This is the last week of the MLA Web 2.0 101 course. This week we focused on mashups and API, which I was least familiar with.
As a beginning exercise, I explored the mashup “College Search,” which allows you to not only view identifying information about schools within a zip code but also view the schools on a Google map. This is a very interesting application for potential students.
Next, I took a look at Rollyo, which allows you to search select websites, such as blogs. A search of Gabe Rios’ Rollyo librarianblogs on the topic of privacy revealed numerous posts pertaining to policies & procedures within various libraries as well as privacy on the web.
I think mashups and API could have interesting applications for libraries. I was particularly impressed by the HubMed application to search PubMed. It will be interesting to see how these applications are implemented down the road.
