A Study on the use of Facebook, RSS, Blogs and Twitter (Web2.0) among selected academic libraries from 6 Gulf countries namely: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait

Abstract

This paper aims to explore and study the current usage trends of Web2.0 namely Facebook, RSS, Blogs and Twitter among selected higher education institutions’ libraries in 6 gulf countries namely: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait. Websites of the selected libraries would be compared on the extent of the usage of these tools, the participation level and their purpose. The author would also share his opinion and suggestions on improving the current trends pertaining to the area of Web2.0 and libraries. The impact and importance of Web2.0 on libraries cannot be disputed. Since gaining popularity in mid-2000, libraries around the globe have jumped onto the Web2.0 bandwagon. Among the common examples of Web2.0 used by libraries today are namely: social networking sites, blogs, wikis, folksonomies and video sharing sites. Libraries are using Web2.0 to (among others): • market their services / resources to their community, • announce latest library news, • provide their online guides / notes for their resources among others. Though such tools have been implemented by most libraries around the world, some of the challenges faced by libraries are: •participation level – casting the net to a wider audience •selection of web2.0 tools •effectiveness of present web2.0 tools used by the libraries