We keep track of all of our posts here at iLibrarian and produce detailed weekly statistics that measure how many page views each article receives as well as social media information such as how many times a post is tweeted. This way we can see which articles are of interest to iLibrarian readers. Based on that data, here’s a list of the most popular posts throughout the year. This is part one of a two-part post which will present the top 20 most viewed and tweeted articles on iLibrarian in 2013. And, since we’re closing in on New Year’s eve, I’ve decided to arrange the list in countdown style, starting with number 20.
Note: The abbreviation UPV’s stands for unique page views, meaning that if someone visits a post 20 times, it’s still only counted as 1 *unique* page view.
20) 10 Social-Media Marketing Tips for Libraries
There are now so many social media platforms available for libraries to participate in, but it’s sometimes difficult to get a handle on how these channels can best be used for marketing library services. If you’re considering leveraging social media to promote your library, here are some strategies I’ve found helpful
- This popular post received: 516 UPVs, 155 total tweets
19) 10 Treehouse, Dollhouse, and other Truly Unique Libraries – Part I
I’ve been very interested in the use of library space lately as well as the design of libraries be they traditional, mobile, pop-up or other types and in my research I’ve come across some truly unique and interesting libraries. Here are five with five more coming up later this week.
- This popular post received: 554 UPVs, 63 total tweets
18) 10 Free Tablet Apps Instructors Will Want to Use
There are so many educational apps available out there, but not that many quality apps that can be used by instructors to make their courses go more smoothly. Here are ten apps that strive to improve your productivity, organization, and effectiveness in the classroom. All of them are available for free.
- This popular post received: 589 UPVs, 67 total tweets
17) 10 Fun Ways to Feed Your Mind this Summer
1. Learn a new language: Summer is a great time to learn new things, why not study a new language? There are plenty of free online tools to help you such as Duolingo that will guide you through learning Spanish, English, French, Italian, German, and Portuguese. Once you’ve got some phrases down, check out a language learning meetup group in your area and test them out such as the French Language Meetup Group where local French language and culture lovers meet up for conversation and fun. For more online resources for language learning check out 10 Good Sites & Apps for Learning a New Language.
- This popular post received: 600 UPVs, 81 total tweets
16) The Future of MOOCs
According to the New York Times, 2012 was the year of the MOOC - a massive open online course. These courses are usually open access and free, and although they don’t usually offer course credit for participants some do offer certifications of completion. They can be attended by hundreds of thousands of students at the same time who interact in community forums surrounding course materials and resources. They offer amazing opportunities for those who lack the funding to attend traditional universities, especially those in developing nations. MOOCs have democratized learning and opened up education to the masses who may now attend and learn from quality courses at elite universities as if they were enrolled.
- This popular post received: 601 UPVs, 59 total tweets
15) Do-It-Yourself GIS: 20 Free Tools & Data Sources for Creating Data Maps
The world of mapping and presenting data sets through geographical representations is no longer relegated to GIS librarians and highly trained technologists. New free and open source applications now make it possible to create complex and robust data visualizations in the form of maps that display statistics and poll results. Here’s a guide to 20 free applications and data sources.
- This popular post received: 645 UPVs, 132 total tweets
14) 11 Tips to Cultivate a Strong Twitter Following
Are you new to Twitter or just want to build a substantial following on this popular social network? Here are 11 tips that I’ve found helpful.
Follow Influential People in Your Niche: Follow the most followed people in your genre, niche or area of specialization. This will keep you in the loop of all the breaking news and opinions that are in your field. It will also give you a chance to be retweeted by well-followed personalities which will put you in front of all of their followers!
- This popular post received: 737 UPVs, 129 total tweets
13) 5 Free and Open Source Tools for Creating Digital Exhibitions
What are digital exhibitions? Many libraries and museums have taken their special collections such as rare books, manuscripts, photographs, pamphlets, news clippings, musical scores and more and have digitized them to create collections of digital assets that can be displayed online through a digital exhibition. Digital exhibits such as these offer unprecedented access to organizational treasures that might never be seen otherwise except by those with local physical access to the museum or library. A new breed of open-source and free software tools has recently emerged making it possible to catalog and manage digital collections and create robust narratives and layouts for display online.
- This popular post received: 774 UPVs, 90 total tweets
12) 10 Stellar Presentations from Computers in Libraries 2013
Info Today’s informative Computers in Libraries conference just wrapped up yesterday in Washington, DC. If you didn’t get a chance to attend you may want to check out these terrific presentations by talented info pros!
- This popular post received: 840 UPVs, 105 total tweets
11) 7 Free Technologies Your Library Should Be Using
I use a lot of free applications and software in my daily work life at the New York Law Institute. I thought I’d give everyone a list of some of the major free technologies they could be using in their own libraries.
- This popular post received: 1,000 UPVs, 194 total tweets
Stay tuned for Part II which will count down the top 10 most popular posts on iLibrarian in 2013!!!
The post The Best of iLibrarian 2013: Top 20 Posts Part I appeared first on OEDB.org.