinthecreationofcontentandcommunity.WithLibrary2.0,libraryservicesareconstantlyupdatedandre-evaluatedtobestservelibraryusers.Library2.0alsoattemptstoharnessthelibraryuserinthedesignandimplementationoflibraryservicesbyencouragingfeedbackandparticipation.Curranetal.(2007)considerthemajordifferencebetweenLibrary1.0andLibrary2.0isthatLibrary1.0onlyallowsforaone-wayflowofinformationwhileLibrary2.0isaread-writelibrarythatgiveslibraryusersthepowertodecidetheservicethattheyget.Library2.0canbesummarizedasbeinguser-drivenandaimingtosaveeachlibraryusertimeinretrievinginformation.Library2.0anduser-generatedcontentaretwoterms,whicharecloselyconnected.Danowski(2007)gavetwoprojects,namelytheGermancooperativenameauthorityfilesandWikisourceasanexampletoillustratehowuser-generatedcontentandlibrariesinteract.Rinnovati(2009)exploredhowLibrary2.0canenhanceuserexperienceanddevelopedinformationandservicesinItaly.TheresultsshowthatGoogle,wiki,rssfeed,blogarethetoolsmostusedinItalianlibraries,publicandacademiclibrarianshavebeenthemostinfluentialmoversofLibrary2.0,butitisdifficulttounderstandiftheapplicationofthesetoolscouldchangetheprofileoftraditionalserviceandbringittonewapplicationofpersonalisedfacilitiesforpatron.Inspiredbytwocontrastingmotivations,theoneisherfrustrationthatlibrariesarefallingbehindthetimes,andtheotherisherexcitementabouttheopportunitiesaheadofus,Cohen(2007)writesAlibrarian’s2.0Manifestoconsisting17affirmativestatements.ThesestatementsaredeclarationofaLibrary2.0mindsetandstatespecificintentions.CasestudyofspecificWeb2.0toolsapplications

Casestudiesoftenconcernonespecifictool’sapplicationwhichoffershow-tosuggestionsandsomevaluableevaluationsoftheapplication.TheresearchofVandenburg(2008)showsthatitispossibletouseAPIsprovidedbylargeinternetentitiessuchasGoogletocreatemapbasednavigationaltoolsforaccessingbibliographicinformation.Italsoshowsthevalueofallowinglibrarysystemsstafftoexplorenewtechnologies.Gordon-Murnane(2006)definedsocialbookmarkinganditsrelatedconceptsoftaggingandfolksonomyandidentifiedsomeofthetoolscurrentlyavailableandthefeaturesthesestoolshavetooffer.Themostvaluableaspectsofbookmarkingtools“istohelpindividualsorganize,store,andmanagealltypesof

Web2.0inChineselibraries

653

EL29,5

654

contentthattheywanttoretrieve”.Cox(2008)exploredwhereFlickr’srealnoveltylies,examiningitsfunctionalityanditsplaceintheworldofamateurphotography.SeveraloptimisticviewsoftheimpactofFlickrsuchasitsfacilitationofcitizenjournalism,“vernacularcreativity”andinlearningasan“affinityspace”areevaluated.Golubandetal.(2009)investigatestheeffectonindexingandretrievalwhenusingonlysocialtaggingversuswhenusingsocialtaggingincombinationwithsuggestionsfromaknowledgeorganizationsystem.i.e.DeweyDecimalClassification,itsclasscaptions,RelativeIndexTerms,andLCSHterms.Theresultsshowedtheimportanceofknowledgeorganizationsystemsuggestionsforbothindexingandretrieval:tohelpproduceideasoftagstouse,tomakeiteasiertofindfocusforthetagging,aswellastoensureconsistencyandincreasethenumberofaccesspointsinretrieval.

OveralldevelopmentofWeb2.0applicationinlibrary

ComparedtothepushtointroducelibrariestospecificWeb2.0tools,littlehasbeendonetostudytheoveralldevelopmentoftheseefforts.Amongthefewresearches,Linh(2008)investigatestheapplicationofWeb2.0inAustralasianuniversitylibrariesandconcludesthatatleasttwo-thirdsofAustralasianuniversitylibrariesdeployedoneormoreWeb2.0technologiesbuttheaverageoftheseindexeswasstilllow.Themeanapplicationindexwasonly12pointswhilethehighestwas37points.Li-PingKu(2009)investigatedtheWeb2.0experienceof497postgraduateandPhDstudentsinChineseAcademyofSciences(CAS),theresultsindicatedthatthemoststudentsuseInstantMessengerandP2P.AfewstudentsuseChatroom,SocialNetworkSoftware,SocialTagandRSS.BothPodcastandBlogarenormalfrequencyofuser’sbehavior.Lietzau(2009)investigatedtheapplicationofWeb2.0technologiesinUSpubliclibraries.Onlyabout1percentofpubliclibrariesalloweduserstotagitemsintheircatalogues,andthesocialnetworkingsiteswestudiedonlyattractedaroundonein20publiclibraries.Ingeneral,mostofthepublicationshaveafocusonasingleWeb2.0technologyorasingleserviceprovidedbylibrariesintegratedwithWeb2.0.Theresearch-basedliteratureonoveralldevelopmentofWeb2.0applicationinlibrarycommunityisrare.FromtheearlierrelevantliteraturewecanseeresearchersfocusmainlyongeneralstudiesofWeb2.0applications,generalstudiesofLibrary2.0,casestudyoftheapplicationofspecificWeb2.0tools,thereare2surveysaboutoveralldevelopmentofWeb2.0applicationinAustralasianuniversitylibrariesandUSpubliclibraries.ButatpresenttherearehardlyanyoverallsurveysabouttheapplicationofWeb2.0toolsinChineselibraries.ThisstudytriestopresentthefindingsofcontentanalysisthatsystematicallyexaminesvariousWeb2.0applicationsinagroupof30Chinesetop-rankinguniversitylibraries,andattemptstodescribetheextentoftheirapplicationsofWeb2.0tools.

