Social Software in Libraries: Building Collaboration, Communication, and Community Online

Citation

Clancy, K. (2008), "Social Software in Libraries: Building Collaboration, Communication, and Community Online", Library Management, Vol. 29 No. 8/9, pp. 812-813. https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120810917558

Social Software in Libraries is a great generalised book for the librarian about social software. It speaks to you in a general sense, rather than delving into the more technical side of the software mentioned. For the novice it is great, but don't expect the book to tell you how to create a Facebook application or to examine the technical aspects of each application.

A great addition throughout the book is the referral web sites to visit for more information. Also, many experts from libraries around the world share their thoughts and experiences on each technology. The chapter headings are great, allowing a reader to skip to the technology they are requiring more information about more easily.

However, social software is changing dramatically each day. By the time this book went to publication, other social software had become available, resulting in the book becoming slightly out of date. The author gets around this by providing a chapter about great resources on the web to visit to keep up to date with the latest in social software.

The accompanying web site to assist the reader in keeping up to date with the latest news in social software is a let down. It is poorly designed, with the promotion of what other people think about the book, rather than providing information to the reader about the latest developments in this field. The del.icio.us tags are badly laid out and seem very confusing.

Overall, the book is a great read for a general overview about social software in libraries. It provides great examples about libraries implementing each technology and also offers great web resources to further the reader's knowledge.