Medical Librarian 2.0: Use of Web 2.0 Technologies in Reference Services »

M. Sandra Wood, MLA, MBA, AHIP, FMLA, is Librarian Emerita at Pennsylvania State University. Previously, she was Librarian of Reference and Database Services for the George T. Harrell Library at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Pennsylvania State University's College of Medicine, Hershey. With more than 35 years experience as a medical reference librarian, her experience/interests focus on general reference services, management of reference services, database and Internet searching, and user instruction. Widely published in the field of medical reference, Ms. Wood is editor of Medical Reference Services Quarterly, the Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet, and co-editor of the Journal of Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries (Haworth). She is the author of the Internet Guide to Cosmetic Surgery for Women (Haworth) and is editor or co-editor of several other Haworth books, including Women's Health on the Internet, Health Care Resources on the Internet: A Guide for Librarians and Health Care Consumers, Men's Health on the Internet, and Cancer Resources on the Internet. She is a Fellow, member, and former Treasurer of the Medical Library Association and a member of the Special Libraries Association.

Widespread use and acceptance of the World Wide Web in the home and office has eclipsed many other technological advances. Next-generation tools like Web 2.0 sit on the cutting edge of profound changes that will and have already begun to transform librarianship. Medical Librarian 2.0 is a vital resource for understanding and implementing these revolutionary technologies. The essays in this groundbreaking collection offer a comprehensive look at the potential uses and effects of Web 2.0 in reference services.

Designed not only as an examination of current technology but as a resource for practical applications as well, Medical Librarian 2.0 is both comprehensive and accessible. This important collection includes informative, in-depth essays that cover the evolving spectrum of digital resources. Through detailed explorations of current tools and programs, as well as the ways institutions have implemented them to better serve both patrons and staff, this text provides the insight and necessary awareness required for libraries to flourish in the 21st century.

Contributors to Medical Librarian 2.0 discuss:

• The tools and applications shaping Web 2.0
• Extending these vibrant technologies into librarianship with Library 2.0
• Virtual reference services in academic health science libraries
• E-mail, chat, and web forms in the changing landscape of reference services
• Syndicated information delivery via RSS and its integration
• Producing, using, organizing, and distributing podcasts
• Challenges to and successes of streaming video in health sciences libraries
• Social networking, social mediasharing, and social bookmarking tools
• Tagging, peer production, blogs, and folksonomy
• Open source software and content management systems like Drupal
• Wikis and the organizational knowledgebase
• Creating and utilizing blended applications and mashups
• Current concerns over data and security
• And many other important topics!

With a wealth of tables, diagrams, webpage illustrations, online resources, photographs, and references, Medical Librarian 2.0 offers readers clear examples of these applications put into practice.

Medical Librarian 2.0 is an essential resource for librarians, especially those in medical settings, library science educators and students, and those looking to stay at the forefront of emerging reference technology.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Marcia Klinger Henry, MLS(California State University, Northridge)
Description:This is a collection of essays written by medical librarians on Virtual Reference Services, RSS, Pod casts, Streaming Videos, Social Networking, Drupal, a content management program, Wikis, and Mashups. This is a monographic supplement to Medical Reference Services Quarterly 26, Supplement #1, 2007.
Purpose:The editor and the contributing authors describe web technologies, offering many examples to help their readers identify new ways to be more relevant to their patrons. Although there are many examples relevant to medical libraries, especially academic medical libraries, this collection of essays is a good overview for anyone with an interest in web 2.0 technologies.
Audience:The intended audience includes both medical reference librarians and librarians working in all types of libraries.
Features:The contributing authors, with their collective health sciences librarianship experiences, along with the extraordinary editing help of M. Sandra Wood, offer a well written overview of web 2.0 technologies with specific examples, histories, and projections for various applications. Chapters have a summary, introduction, overview, and conclusion and cover a wide variety of web 2.0 technologies that have been and are being offered in reference services in all types of libraries.
Assessment:The authors all offer clear writing styles which contribute to the success of this book. This excellent collection of essays is a unique overview of the Internet in reference services by highly qualified medical librarians with diverse backgrounds.

Introduction (M. Sandra Wood)
Library 2.0: An Overview (Elizabeth Connor)
Virtual Reference Services for the Academic Health Sciences Librarian 2.0 (Ana D. Cleveland and Jodi L. Philbrick)
Applications of RSS in Health Sciences Libraries (Alexia D. Estabrook and David L. Rothman)
P.O.D. Principles: Producing, Organizing, and Distributing Podcasts in Health Sciences Libraries and Education (Nadine Ellero, Ryan Looney, and Bart Ragon)
Streams of Consciousness: Streaming Video in Health Sciences Libraries (Nancy T. Lombardo, Sharon E. Dennis, and Derek Cowan)
Social Networking (Melissa L. Rethlefsen)
Content Management and Web 2.0 with Drupal (Chad M. Fennell)
It's a Wiki Wiki World (Mary Carmen Chimato)
Mashing Up the Internet (Michelle A. Kraft)
Index
Reference Notes Included