Researchdesign

Researchsampleselection

Fromthetop30keyuniversitiesinChinaasreleasedbytheCenterforChinaScienceEvaluationin2009,theauthorsselectthelibrariesofthesetopuniversitiesassamples.TheresearchobjectistorevealtheapplicationstatusofWeb2.0inChineseuniversitylibraries.TheinvestigationofWeb2.0technologycoversRSS,Wiki,Blog,Tag/Folksonomy,IM,Podcast/Vodcast,Toolbar,andAjax.Thedatacollectiontimeisarrangedbetween10March-18April2009.

Gatheringdata

ThisarticlemakesacomprehensivewebsurveyaboutthekindsofWeb2.0application,theservicefunctionprovidedandtheuserinterfacesofthetopuniversitylibraries.Theauthorsdecidedtousethefollowingmethodsandprocedures:.

Selecttop30keyuniversitiesinChinaasreleasedbytheCenterforChinaScienceEvaluationin2009astheresearchsample;createalistofthesetopuniversitylibraries..

SearchrelateddocumentaboutWeb2.0anditsapplicationinlibraries,determinethekindsofWeb2.0technology,theservicefunctionprovidedandtheuserinterfaceofthetopuniversitylibraries,andrefineandimproveinvestigationform..

AccessalllibrarywebsitesoftopuniversitylibrariesinthelisttoidentifytheexistenceofWeb2.0technologies,lookatlinkssuchas,,“news”,“readerservices”,“directories”,“Toolbar”,etc.toseetheavailabilityofRSS,blogs,IM,podcastsandwikis.Suchlinksareusuallyonthehomepagesorthesecond-levelsub-pagesofthelibrarywebsites..

Usethe“search”functionofthewebsites,searchforwordsorphrasessuchas“RSS”,“blog”,“libraryblog”,“instantmessaging”,“chat”,“podcast”,“vodcast”,“wiki”and“tag”.ThisstepisusefulasitenabledtheresearcherstoidentifytheavailabilityofWeb2.0inthelibraries’websitesevenifthelinkstothoseapplicationsarenotinthehomepagesorthesecond-levelsub-pagesofthewebsites..

Use“Googlesearch”forlibrariesthatdonotprovideasearchboxontheirwebsitestosearchwithinthelibraries’websitedomainbyfollowingthesyntax:keywordsite:www.domainname.Forexample,toseewhethertheLibraryofTsinghuaUniversityusesRSSornot,thefollowingsearchexpressionwasused:RSSsite:www.lib.tsinghua.edu.cn.ResultsanddiscussionGeneralweb2.0application

Takingthelibrariesofthetop30“211project”universitiesasasample,theauthorscarriedoutaseriesofinvestigationsontheapplicationofWeb2.0andmadeinitialstatistics.WewantedtocheckoutwhethertheyapplytheWeb2.0andwhichWeb2.0applicationstheyhadimplementedandhowtheyuseWeb2.0applicationsincombination.TableIshowstheresultofthesurvey.

TableIindicatesthatRSSwasusedmostwidelyandaccountedfor37percent;IM(InstantMessage)wasanothermajorapplicationwhichaccounted32percent;theapplicationoftoolbarsandblogsaccountedfor12percentand7percentrespectively;theimplementationofAjax(AsynchronousJavaScriptandXML)andTag/Folksonomywasrelativelylowwhichaccountedfor5percentrespectively;wikiwasonlyappliedintheblogofXiamenUniversityKnowledgeResourcePortalwhichisansyndicationofblogsinlibrarydomainandaccountedfor2percent;Podcast/VodcasthasnotbeenputintouseamongtheeightWeb2.0applications.Astheresultsshow,therehavebeenthreeuniversitylibrariesusefivekindsofWeb2.0applicationsincombination,andtheyareasfollows:TsinghuaUniversityLibraryusedRSS,Blog,IM,ToolbarandAjaxincombination;ShanghaiJiaotongUniversityLibraryimplementedRSS,Blog,Tag,IMandToolbarincombination;andXiamenUniversityKnowledgeResourcePortalutilizedRSS,Wiki,Blog,TagandIMincombination.

