Implementation of Web 2.0 services in academic, medical and research libraries: a scoping review.
BACKGROUND
Academic, medical and research libraries frequently implement Web 2.0 services for users. Several reports notwithstanding, characteristics and effectiveness of services are unclear.


OBJECTIVE
To find out: the Web 2.0 services implemented by medical, academic and research libraries; study designs, measures and types of data used in included articles to evaluate effectiveness; whether the identified body of literature is amenable to a systematic review of results.


METHODS
Scoping review mapping the literature on the topic. Searches were performed in 19 databases.


METHODS
research articles in English, Italian, German, French and Spanish (publication date ≥ 2006) about Web 2.0 services for final users implemented by academic, medical and research libraries. Reviewers' agreement was measured by Cohen's kappa. From a data set of 6461 articles, 255 (4%) were coded and analysed.


RESULTS
Conferencing/chat/instant messaging, blogging, podcasts, social networking, wikis and aggregators were frequently examined. Services were mainly targeted at general academic users of English-speaking countries.


CONCLUSIONS
Data prohibit a reliable estimate of the relative frequency of implemented Web 2.0 services. Case studies were the prevalent design. Most articles evaluated different outcomes using diverse assessment methodologies. A systematic review is recommended to assess the effectiveness of such services.
School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK. pgardois@gmail.com
Paolo
P
Gardois
Nicoletta
N
Colombi
Gaetano
G
Grillo
Maria C
MC
Villanacci
D055317:Evidence-Based Practice / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination / Q000379:methods*; D046609:Libraries, Digital / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends; D007993:Libraries, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends; D061108:Social Media / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000639:trends; D014481:United States