How are blogs useful for libraries?

Blogs in libraries provide another method of communication between the library and the user, and allows the user to interact with the content. Blogs are being used in libraries for internal communication among staff, as well as communicating news to users, or serving as readers' advisory tools...these are just a few uses of blogs in the library setting.

Worries about users posting inappropriate comments or spam should not prevent libraries from incorporating blogs into their outreach. Each blog is different, and the blog author may chose the settings of the blog, including who may comment, and what types of comments may approved. Before you start a blog for your library, you may want to think about what policies you will have for the blog.

The best example of how libraries around the nation are using blogs to reach out to their patron base may be found on the Blogging Libraries Wiki, which lists links to individual library blogs, and seperates them by the type of library (public, academic, special) or type of blog (internal, library director, etc.).