Learn how to use a new tool, software, or game, and write about your experience
REFLECTION
Tumblr is a tool that I have never used before. So I downloaded the App on my iPhone and got started. Tumblr is a microblogging platform and social networking website. It allows users to post multimedia and other content to a short-form blog. Users can follow other users’ blogs, as well as make their blogs private. (“Tumblr”, n.d., para 1.) It allows you to Post text, photos, quotes, links, music, and videos from your browser, phone, desktop, email or wherever you happen to be. You can customize everything, from colors to your theme’s HTML (“Tumblr lets you effort share anything”, n.d., para 1.).
Tumblr reminded me of Facebook, Twitter, WordPress and Instagram all combined into one. It allows you to do most of the things that those tools do but in a smaller, compact way. It took me a while to get the hang of setting up my profile and then to start following other users’ blogs. I had to work out what all the icons were for and what they did. But once I was up and running I was able to see what other users were doing and got a better idea about what Tumblr was about. I liked that you could enter search terms for your interests and then you could follow those blogs. Any posts made by those users would then appear in your news feed (very similar to Instagram). You can choose to like posts, and re-blog them if you like.
I can see how Tumblr could be beneficial in a library setting. In particular the school library I work in could set up a Tumblr blog and get students to follow. We could promote upcoming events, competitions, new books, subject information, links to the catalogue and all of the resources we have to offer. As Agosto (2009, p.33) notes, “networking sites are useful venues for promoting and delivering library services to young adults”.
Interestingly my research into Tumblr helped me to learn another valuable reason why social networking could be beneficial to libraries. It’s a place where information professionals can reach students or young people. That is, a place where we can reach them in their own environment. As Agosto (2009, p34) points out, “Using these sites can be a form of outreach, taking library services to where the users are instead of waiting for users to seek out the library.
In terms of my own knowledge of digital materials/resources and emerging technologies I realise I do have a gap in this area. After creating a Tumblr account I became aware that there could be many other Information Technology tools available to us that could be very useful to the library and reaching the students. For my own professional development I will be aware of this gap in my knowledge and do some research to find more relevant tools and also be aware that this information could be constantly improving. I need to keep my knowledge up-to-date in this area.
REFERENCES
Tumblr. (n.d.). Retreived from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tumblr
Tumblr lets you effort share anything. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.tumblr.com/about
Agosto, D. (2009). Teens and social networking: how public libraries are responding to the latest online trend. Public Libraries, 48(3), 32-37.
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