Web2.0inChineselibraries

655

EL29,5

NameofuniversitylibrariesPekingUniversityLibraryTsinghuaUniversityLibraryFudanUniversityLibraryShanghaiJiaotongUniversityLibrary

NanjingUniversityLibraryBeijingNormalUniversityLibrary

SunYat-senUniversityLibraryRenminUniversityLibraryofChina

NankaiUniversityLibraryUniversityLibraryofScienceandTechnologyofChinaShandongUniversityLibraryXi’anJiaotongUniversityLibrary

XiamenUniversityLibraryHarbinInstituteofTechnologyLibrary

BeihangUniversityLibraryTongjiUniversityLibraryEastChinaNormalUniversityLibrary

SoutheastUniversity

DalianUniversityLibraryofTechnology

NorthwestPolytechnicalUniversityLibrary

HunanUniversityLibraryTotalIndex

656

TypesofWeb2.0technologies

Podcast/Application

RSSWikiBlogTagIMVodcastToolbarAjaxindex

pp2ppppp

5pp

2ppp

p

p

pp

ppppppppp

p

15

1

3

2

14

0

5

2

p

p

p

pppp

p

p

p

p

pp

pp

p

51311111251222211142

TableI.

GeneralWeb2.0

applicationindexesintop30Chineseuniversitylibraries

ApplicationofRSStechnology

ServicefunctionofRSS.RSS(mostcommonlyexpandedas“ReallySimpleSyndication”)isafamilyofwebfeedformatsusedtopublishfrequentlyupdatedworks–suchasblogentries,newsheadlines,audio,andvideo–inastandardizedformat.RSScanbeusedtopublishfrequentlyupdatedwebsitesinastandardizedformat.ByutilizingRSStechnology,hugeamountsofinformationispooledtogethertoformulateapersonalinformationgatewayanduserscouldaccesswhattheywantwithoutloggingontothewebsites.Withitsmeritsofsimplicity,timeliness,extensivesourcesandpersonalizationofsyndicationandwithoutinterferenceofinformationrubbish,RSSistheweb2.0technologythatisutilizedmostwidely.ForthosefifteenlibrarieswhichhaveRSSapplications,theauthorsmadeafurtheranalysisontheirpurposesandtheresultsaredescribedindetailinTableII.

NewsorCommercialnotificationsdatabasesinformationNewbooksinformationpushnotificationspush

Nameofuniversitylibrariesn%n%n%

pppTsinghuaUniversityLibrarypppFudanUniversityLibraryShanghaiJiaotongUniversitypLibrary––BeijingNormalUniversitypLibrary––SunYat-senUniversitypppLibrarypNankaiUniversityLibrary––Xi’anJiaotongUniversitypLibrary––XiamenUniversityppKnowledgeResourcePortal–HarbinInstituteofpTechnologyLibrary––pBeihangUniversityLibrary––ppTongjiUniversityLibrary–EastChinaNormalpppUniversityLibrarypSoutheastUniversityLibrary––DalianUniversityofpTechnologyLibrary––NorthwestPolytechnicalpUniversityLibrary––Totalindex1243725621

Subject-specific

informationpushn%

––––

––p–––––––1

4

Userinformationpushn%

–

–p––––p–––––––2

7

Web2.0inChineselibraries

657

TableII.

Ananalysisof“211project”universitylibraryRSSservice

AsTableIIindicates,thepurposeofRSSisfornewsornotification,newbooksandinformationpushforcommercialdatabasesinformation,customizedsubjectinformationanduserinformation.

TheprimarypurposeofRSSisnewsornotifications,accountingfor43percent,andthecontentofthenewsornotificationsintheRSSfeedsisveryquiterich,forexample,thelatesteventsandlecturesnewsandnewelectronicresourcesnotificationsaretransferredthroughRSSintheLibraryofFudanUniversity.Figure1illustratesFudanUniversityLibrary’sRSSfeed.

“Newbooksnotifications”isanothermajorpurposeofRSS,accountingfor25percent.WiththelatestinformationaboutnewbookstransferredwithRSS,userscouldmasterthelatestdevelopmentinlibrarycollectionsandgetwhattheyneedinthemosttimelymannerwithoutloggingontothelibrarywebsites.Thecommercialdatabasesinformationpush,whichaccountedfor21percentoftheapplicationofRSSfeeds,notonlyrelyontheeffortsoflibrariesbutalsodependsheavilyontheidea,capability,andeffortsofthedevelopersofthecommercialdatabases.OnlyXiamenUniversityKnowledgeResourcePortalappliedRSSfeedstopushsubjectspecificinformationwhichcoverstwentyfivekindsofcustomizedinformationsuchastheencyclopedic,highereducationandlawsandregulations.Basedontheirstatus,userscouldreceive

EL29,5

658

Figure1.

RSSfeedsfromFudanUniv.library

personalizednoticesonbookreservation,overdueitemsandpersonalborrowsituationusinguserinformationfeedspushedthroughRSS.OnlytheLibraryofShanghaiJiaotongUniversityandXiamenUniversityprovidepersonalborrowsituationfeedsthroughRSS.

