Using Blogs in the Library to Reach Diverse and Non-Traditional Student Groups, 2014

While there is no dearth of information about the uses of a blog as a Web 2.0 tool in the library, there is very little information about the ways in which a blog can be used to reach diverse and non-traditional groups. This paper explores blog topics and strategies that will help to engage users from diverse populations. It also explains ways in which librarians might frame their library blogs to be more inclusive of their entire community. Blogs can serve as excellent marketing tools for communicating resources, services, and events, but in featuring posts that include various populations, more users might become readers of the blog and may even develop an appreciation for the diversity surrounding them. The blog can then serve as a solid model for communicating and appreciating diversity. If their true power is harnessed, library blogs can reach larger groups and promote a more inclusive environment for all.