SALS :: Blogging 

Workshop sponsored by Southern Adirondack Library System, Saratoga Springs, NY 

Don't forget to participate in the Library 2.0: Choices Along the Technology Curve Challenge

Sample Blogs

Blogs replacing "traditional" web site

• North Plains Public Library http://nplibrary.org
• Stillwater Free Library (NY) http://stillwater.sals.edu/
• Southern Adirondack Library System (NY) http://www.sals.edu/
• Pittsfield (VT) Public Library  http://pittsfieldlibrary.vox.com/

Events, news, collections, teens 

• PaperCuts - home of the "52 Questions"
•  The Buzz - Madison-Jefferson County PL (IN)
• Teen Scene Blog http://www.westervilleteens.org
• Lee Whedon Teens (Lee Wheedon Memorial Library) http://www.lwteens.typepad.com/

Blogs for Librarians - a selection of blogs to help you keep up with keeping up.

• Infodoodads: http://infodoodads.com/
• What I Learned Today: http://www.web2learning.net
• Shifted Librarian: http://www.theshiftedlibrarian.com
• Library Crunch: http://www.librarycrunch.com
• Tame the Web: http://tametheweb.com
• Librarian in Black: http://librarianinblack.typepad.com/
• Tame the Web: http://tametheweb.com
• Library Stuff: http://www.librarystuff.net/
• information Wants to be Free: http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/index.php 

Lists of Library Blogs

More sample blogs and places to list your blog so others can see it.

• List of blogging libraries by type of blog: http://wiki.webjunctionworks.org/index.php/Sample_Library_Blogs
• List of blogging libraries by type of library: http://www.blogwithoutalibrary.net/links/
• List of blogs by individual librarians: http://liswiki.org/wiki/Weblogs

Blogging Tips, Resources & Tools

• Blog Backup  - don't forget to create a backup of your blog now and then!
• WordPress Theme Generator Make your own themes, colors, fonts, columns and more.
• FeedBlitz  Sign up for their free service and add some code to your blog. Your readers sign up through a subscription box on your blog and receive daily email with the latest updates to your blog. Emails are only sent if there was a post that day, so no need to worry about sending ‘blank’ messages. Example sign up box on at: http://salsblog.sals.edu
• FeedBurner Create enhanced RSS and Atom feeds for your blog. Includes statistics about subscribers and more.
• Blogs for Libraries  Article from WebJunction on why libraries should care about blogging.
• Blogging Toolbox: 120+ Resources for Bloggers Tons of useful stuff here.
• Blogging Ethics - Tips for keeping it professional
• Nuts and Bolts #3 - Blogging in the Classroom
• Blog Backup - don't forget to create a backup of your blog
• My Story About Telling Stories  - great blog post about how to write a blog post by 'telling a story'.
• Twenty Usability Tips for Your Blog  - Tips on how to make your blog better.
• The 4 C's of Blogging - Community, Consistency, Clarity, Content 

Additional Blogging Software Options

• Wordpress.com Popular, free blog hosting service. Same software that you're using on the SALS servers.
• Edublogs  Free blogs for librarians, educators and students. Based on Wordpress blogging software.
• Vox.com
• Blogger  Another very popular and free blogging service.
• Tumblr    Microblogging - Useful for really quick updates. Great for announcing new resources to teachers and students. Easy to use and has an RSS feed so users can subscribe to your updates. Put the tumblr button on your toolbar for speedy updates. 

Search Tools - Search for Blog postings

• Technorati - Covers many topics
• Google Blog Search - Covers many topics.
• LisZen - Search over 700 library related blogs.
• LibWorm - Search library related blogs, podcasts and other RSS feeds. Browse by some major topic areas as well.