LIBR 246-04/13 Web 2.0 (Spring 2010)

(originally published in American Libraries magazine)

What to expect with hosted web services

The gulf between what the technological have and have-not libraries could do on the web used to be so much larger. Years ago, if a library didn't have access to its own server, it didn't have a website, or at least not one that could be easily and frequently updated.

All this has changed in the Web 2.0 world. Now, we are fortunate that so many great services exist that can host your web content for you. While some libraries install wiki and blog software on their own servers, many libraries these days use blog and wiki software that is actually hosted elsewhere--usually by the company that created the software. In many cases, this hosting service is completely free. Often, all it takes for a library to get started with a blog or wiki or with photo-sharing or other social bookmarking software is a quick-and-easy registration.

Caveat emptor

There are certainly some drawbacks in choosing a hosted service. It may not allow for much customization and you generally have little control over the platform you're using. Some sites offer a very limited package of hosting services for free and charge monthly or yearly fees for things like additional storage space, custom domain names, and the ability to customize the site's look.

Still, for libraries that can't install software on their own servers, these services can be a fantastic option. Hosted Web 2.0 services have made it possible for any kind of library to use tools such as blogs, wikis, photo-sharing, video-sharing, social bookmarking, and more.

Even if a hosted option is your only choice, it's important to consider where the host would be putting your content before entrusting it to another entity. Many hosted sites make money by putting ads up on their users' pages. Some do make exceptions for libraries and educational institutions, but others do not. You certainly don't want anything patrons might find offensive showing up next to your library's content. Look at the terms of service of the site. Does anything in the terms make any claims on your data? Are there any policies that run counter to your library's policies?

Most important, consider what will happen to your data should the site disappear. Some sites make it easy for you to back up your data and even move it to another service, while others provide no options for that. You usually will have no idea how--or if--the company itself is backing up your data, so the ability to back up your data yourself should be very important to you.

Down and out in Web 2.0

In January, the popular social bookmarking site Ma.gnolia (ma.gnolia.com) suffered a major server failure that led to data corruption and loss. Suddenly, its users had no access to the content they'd bookmarked and no definitive answer from Ma.gnolia about when (or if) they'd get their data back. This event led many to consider the security Of their hosted web content. Sites hosting our web content have become so ubiquitous that most of us take their continued existence for granted. As we saw in the case of Ma.gnolia, this complacency can be a huge mistake.

There are certainly no guarantees that the service you're using to put your library's content online will still be there one, two, or five years from now. However, you can make sure that your content is portable and can easily be backed up offsite and/or offline.

Before you entrust your content to any web service provider, look at the features and policies it offers (and compare them to competitors) to ensure that the firm you select offers what you need now and may need in the future.

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By Meredith Farkas 

MEREDITH FARKAS is head of instructional initiatives at Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont, and part-time faculty at San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science. She blogs at Information Wants to Be Free and created Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki. Contact her at librarysuccess@gmail.com.