Copyright, Comments and Links Questions

Hey fellow bloggers, here are some questions that I am pondering:

• Copyright - What must we consider with regards to copyright law now that so much is so easily accessible to so many? In my previous blog entry, I had fun adding a caption to a picture featuring Captain Jack Sparrow. What are the copyright issues around using a picture like this either on a library web site or as part of a library blog?

• Comments - Our blog sites allow us to post comments to each others' blogs. Is there a way to invite and moderate comments posted to library blogs? Hoping there is a way to invite public participation without creating a venue for the general public to post questionable content on library blogs through the use of comment field.

• Permissions - What is the etiquette regarding including links on your blog? In my earlier blog entry, I included a link to the Region of Waterloo Library web site as an example of how libraries use geotagging with photos. Should links to other sites be included only after obtaining permission to link?

Please feel free to comment!

Geotagging with Flickr

Check out the ability to combine Flickr with geotagging! You can combine your photos on Flickr with a map. This allows you to pinpoint to others exactly where the photo was taken.

Try the following link: http://www.flickr.com/groups/virtualmountainrange/pool/map?mode=group

If you enlarge the pink dots located on the map of North Carolina, you should be able to see three photos I snapped on my summer vacation in June. This map is currently being used by an environmental protection group that is concerned about the destruction of mountain ranges for coal mining. By asking advocates to post their mountain photos and pinpoint where those photos were taken, EarthJustice is hoping to raise awareness in their campaign against removal of entire mountain tops during mining in the United States.

Libraries use this to pinpoint the locations of their branches with maps and photos (see http://www.rwl.library.on.ca/). Add Letters was fun to use (check out Capt Jack Sparrow at the bottom of my blog).

Wow! My first Blog!

This is very cool! Everyone is doing it; friends are doing it with other friends, family members, even complete strangers...so here goes my first foray into the exciting social world of blogging.

Rather like keeping a diary for the whole world to see, blogs are a great way to share comments, thoughts, adventures, or whatever with people you don't even know. Can I be political? Can I be subversive (librarians are known for being subversive according to recent comments made at Kempenfelt), can I be challenging, controversial, funny, thought-provoking? All of the above!

The really exciting aspect is that just by including a topic (such as Save the Wolves), people that I don't even know can tag that word and find my blog. Being an environmental activist, I can see the potential for sharing ideas at the grassroots level - sort of a cyberspace-public forum.

As a librarian, I am curious to know how popular blogs are on library websites. Does anyone have any stats on this?

While not yet on Facebook or MySpace, I have used Flickr. It's a great way to share family photos and comments.

Let the fun begin!
Sheryl