Blog Post # 2 - www.opal-online.org

For my readers advisory class, I had to visit a library and write about their readers advisory program. I visited the Manhattan Public Library, and one of the first things I discovered was a great online resource entitled opal online. OPAL is an acronym that stands for online programs for all libraries. Despite the small size of this rural library, they were experimenting with this advancement in technology.

I had never heard of OPAL online until my visit with the head librarian at Manhattan P.L. She described to me that they used it at least once a month, if not more, to participate in free online book discussions with other groups of users or online discussions with the author themselves. A few minutes prior to my arrival, they had a small group in their meeting room and they were chatting with an author in Alaska. They had just purchased a new large flat screen tv that they would plug into the computer to serve as a monitor. Then they logged into the opal website and watched the author discuss his/her book. They responded to the author by a form of online chat or instant messaging. I was blown away by this service, and I was even more amazed that it was free to everyone. This especially helped this public library because they had very limited funding.

After I arrived home from my library visit, I decided to check out the website myself. In addition to the live chats with book authors, they also have podcast archives of any previous OPAL event. This website incoporates so many facets of the 2.0 world; podcast, instant messaging, and more! If you have a chance, check out this website; it's worth a look!