Evolving Evaluation. Evoluation?

Ahh yes evaluation, it is not just what you are saying anymore, it its what others are saying about it. Kind of like closing your eyes in public and saying something vitally profound to your own little universe, then opening your eyes to see if anyone stuck around to hear it. If nobody did, does it make it less important? Did anyone actually hear it?

It is in this so called 'closed eye' state where evaluation comes into play. I know the library where I am stationed monitors our library website usage, even down to what pages they are accessing and what browser/platform they did it with. Even if it was a referral from another site. As for 2.0 tech, I've noted blogs that track and display comments made on recent posts from outside sources (sadly none of mine have been there).

Reading through the State Library report on 2.0 implementation I found it interesting that 57.4% of Libraries in fact do not evaluate their new technologies. From what I've seen here, We collect flickr statistics, use survey monkey, monitor the video stats on vimeo, even monitor the use of Hornsby Library in google alerts (which I'll bet appears there, hi library reader!). It is a great way to discover up to date information on what people are saying about your library, which is generally generated without the prompting of feedback in the way the library collects such comments in house. It also means writers are often less inhibited in what they have to say, which has its good and bad points obviously.

As a side note I actually waited top finish this while my feedburner stats populated, and as my zero subscribers would confirm my status as that nutter rambling at the back about some sort of poppycock notion. Still, I can see if I indeed had a interweb reach, it would provide good information on where my hits were coming from, and an over-arching view of my readership landscape. But as this is not the case, I will merely substitute my own reality for the minds of others. Till next week!