Web 2.0 features in university library web sites

• Published in: Electronic library Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 69 - 88
• Main Authors: Harinarayana, N.S, Vasantha Raju, N
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bingley Emerald Group Publishing Limited 01.01.2010; Emerald
• Subjects: Academic libraries; Brainstorming; Colleges & universities; Communication technologies; Educational Technology; Electronic Publishing; Exact sciences and technology; Higher education; India; Information and communication sciences; Information science. Documentation; Information service management; Information Services; Library and documentation centre management; Library and information science. General aspects; Library Services; Library Web sites; Literature Reviews; Reference Services; Sciences and techniques of general use; Social networks; Technological innovations; Trends; University libraries; Use and user studies. Information needs; User service management; Web 2.0; Web 2.0 Technologies; Web Sites; Websites; Worldwide web; Communication technologies; Worldwide web; University libraries; Higher education; India; Survey; Web 2.0; University library; Web site; Information technology
• ISSN: 0264-0473; 1758-616X
• DOI: 10.1108/02640471011023388

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore recent trends in the application of Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 features as exemplified through university library web sites around the world.Design methodology approach - The top 100 universities from the ranked list of 200 provided on the Times Higher Education web site were considered for collection of data and from this list a selection was made of 57 of these universities. This selection was based on whether the site was in English and whether it had at least one Web 2.0 feature. For each of these universities their web sites were visited and data on their Web 2.0 features (such as Blogs, RSS, Instant Messaging, Wikis and the like) were collected and analyzed.Findings - Results reveal that 37 university libraries use RSS feeds for dissemination of library news, events and announcements and 15 university libraries provide blog space for users. Whereas wiki is the least applied Web 2.0 technology, with only one university using it, Instant Messaging is another most widely applied feature with 37 libraries already providing reference service through it. Podcast (used in three libraries) and Vidcast (used in six libraries) are yet to become popular facilities to be offered in university library web sites.Research limitations implications - The study is based on the university ranking for 2007, as the World Top 200 Universities 2008 was not published until October 2008 when this article was being finalized. However, this does not affect the outcome of the Web 2.0 features being utilized by the universities.Originality value - Most of the earlier studies on the subject deal with Web 2.0 tools and how they could be used in the library context. The present paper, however, provides concrete evidence of the application of Web 2.0 in university libraries. As such it should prove of interest to all types of libraries, even though its context is university libraries.