Spectators, Not Players: Information Managers' Use Of Web 2.0 In New Zealand

摘要

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to find out which Web 2.0 applications and newrncommunications technologies were being adopted by members of the New Zealand library andrninformation management professions, and what factors influenced this adoption, such as age,rneducational level, and employment status.rnDesign/methodology/approach - An online survey asking about respondents' use of a range ofrnWeb 2.0 technologies plus basic demographic information was available between 23 February andrn8 March 2007. Invitations to complete the survey were sent to three e-mail discussion lists: nz-libs,rnnzrecords, and lim-students, which resulted in 224 responses.rnFindings - Librarians and information managers of all ages are experimenting with theserntechnologies to some extent, particularly reading blogs and using RSS feeds. Active content creation isrnless common. Personal, technical, and organisational barriers prevent some people from being able tornaccess Web 2.0 applications.rnResearch limitations/implications - The voluntary nature of participation in the survey meansrnthat the results are likely to be biased towards people with an interest in Web 2.0 developments. Therndata were gathered in early 2007, and represent a snapshot of how the technologies were being used atrnthat time. Invitations were sent only to New Zealand e-mail discussion lists, and some of the findingsrnmight not apply in other countries or regions.rnOriginality/value - This is the first survey to investigate how members of the library andrninformation management professions in New Zealand are using Web 2.0 technologies. The results revealrnpatterns of use and significant issues associated with using these technologies within organizations.