UserinterfacesofRSSservice.WhetheruserscoulduseRSSfeedseffectivelyandconvenientlyornot,itgreatlydependsonthedesignofuserinterfacesofRSSservice.TableIIIindicatestheresultsofananalysisofRSSuserinterfaces.

AsTableIIIshows,two-thirdsoflibrariesprovideinstructionmanualswhichofferthedefinitionandthehow-to-manualsofRSSfeeds.SomelibrariessuchastheXiaMenUniversityandSunYat-senUniversityLibraryappliedthescreencapturerstofacilitatetheinstructionstepbystep.Theotherfivelibrarieswhichdon’tprovidehow-to-manualsjustprovidetheiconofRSSanduserscouldgettheRSSfeedsdirectlyafteraclick.

ItisnecessarytoprovidealinktoRSSreaderdownloadingserviceswhichfreestheusersfromsearchingforreadersandchoosingamongthem.Some60percentofthesurveyedlibrariesofferthiskindofservice.ThesourcesofRSSfeedsareclassifiedonthelibrarywebsitesofTsinghuaUniversity,FudanUniversity,ShanghaiJiaotongUniversity,XiamenUniversity,EastChinaNormalUniversity,NorthwestPolytechnicalUniversityanduserscouldbrowsetoselectpropersourcesamongthem.TakingTsinghuaUniversityLibraryasanexample,itdividesitssourcesofRSSfeedsintofourparts:librarynews,Chinesenewbooksnoticesandforeignlanguagenewbooksnotices

RSSreader

Instructiondownloading

Nameofuniversitylibrariesmanualservice

ppTsinghuaUniversityLibraryppFudanUniversityLibraryppShanghaiJiaotongUniversityLibraryppSunYat-senUniversityLibraryppNankaiUniversityLibraryppXiamenUniversityKnowledgeResourcePortalppTongjiUniversityLibraryppEastChinaNormalUniversityLibraryppDalianUniversityofTechnologyLibrarypNorthwestPolytechnicalUniversityLibrary–Totalindex109

Indexesofthe

sourcesofRSSAlerts

feedsinIMp–p

–pp

–

–p–p–p6

–

–––––1

Web2.0inChineselibraries

659

TableIII.

FunctionanalysisofRSS

userinterfaces

andcommercialdatabasesnews.ShanghaiJiaotongUniversityLibraryprovidesaspecialRSSservice,whichnotonlyallowsthefeedstobesubscribedtoonlineRSSreadersorlocalRSSreadersbutalsooffersthefeedsthroughIMservicessuchasMSNandSkype,andusersmuchmoreavailabilityandconvenience.

ApplicationstatusofIM

Instantmessaging(IM)isacollectionoftechnologiesthatcreatethepossibilityofreal-timetext-basedcommunicationbetweentwoormoreparticipantsovertheinternetorsomeformofinternalnetwork/intranet.IMisanintegraltoolforreferenceservicesintermsofchatservices.Itcouldimprovethetimelinessofuserinteractionandtheuser’sinitiative,helplibrariesinvestigateuser’srequirementclearlyandconciselyintime,whichishelpfultoanswerthequestions.

AsTableIshows32percentofthesurveyedlibrariesusedIMforreferenceservices.IMwasthesecondusedincomparisonwithotherWeb2.0technologies,nexttoRSS.TheauthorfurtherinvestigatedtheapplicationstatusofIMinthese14libraries.TableIVshowstheresults.

ToanalyzetheresultofTableIV,CVRSwasthemostwidelyusedinreal-timereferencesoftware/platform(36percent).ThesecondtoCVRSwasotherreal-timereferencesystems(29percent)developedbyeachlibrary.ThethirdwasQQ(21percent)andtheleastwasMSN(14percent).CVRS(33percent)andotherreal-timereferencesystemsdevelopedbyeachlibrary(33percent)werethemostwidelyusedinreal-timereferencesoftware/platform.ThesecondwasQQ(20percent)andtheleastwasMSN(13percent).Thereareninesurveyedlibraries(75percent)providingdirectionthatincludingappliedsoftwareorsystem,servicingtime,userpermissionsandintroductionofthecontentrankofreferenceconsultation.Tensurveyedlibraries(83percent)didnotrestricttheirusers’permission.Alltheregistereduserscanenjoythereal-timereferenceservice.Atotalof11libraries(92percent)providecomprehensivereferenceabouthowtousethelibraryresourcesbymeansofIM.UserscouldconsultsubjectlibrarianinrealtimeviaIMinfoursurveyedlibraries(33percent).AmongwhichNanjingUniversityLibrary,RenminUniversityLibraryandShandongUniversityLibrary(25percent)providebothsubjectandcomprehensivereferenceservice.Figure2showsShandongUniversityLibrary’sIMservice.

EL29,5

660

TableIV.

