Blogging in Libraries

How can blogging be effective for libraries?

Well, for one, blogs can connect us to other library professionals, paraprofessionals and students. I know of several online library blogging communities where people who work for libraries share problems, ask for advice, or just talk about their jobs.

Blogging can be useful in many ways. If library employees blog about programs at their libraries, someone might see them and either want to come to a program or create a similar program of their own. If a library employee posts the plot of a specific book that a patron is looking for but never heard of, someone out in the great wide world might see the post, and be able to help.

This has actually happened to me. At my library we had a patron looking for a specific book about a family that eats nothing but rocks and sticks, and the youngest member of the family tries to convince them to eat better. The book was written in the 60's, before I was born, and I'd never heard of it. But, I posted the description to community, and got several responses, including the title of the book that the patron was looking for: Little Brute Family by Russel Hoban.

These are just a few examples of the way blogging can be useful for libraries.