Flickr Resources

LifeHacker says

Flickr isn’t just a place to put photo albums online. It’s a community centered around images. After you sign up, search for your friends or invite them to join you. Find groups you’re interested in (like Black and White photography, say) and add your photos. Surf other people’s tags. Leave comments on others’ photos. It’s the photos plus the conversations that make Flickr special.

•  Newbies Guide to Flickr
• Tips for Flickr Beginners (Lifehacker)
• Flickr Tutorial Series (Indezine)
• Flickr Advanced User Guide (Lifehacker)
• Flickr technique (flickr discussion group)
• Flickr is the Web Photo Tool Preferred by Superheroes and Librarians (Connie Corsby)
• PLCMC Learning 2.0

Morgan Ashleigh Saunders (my new grandchild)

S4200081Originally uploaded by ellen.ward

In this post I’m practicing uploading pictures … okay, so really I’m just showing off the newest addtion to our family. Isn’t she gorgeous?? Matt and Alicia are definitely glowing with happiness. See my Flickr photos below and in the right-hand column.

Ways To Use flickr @ the Library

One benefit of using Flickr and tagging your photos with your library’s name and location is that it helps people find the library in the great pool of all the photos in Flickr. Maybe someone is searching Flickr for their hometown and they discover images of the library and they learn about the library services and programs that they didn’t know about.

 

Do you have other ideas about how BCPL could use Flickr?! Post your ideas as comments to this post.

 

1. Publicize EVENTS at your library with candid photos of activities and participants.
2. Present a collection of HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHS of a city, community, area, or building – how about your own library?
3. Highlight OUTREACH SERVICES such as a bookmobile or delivery vehicle, along with outreach staff and drivers.
4. Publicize a GAMING tournament or other teen event.
5. Show photographs from an AUTHOR SIGNING at your library.
6. Show the BANNED BOOKS DISPLAYS at your library.
7. Promote and share a CONFERENCE OR WORKSHOP.
8. Provide a VIRTUAL TOUR of your library facility.
9. Share photos of PARTIES AND CELEBRATIONS at the library.
10. Show pictures of regular COMMUNITY MEETINGS held at your library.
11. Provide a gallery of LIBRARY STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS.
12. Create WIKIS OR INSTRUCTIONAL WEB SITES for staff on library technical topics.
13. Promote your Friends group’s FUNDRAISERS and BOOK SALES.
14. Create a VIRTUAL TRAVELOGUE of your city or town.
15. Post pictures of your ADMINISTRATORS OR LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
16. Show BOOK COVERS for reading lists or Readers’ Advisory blogs.
17. Get community leaders to pose for READ posters!!!

Fact: flickr’s Community Rules and Terms of Service are quite clear. They disallow offensive images of the type described in the e-mail. Moreover, libraries are already required to block content that is harmful to minors under the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA). The pending internet safety legislation called DOPA, which potentially affects flickr and other social networking sites, is redundant and unnecessary.

Fact: Currently, hundreds of libraries — public, academic, school, and special libraries across the world — use flickr to enhance web services to their various constituencies.Educate yourself, your staff, your board of trustees, and governing agencies about social sites, like flickr, and the issues surrounding them. Educate your patrons and your community about the good — and bad — of flickr and other social software sites. Sit down at a library computer with any patron who has a concern, and demonstrate the site to the patron. Let them see the benefits first hand.

These ideas were originally posted by Michael Stephens in his Tame the Web blog, http://tametheweb.com/library_20web_20/flickr_rocks_my_world/.

BCPL is tagged at Flickr for these photos, http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=BCPL&w=all . Maybe there are other ways we could use Flickr to reach out to our BCPL customers.