SurveyofIMfunctionsetting

eveilsnbaelighppppppppppp1ane1rvaparttmononeCtenroeCwtcyetjibpppp4surSevinUnonopppppppppp01aiNrnesussiUmHrsdeenpYpp2aytisorNppp3evinUnosniepppppppp9atdcYpeurFiDfosrepppppmh4ettOsysecSneeRppp5rcefnmVppreerroCfetefealmrpit-e/Np2lmerSaeiaMptr-wlteafheotRsQ;Qppp3metsySalnaetichrnCoPerfeoefceyyrRrulaygoarrobalsutiroyerLbnrRiiaLhcreVsyyeybgyertariyrSIiaisynTaLderaryrrrirlarbeahdbyayrLrrbrairbrLvibCnitwaLiobaiAisiribfrnbLCliynLoeiyLtUcyteiLyytlietynivKLiiysyttesysstrgiiirnyyttitrmrienssceieaesrrvortSvUissrrisveiervnifngeeinovee,nvoiUaiviUnvvioinvnunJniiUxSiUnytntgoUnteRfUaaUiouhgsnaUUsdViganCroJniieghgnniedenje:mnginijvnnaghliamhntaettaknianmna’aiiouooNesPThanSNeRUhiSXXeBToSTNWeb2.0inChineselibraries

661

Figure2.

ShandongUniv.Library’s

IMservice

ApplicationstatusofToolbar

Atoolbarisagraphicaluserinterfacewidgetonwhichonscreenbuttons,icons,menusorotherinputoroutputelementsareplaced.Toolbarsimplementedaswebbrowserplug-inshavebecomepopularinlibraries,featuringsimpleoperation,long-timeonline,compactandlightweight,occupieslesssystemresources,easeofuseandpowerful.AswecanseeinTableI,fivelibraries(12percent)haveappliedtoolbarssofar.Thefunctionoftoolbarsdevelopedbyeachlibraryisquitesimilarandalltheselibrariesprovidedownloadlinkandillustrationforinstalment.Hence,theauthorswillnomorelistforcomparison.Onceinstallingtoolbar,userscouldsearchlibraries’OPAC,electronicbooks,e-journal,lendinginformationorquicklinktosearchtoolsthatusuallyusesuchasBaiduandGoogle,besidesnewsandtrendsforelectronicresources,newmailnoticeandweather.Toolbareffectuatedtheideathatlibraryisallaround.Figure3illustratesBeijingNormalUniversityLibrary’stoolbar.

ApplicatonstatusofBlog

Ablog(acontractionoftheterm“weblog”)isatypeofwebsite,usuallymaintainedbyanindividualwithregularentriesofcommentary,descriptionsofevents,orothermaterialsuchasgraphicsorvideo.Entriesarecommonlydisplayedinreverse-chronologicalorder.Librariescoulddevelopinternalcommunication,distributeinternalinformationandprovidethematicinformationbyvirtueofblogduetoitsinteractionandsociality.TableIshowsthatblogswerenotcommonlyappliedamonglibraries.OnlythreelibrariesnamelyTsinghuaUniversityLibrary,ShanghaiJiaotongUniversityLibraryandXiamenUniversityKnowledgeResourcePortalimplementedablog.TsinghuaUniversityLibraryconstructedjournalismandcommunicationstudiesblogwhileShanghaiJiaotongUniversityLibraryconstructed12subjectblogssuchasmaterialscience,mechanicalengineering,navalarchitecture

EL29,5

662

Figure3.

IllustrationforBeijingNormalUniv.Library’stoolbar

oceanandcivilengineering,humanitiesandsocialscienceetc.,whichcanbeseeninFigure4.XiamenUniversityKnowledgeResourcePortalconstructedaCyber(internet)cultureandtechnologyblogandlibraryscienceblog.Theauthorinvestigatedtheinterfaceandfunctionofblogfurther.TableVshowstheresults.

TheresultindicatesthattheentriesoftheblogsofShanghaiJiaotongUniversityLibraryandXiamenUniversityKnowledgeResourcePortalcouldbetagged.Thosetagscouldalsobesearchedbykeywords.ShanghaiJiaotongUniversityLibraryblogcoulddisplaythosetagsinatagcloud.AllofthelibraryblogsusedRSStofeedblogs’entriesandupdatedinatimelymanner.Blogs’entrieswerebrowsablebytopicsorsubjects.Thesefeatureswereusefulforuserstoretrieveinformationintheblogs.ApplicationstatusofAjax

Ajax(shorthandforasynchronousJavaScriptandXML)isagroupofinterrelatedwebdevelopmenttechniquesusedontheclient-sidetocreateinteractivewebapplicationsorrichInternetapplications.WithAjax,webapplicationscanretrievedatafromtheserverasynchronouslyinthebackgroundwithoutinterferingwiththedisplayandbehavioroftheexistingpage.TheuseofAjaxhasledtoanincreaseininteractiveanimationonwebpagesandbetterqualityofWebservicesduetotheasynchronousmode.

