Many Voices: Building a Biblioblogosphere in Ireland

ABSTRACT

Blogging has been associated with the Library and Information Science (LIS) community for some time now. Libfocus.com is an online blog that was founded in 2011. Its goal was to create a communal communication space for LIS professionals in Ireland and beyond, to share and discuss issues and ideas. The content of the blog is curated by an editorial team and features guest bloggers from across all sectors and experience levels. Using a qualitative methodological approach, open-ended surveys were conducted with twelve previous guest bloggers, in order to explore how and why Irish-based LIS professionals choose to communicate through blogging. It is hoped that this evidence will provide a greater understanding of both the value and effectiveness of blogging as an outreach and communication tool within the profession, helping both libraries and librarians to be more strategic in their use of it as a medium.

KEYWORDS:

• blogging
• academic librarianship
• social media
• Ireland

Note

Notes

1. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) centers on the analysis of speech/language/dialogue, typically obtained through interview and discussions. IPA attempts to uncover the thought processes that underpin that language (McQueen & Knussen, 2002, p. 202).