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LibLand Wiki

19th June 2006, 02:56 am

Some ALA folks (?) have started a LibLand Wiki to give “new librarians and library school students a place to find information and a place to add information about libraries, library school, the American Library Association (ALA) and what it’s like to be a new librarian.” The wiki apparently grew out of ALA’s Library 2.0 Boot Camp (which the wiki currently calls “Web 2.0 Boot Camp,” but nevermind). Not a lot here yet, but this should be interesting to watch as it develops.

I saw this announced on library_grrls, but not on any of my ALA or new librarian lists. I’m unclear whether this is somehow ALA-sponsored, or just created by some ALA folks/Boot Camp participants.

In any case, poking around the LibLand Wiki, I find out that ALA is launching a new JobLIST — complete with teeny-tiny URL! — at Annual. (Looking at their ad rates, I start thinking that perhaps we’re suckers for letting employers post jobs for free — but again, nevermind!) It’s about time ALA made its job ads and career resources more accessible, so more power to them.

The wiki also informs me that ALA apparently has some online communities — but the link takes me to a username/password login. My ALA number does nothing, and I’m not sure how one gets a username, given the lack of any explanatory verbiage on this page. Anyone?

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4 Comments

  1. nanette:

    I don’t think ALA has officially rolled out their online communities yet. There are some groups that are using them, but nothing has really been publicized yet. One of the groups that I’m involved with supposedly has an online community, but I always get the login page too.

    My husband is the NMRT Web Committee co-chair, and he’s been trying to get some information about when the online communities will be “officially” available because NMRT would really like to use them. He’s heard that the end of August is the target date, but I think that’s also what they said *last* summer when I first got CMS training for the ALA web site, so I’ll believe it when it happens.

    19 June 2006, 2:14 pm

  2. Jami:

    The online communities are active. I have been on them for months. I use my membership number and my password. YALSA Gaming Discussion group has an space they have been using.

    From what I know the wiki is to help provide resources for New Librarians. Linda Braun from YALSA put most of the information in the wiki originally, but its a wiki, so anyone can post information.

    For Online Communities see if this is helpful: http://blogs.ala.org/yalsa.php?title=ala_online_communities_and_yalsa&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

    This is ALA sponsored, and was announced on YALSA (but it belongs to all of ALA)

    I hope you enjoy it. They want to provide resources. This wiki will be a way for us to share resources with each other.

    19 June 2006, 4:57 pm

  3. Anonymous:

    Having experienced the “online communities” software from ALA … I hope no group I am a part of ever decides to use it. It is not a 2.0 application. ;-)

    21 June 2006, 9:41 pm

  4. Rachel:

    Thanks, Jami – I’ll try to figure it out, and thanks for the wiki info as well!

    26 June 2006, 2:47 am

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