TableIindicatestwolibrariesusedAjax.AsillustratedinFigure5,thepersonalizedhomepagedevelopedbyTsinghuaUniversityLibrarywasanattempttoemployWeb2.0technologiessuchasAjaxandRSS.Throughwhichuserscouldnotonlydeterminethepositionsofeachcolumnonwebpagesaccordingtopersonalinterestsandhabits,butalsoseethelatestcontentsviaautorefreshofthecolumns.BeijingNormalUniversityLibraryimplementedAjaxinane-journallistonitsMetaLib.Whenuser

Web2.0inChineselibraries

663

Figure4.

SubjectBlogfrom

ShanghaiJiaoTongUniv.

Library

NameofuniversitylibrariesTsinghuaUniversityLibraryShanghaiJiaotongUniversityLibraryUniversity

XiamenUniversityKnowledgeResourcePortal

Tagentries

RSSfeedppp

Updateppp

Keywordssearch

Browsablebyclassification

pp–

TableV.

Surveyoftheinterfaceandfunctionofblog

pp

pp

inputkeywords,thesystemwouldautodisplaythephrasesmightmatchandthephrasescouldalterwithinput.

ApplicationstatusofTag/Folksonomy

Inonlinecomputersystemsterminology,atagisanon-hierarchicalkeywordortermassignedtoapieceofinformation(suchasaninternetbookmark,digitalimage,orcomputerfile).Thiskindofmetadatahelpsdescribeanitemandallowsittobefoundagainbybrowsingorsearching.Tagsallowuserstogeneratecontentandclassifythatcontentintheirownuniqueway,folksonomyisasystemofclassificationderivedfromthepracticeandmethodofcollaborativelycreatingandmanagingtagstoannotateandcategorizecontent;thispracticeisalsoknownascollaborativetagging,social

EL29,5

6

Figure5.

Thepersonalized

homepagedevelopedbyTsinghuaUniv.Library

classification,socialindexing,andsocialtagging.TableIindicatesShanghaiJiaotongUniversityLibraryandXiamenUniversityKnowledgeResourcePortalutilizedTag/folksonomy.ShanghaiJiaotongUniversityLibraryusetaggingintheirsubjectblogs,andXiamenUniversityKnowledgeResourcePortalsetstopranktagsintheirOPAC(illustratedinFigure6)besidesinsubjectblogs,theirtagscanberankedbypopularity,displayedintagclouds,andsearchedbytags.However,thequalityoftaggingwillbeimprovedduetolackingofcontrollingmechanism.

ApplicationstatusofWiki

WikipediadefinesawikiasawebsitethatallowstheeasycreationandeditingofanynumberofinterlinkedwebpagesviaawebbrowserusingasimplifiedmarkuplanguageoraWYSIWYGtexteditor(Wikipedia,“Wiki”,availableat:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki;accessed6December,2009).Wikisaretypicallypoweredbywikisoftwareandareoftenusedtocreatecollaborativewebsites,topowercommunitywebsites,forpersonalnotetaking,incorporateintranets,andinknowledgemanagementsystems.

TableIshowswikitechnologywasusedbyXiamenUniversityKnowledgeResourcePortal.Theauthorscannotvisititwithoutrightspermission,however,wecanseesomeoverviewofitbyotherresearchers:“TheCataloguingDepartmentofXiamenUniversityLibraryestablisheditsWikiversionhomepagein2004.Thereareworklogs,cataloguingDepartmentoverview,staffresponsibilityandmemberslinkedonthehomepage.CataloguingRules,workloadofstaffstatistics,frequentlyasked

Web2.0inChineselibraries

665

Figure6.

XiamenUniv.LibraryOPACwithtagging

questionscanbechecked,andworkreferenceisalsosearched.Thus,cataloguingrulesandetc.canbemaintaineddynamically.”

Conclusion

ItcanbeseenfromtheliteraturereviewthattheapplicationofWeb2.0inlibrariesarediscussedandanalyzedatvariouslevels.However,thereislittleliteraturefocusingonsurveyandevaluationofapplicationsofWeb2.0inChineseuniversitylibraries.Thus,thisresearchfillthegapinthisarea,andpromotestheprofessionalunderstandingofWeb2.0technologies’applicationinlibraries.Thesurveyresultsindicatethatatleasttwo-thirdsofChineseuniversitylibrariesdeployedoneormoreWeb2.0technologies;RSSisappliedmostwidelyandWikitheleast.Onlyone-tenthofoursampleadoptedfourkindsWeb2.0technologies,whichcouldbegoodexamplesforotherlibrariestofollow.Web2.0technologiesweremainlyappliedforsomespecificpurposes.EachWeb2.0technologyappearedonthelibrarywebsiteswithbasicfeaturesandrelativelyfriendlyinterface.However,theseWeb2.0applicationsarenotintegratedintowholenewplatforms.Inaword,theapplicationofWeb2.0isatthestageofideologypopularizationandfunctionalityexploration.Thereasonsmaylieinthefollowingaspects:.

