What is a blog of Professional Resources used for? Saxton’s paper tells us the answer. “Most bloggers act as a filter, by selecting material and embellishing their posts with their own experiences and opinions.” (Saxton, Beth. “Information tools: Using blogs, RSS and As Professional Resources.” Young Adult Library Services. v. 6, no. 2 (Winter 2008): 27)
I think it is easy to link to UBC Japanese Library Resources Blog from the Homepage of UBC’s Asian Library. The blog was created on September 28, 2007, maintained by Japanese language librarian Ms. Shirin Eshghi. It is a very particular academic blog, which highlights Asian library’s some collections of Japanese study and this subject librarian’s expertise by displaying useful and original resources of Japanese literature studies. All posted messages are saved by monthly catalogues, and users can track previous posts. From this blog page, I know recent posts, librarian’s contact information and her calendar. It is clear that many libraries are using this type of blogs to reach out to users in new ways. However, I can’t go back to Asian Library’s Homepage or UBC Library Homepage from this blog. It does not provide other social service tools. I also wonder why this blog has never received any comment from users so far. I guess maybe very few users visit this blog, although this blog includes very interesting topics and beautiful pictures. This blog neither states its purpose.
This is a great place for librarians to take advantage of Web 2.0 connective potential. Here I would like to give some suggestions: the first one, the posted topics might be broader, not only Japanese literature and culture, but also Japan’s economy, foreign affairs, politics, technology and other fields. The second, the subject librarian is supposed to consult faculties and graduate students who focus on Japan’s studies: What research projects are they doing now? What kind of resources do they really need? Thirdly, the subject librarian can also try to ask for Japanese students at UBC what kind of good resources they can recommend. At the same time, Asian library must facilitate cooperation between UBC and Japan’s top universities to achieve resource sharing with each other and help the subject librarian to build an international community of professionals.
