Blogging About Professional Blogs

The list of professional blogs that was included in our project outline was slightly out of date, but I did find a couple of blogs that I found interesting.  I've also chosen to include a blog that I follow faithfully, that is partially the work of a former librarian and is very relevant to my line of work.

The first blog that I am going to review is DIY Librarian which is maintained by Tara Murray.  I tried to find information about her on the blog, but I couldn't find an "about me" section.  I didn't find all of her posts relatable, but I did enjoy some of her topics.  Of specific interest to me are her posts on copyright including her most recent post about Microsoft, and her post titled Do Creative Commons licenses work for creators?.  I am always interested in learning about copyright and how the laws and limitations affect my work in the library.  I was especially interested to see her opinion on Creative Commons licenses because Ms. Murray is both an author and a librarian so she can see both sides of the copyright issue.

The second blog that I am going to discuss is the newly redesigned Public Libraries Online.  I am actually going to be writing for this blog, and before my first blog is published I decided to start reading the site to see what the tone of the blog was, and what topics have been covered.  I actually really like this site, the blogs are short and to the point.  The blogs are all written for use by public librarians, so I find many of them relevant.  I've especially enjoyed the posts about giving romance books their due (even if I am not a big fan of them), and the post about a child's first visit to the library.  There was also a post about the 80/20 rule and how that can help boost circulation.

Another blog I love, and had to include, is Forever Young Adult.  This blog is awesome!  They review books, movies, and TV all related to teen literature.  They also bring out nostalgic posts like their Childhood Relics Cover Story  There are author interviews, in fact one of the major contributors to the blog is author Brain Katchor.  This blog helps me keep up with TV shows that I should know about, but don't/can't watch since I do not have cable at home.  While this blog may not be considered a professional blog, one of the owners is a former librarian, and these women are obviously dedicated to young adult literature.