Someproblemsoftechnologyapplication.ThereislittlerelevanceamongeachWeb2.0technology,andthereisnosuccessfulparadigmandstandardtoguidetheselection,integrationandadoptionofthemtoimprovethelibraryperformance.IttakestimetodevelopandapplyWeb2.0whenfinancialsupportfromlibrariesislimitedinatimeoffinancestrain..Theshortcomingsoflibrarians’valuesandquality.OnlylibrariansaccepttheWeb2.0andgrasptherelevanttechnologyandcommunicationskillcanWeb2.0

EL29,5

..

666

.

applicationbeputintopractice.WhatlibrariesshoulddoistopaygreatefforttotrainlibrarianstoassurethattheyusegeneralWeb2.0fluently.

Lackofmarketing.It’shardtosustainaserviceifitisnotknownbyusers,howeveradvanceditis.Tosurvive,librariesmustmarketitthroughallpossiblemeans.Inadequacyofusers’informationliteracy.ItisnecessarytotraintheuserswhenadoptWeb2.0inlibrary.AseriesofseminarsshouldbeheldtointroduceWeb2.0andprovideactualoperationopportunitiestousers.Wecanmakeuseoflibrarywebsite,RSS,Bulletinboardandetc.toassistantthetraining.Onlyuser’sinformationliteracyinWeb2.0applicationinlibrary,userparticipationinprocessesofcreating,exchangingandsharinginformationwillberealized,theserviceperformanceoflibrarywillbetrulyimproved.

Inadequacyofusers’informationliteracy.AftertheadoptionofWeb2.0technologies,librariesmustofferaseriesofusereducationwhichimproveusers’knowledgeaboutthemandskillsofusingtheminallpossiblemeans.Onlywhenusers’informationliteracyisimprovedcantheyuselibrariesresourcesmorefluently.

Inconclusion,accordingtotheresults,theapplicationofWeb2.0inlibraryhasgainedmuchpromisingachievement,butthereisstillalongjourneytogotopopularizetheWeb2.0theoryandapplicationinlibraries.ThisresearchdrawsanoverallpictureoftheapplicationofWeb2.0in30Chineseuniversitylibraries.ItattemptstoprovideChineseuniversitylibrarieswithhelpfulinformationtonotonlybetterunderstandhowtheirpeersapplyWeb2.0technologiesbutalsobettermeettheiruserneedsbyeffectivelyapplyingWeb2.0.Sincethestatisticscompiledinthisstudyarebasedonempiricaldatagatheredfromlibrarywebsites,somedataisconstantlychangingandunavailable,therearesomelimitationswhichmaypartiallyinfluenceunderstandingofeffectsoftheseChineseuniversitylibraries’Web2.0applications.Itishopedthatbypublishingthecurrentresultsotherswillbeencouragedtobuildonthefindings.Inarapidlyevolvingfieldthereisaneedformanymorestudiestobeundertakenandpublished.ItisimportantthatlibrariesthinkcarefullyabouthowtofurtherdevelopandtakefulladvantageofWeb2.0toolstomakethemmoremeaningfultousers.Furtherresearchintheareamightinvolverepeatingthesurveyinothercountries,toseeifthereareanydifferencesrelatedtogeographiclocation,aswellasrepeatingitinChinatodetermineapplicationsofthesetechnologies.Also,theapplicationofWeb2.0inprofessionalorganizationssuchasregionalandnationallibraryassociationsisalsoanotherinterestingtopicforfurtheranalysis.AperformanceevaluationonWeb2.0applicationsinlibrariesmaybeapotentialareaforfutureresearch.

References

ACRLResearchCommittee(2007),EnvironmentalScan,availableat:www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/

divs/acrl/publications/whitepapers/Environmental_Scan_2007%20FINAL.pdf(accessedFebruary2,2010).

Aharony,N.(2009),“Web2.0usebylibrarians”,Library&InformationScienceResearch,Vol.31,

pp.29-37.

Casey,M.(2005),“WorkingtowardsadefinitionofLibrary2.0”,availableat:www.librarycrunch.

com/2005/10/working_towards_a_definition_o.html(accessedApril20,2010).

Chad,K.andMiller,P.(2005),“Dolibrariesmatter?”,availableat:www.talis.com/applications/

downloads/white_papers/DoLibrariesMatter.pdf(accessedApril20,2010).

Chen,S.(2009),“Canblogginghelpcataloging?”,LibraryResources&TechnicalServices,Vol.54

No.4,pp.251-60.

Cohen,L.B.(2007),“Amanifestoforourtimes”,AmericanLibraries,Vol.38No.7,pp.47-9.Cox,A.M.(2008),“Flickr:acasestudyofWeb2.0”,AslibProceedings:NewInformation

Perspectives,Vol.60No.5,pp.493-516.

Curran,K.,Murray,M.andChristian,M.(2007),“Takingtheinformationtothepublicthrough

Library2.0”,LibraryHiTech,Vol.25No.2,pp.288-97.

Danowski,P.(2010),“Library2.0anduser-generatedcontent:whatcantheusersdoforus?”,

availableat:http://archive.ifla.org/IV/ifla73/papers/113-Danowski-en.pdf(accessedJanuary27,2010).

