Just for the Image? The Impact of Web 2.0 for Public Institutions

Abstract

Web 2.0 is of growing importance and nowadays also a hot topic for public institutions. However, it is still an open question if users appreciate and recognize the merit of Web 2.0 applications in the context of public institutions. The presented paper describes first empirical findings on users? reactions on the linkage of a modern library 2.0 with Web 2.0 applications, namely the presence in social networks and the integration of blogs and wikis. The results showed that most users didn?t recognize the benefit of Web 2.0 in the context of the homepage of a library 2.0. However, even though they didn?t use the accordingly Web 2.0 links by themselves, they thought that the connection to Web 2.0 is a necessity for the image of a modern library. These findings imply that the connection to Web 2.0 is important for the image of a modern public institution but the surplus benefit has to be better communicated and to be made more visible on the conventional homepage in Web 1.0.