2.0 for Books - Part 3

11. Blogging is a no-brainer for promoting books. Besides linking to the many great book blogs (biblioblogs) you can do your own. There are a number of great examples of book blogs in libraries. Librarians are recommending books all the time. How cool is it to not only make that personal recommendation in person but to take the time to jot down a few sentences and post it with a book cover and link to the OPAC? If everyone in a library system did that -- and signed their work -- we'd have thousands of recommendations in short order. And we'd have trusted local community recommenders developing personal engagement strategies with our cardholders. Cool. It's all about books.
12. One of the classic 2.0 technologies is RSS, really simple syndication. Instead of having to handcraft new book lists and subject and topical lists, why not use RSS off the catalogue by call number, or through a Boolean search? Connecting individual RSS feeds to users is great. Even better is using RSS to redefine outreach at your library. Just imagine adding RSS feeds of new gardening books to local nursery websites and botanical gardens! Add RSS feeds of specific collections to museum special events! It's only limited by your imagination and the ability to build community relationships.
13. Podcasts are a fun way to connect with your communities about books. It's the poor man's community cable show! I've seen many libraries doing 5 minute book promotion podcasts and building listener bases apace. You might even consider interviewing local authors and poets to promote their works in your collections. Local college and university professors might have interesting perspectives too. It's another option to use 2.0 tools to promote your collections.
14. Wikis are a wonderful new tool that is very 2.0 and free. Build a wiki to organize community book recommendations and promote it to all cardholders. Eventually this sort of tool can inform collection development too. For now, just get community recommendations about non-fiction, hobbies, science fiction, mysteries, romance, and the rest! People love to share and the library is a trusted place to share with.
15. You can even consider using Amazon (and B&N or Borders) to access more user reviews. Several libraries have created API's to link to these and some allow patrons to buy books through affiliate programs and earn a slice of the revenue.