Fan,B.(2005),“Unscrambleprofessionalismandcorecapability”,LibraryJournal,Vol.12No.12

(inChinese).

Golub,K.,Jones,C.,LykkeNielsen,M.,Matthews,B.,Moon,J.andPuzon,B.(2009),“Enhancing

socialtaggingwithaknowledgeorganizationsystem”,availableat:www.ifla2009satelliteflorence.it/meeting3/program/assets/KoraljkaGolub.pdf(accessedJanuary16,2010).Gordon-Murnane,L.(2006),“Socialbookmarking,folksonomies,andWeb2.0tools”,Searcher,

Vol.14No.6,pp.26-38.

´n-Wulff,G.(2009),“WhatisLibrary2.0?”,Holmberg,K.,Huvila,I.,Kronqvist-Berg,M.andWide

JournalofDocumentation,Vol.65No.4,pp.668-81.

IFLA(2009),“Emergingtrendsintechnology:librariesbetweenWeb2.0,semanticwebandsearch

technology:anIFLAsatellitepreconferencesponsoredbytheInformationTechnologySection”,Florence,19-20August2009,availableat:www.ifla2009satelliteflorence.it/meeting3/meeting3.html(accessedJanuary25,2010).

Kroski,E.(2007),Web2.0forLibrariansandInformationProfessionals,Neal-Schuman,New

York,NY.

Lietzau,Z.U.S.(2009),“U.S.publiclibrariesandweb2.0:what’sreallyhappening?”,Computersin

Libraries,Vol.29No.9,pp.6-10.

Li-PingKu(2009),“CreatingandusingpersonasfordigitallibraryserviceinWeb2.0era:acase

studyofGraduateSchoolofChineseAcademyofSciences,Beijing,InformationTechnologySectionNewsletter”,availableat:www.ifla.org/files/information-technology/IFLANewsletterJuly2009.pdf(accessedJanuary28,2010).

Linh,N.C.(2008),“AsurveyoftheapplicationofWeb2.0inAustralasianuniversitylibraries”,

LibraryHiTech,Vol.26No.4,pp.630-53.

LITA(2009),“LITAProgramsandMeetingsat2009ALAAnnualConference,”availableat:

www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/lita/litaevents/annual09/index.cfm(accessedJanuary20,2010).

OCLCOnlineComputerLibraryCenter(2007),Sharing,PrivacyandTrustinourNetworked

World,OCLCOnlineComputerLibraryCenter,Dublin,OH.

O’Reilly,T.(2009),“WhatisWeb2.0?”,availableat:http://oreilly.com/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html(accessed1March2009).

Rinnovati,L.(2009),“ExplorationoftheuseofLibrary2.0anditsroleinthetransformationof

personalisedservicesinItalianlibraries”,availableat:www.ifla2009satelliteflorence.it/meeting3/program/assets/LauraRinnovati.pdf(accessedJanuary28,2010).

Web2.0inChineselibraries

667

EL29,5

668

Secker,J.(2007),“Librariesanddistancelearners:literaturereview”,SocialSoftware,availableat:

http://clt.lse.ac.uk/Projects/LASSIE_lit_review_draft.pdf(accessedFebruary2,2010).Stephens,M.(2007),“Toolsfrom‘Web2.0&libraries:bestpracticesforsocialsoftware’

revisited”,LibraryTechnologyReports,Vol.43No.5,pp.19-31.

Vandenburg,M.(2008),“UsingGoogleMapsasaninterfaceforthelibrarycatalogue”,LibraryHi

Tech,Vol.26No.1,pp.33-40.

Webb,P.L.andNero,M.D.(2009),“OPACsintheclouds”,ComputersinLibraries,Vol.29No.9,

pp.18-22.Furtherreading

ResearchCenterforChineseScienceEvaluation(2009),“Rankinglistoftop30keyuniversitiesin

China”,availableat:http://edu.sina.com.cn/gaokao/2009-01-13/1716183683.shtml(accessed1March2009).

Songtao,L.andZhongming,Z.(2007),“ResearchontheapplicationofWIKIinlibraries”,Library

TheoryandPractice,Vol.85-86(inChinese).Abouttheauthors

LiSiisProfessorandViceDean,DepartmentofLibraryScience,SchoolofInformationManagement,WuhanUniversity.ShewasavisitingscholaratUCBerkeleyfromFebruary-August2005.Herresearchareasincludeknowledgeorganizationandknowledgemanagement,marketinglibraryandinformationservices.Shehasauthoredandco-authoredovertenbooksandpublishedover70articles.LiSiisthecorrespondingauthorandcanbecontactedat:sunnylily99new@yahoo.com.cn

RuoyaoShiisaGraduatestudentintheSchoolofInformationManagement,WuhanUniversity,P.R.China.

BijuanChenisaGraduatestudentintheSchoolofInformationManagement,WuhanUniversity,P.R.China.

Topurchasereprintsofthisarticlepleasee-mail:reprints@emeraldinsight.comOrvisitourwebsiteforfurtherdetails:www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints