Lesson 5: Why Blog?

Justin Hall (2013), father of the blog, revealed in a recent posting celebrating his blog's 19-year anniversary that deep down, his aim was to find out "what happens if I compulsively share my thoughts online." That seems like a common theme among bloggers--isn't compulsive thought-sharing the essence of blogging? And isn't it kind of the essence of librarianship?

After all, the foundation of librarianship is bibliography--creating lists, evaluating materials, grouping & annotating resources, etc. (Stephens, 2008, p. 312). And all of these elements of bibliography have blogging correlations, from blogrolls to archives to tags to posts. Compiling information so that it can be shared is what libraries do, whether through blogs or through physical libraries.

In fact, in Michael Stephens' wonderful article The Pragmatic Biblioblogger: Examining the Motivations and Observations of Early Adopter Librarian Bloggers, Stephens (2008) finds that 40% of library bloggers surveyed blogged in order "to share information or insight." I think librarians are teachers at heart, so it makes sense that librarian bloggers would aim to share what they know with anyone who'll listen, even if it's only fellow library workers. Or perhaps, especially if it's only fellow library workers.

Stephens' (2008, p. 329) survey reveals that 51% of librarian bloggers believe that blogging has helped them  develop a sense of community with other library professionals. Working in a library can often be a very insular experience, with workers only infrequently venturing beyond their own departments.

But library blogs change that. Realizing that another person in another library in another state has had the exact experiences that you've had is powerful. It gives validity to our experiences and makes us feel that we're not alone, that we're not overreacting, that we're not a bunch of wacky librarians with crazy notions. Librarian blogs are a way to use emerging technologies (Professional development, anyone?) in order to network and share ideas. They're a way to connect, and that's important because, hey, librarians need love, too.

References

Hall, J. (2013, January 27). 19 Links. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://links.net/daze/13/01/27-19-links.html

Stephens, M. (2008). The pragmatic biblioblogger: Examining the motivations and observations of early adopter librarian bloggers. Internet Reference Services Quarterly, 13(4), 311-345.