Information professionals guiding you to the best bits of the blogosphere

An assistant librarian at a commercial law firm in Edinburgh, Jennie Findlay started
blogging to release her inner geek, never imagining anyone would ever stumble across it

Q Where is your blog?
A It’s at http://jennielaw.blogspot.com. I’ve also been invited to take part in a collaborative international law librarian blog initiative at http://lawlibrarians.wordpress.com

Q What’s your blog like?
A I’m interested in Web 2.0 technologies and how they work (or don’t) for libraries, particularly commercial libraries. I also look at developments in Scots law, either legal or technical. I get particularly irritated when organisations lump all parts of the
UK together; it makes finding out whether things apply to my jurisdiction hard work.
I am cautious about opinions that might be too controversial, as my posts may be linked to or reflect on my employer. I often post light-hearted stuff rather than in-depth
commentary on certain topics.

Q How long have you been blogging?
A I’ve had a personal blog for almost three years, but started my work-related one in July 2007.

Q What was it that started you blogging?
A Well, everybody else was doing it, so I thought I’d join in! I started my work blog
mainly because I wanted to discuss library, technology and legal topics. I didn’t really think anyone would ever even find my blog, and that it would just be a personal reminder of things I‘d found interesting, to refer back to when needed. It hasn’t turned out that way, though.

Q Which bloggers do you watch, link to and why?
A James Mullan. As another commercial law firm librarian he tends to post the info most directly relevant to me and my work. The Lo-Fi Librarian posts useful technical tools, and lists them in a handy weekly roundup. I also read a lot of everyday librarian blogs, just to get an idea of what people are getting up to in other sectors.

Q Do you comment on other blogs?
A I comment if I feel I can add something useful to a discussion, and if it hasn’t already been said, which in practice means that I don’t comment very frequently. I think that commenting on blogs is important, as it’s often the only feedback and encouragement that a blogger gets.

Q How does your organisation benefit from your presence in the blogosphere?
A I’ve learned huge amounts from blog-hopping, and have been able to assess whether various products or ideas would enhance our library service. By being more informed about what it is possible to do with the tools out there; I can give a better response to the users of the library service, and hopefully take some shortcuts at times. And not being bamboozled by the technical stuff is also a bonus.

Q What do you personally get out of it for your career?
A I’m not hugely career-focused, so it’s not really been about getting anything out of it for my career. I’ve just been enjoying getting to know lots of interesting people, learning lots of new things, feeling like I’m involved in something useful and exciting, and seeing where things develop.

Q What good things have happened to you that could only have happened because of blogging?
A I’ve learned about lots of useful sites and tools, kept up to date with all the news that’s relevant to me and my firm, and I’m able to put names to faces at conferences. I was also asked to write for a collaborative blog about libraries and library bloggers around the world, http://infobib.de/blog/features/libworld/, but had to turn the offer down as I don’t know enough about Scottish library bloggers.

Q Which blogs do you read for fun?
A Nothing To Do With Arbroath at http://arbroath.blogspot.com covers the more bizarre news stories out there. Boing Boing, www.boingboing.net, because it covers so many random topics. Popular Science, http://popsci.typepad.com/popsci, to satisfy my inner science geek. And finally, the Hedgehog Librarian, http://hedgehoglibrarian.
blogspot.com, and her yarn-happy life and work in a public library in the depths of Wisconsin.

What are the blogs in your sector that you trust?
Most of them; we librarians are a reputable lot, don’t you know?
But mainly:
James Mullan
http://ligissues.blogspot.com/
Binary Law
www.binarylaw.co.uk
The Lo-Fi Librarian
www.lo-fi-librarian.co.uk
IWR
http://blog.iwr.co.uk
Scott Vine
www.informationoverlord.co.uk