When did liblogs begin?
| Year | Blogs | Percentage |
| 1998 | 1 | 0.2% |
| 1999 | 1 | 0.2% |
| 2001 | 6 | 1.2% |
| 2002 | 20 | 3.8% |
| 2003 | 58 | 11.1% |
| 2004 | 71 | 13.6% |
| 2005 | 127 | 24.4% |
| 2006 | 123 | 23.6% |
| 2007 | 103 | 19.8% |
| 2008 | 11 | 2.1% |
Table 1.1: Blogs by year of origin
Comparing this table to the same table for last year’s larger set of blogs, I note that two of three blogs from 1998 are gone, as are one of two from 1999 and the only one from 2000. Other than that, the pattern is similar—with, again, the peak for new liblogs being in 2005, declining slightly in 2006 and somewhat more in 2007. There’s a huge decline in 2008, down almost 90%. That may mean that few new blogs gain readership, that bloggers aren’t bothering to add their blogs to LISWiki—or that there are simply a lot fewer new liblogs.
Figure 1.1: Liblogs by year of origin
…and here are two more liblog profiles, this time from pages 13-14
ResearchBuzz
“News about search engines, databases, and other information collections.” By Tara Calishain. Began August 1998.
| Metrics | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | C08-09 | C07-09 |
| Posts | 58 | 50 | 48 | -4% | -17% |
| Quintile | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Words per post | 259 | 186 | 379 | 104% | 46% |
| Quintile | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
What it says in the tagline—and, if you can get past the daily tweet summaries in recent days, the blog includes some fascinating essays.
librarian.net
“putting the rarin back in librarian since 1999” By Jessamyn West. Began April 1999.
| Metrics | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | C08-09 | C07-09 |
| Posts | 68 | 34 | 51 | 50% | -25% |
| Quintile | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Words per post | 308 | 286 | 185 | -35% | -40% |
| Quintile | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Comments per post | 5.9 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 13% | -32% |
| Quintile | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
If not the oldest liblog, this is certainly close—and West (OK, Jessamyn) continues to write a wide range of interesting commentaries on the field.
Ah, I see I fell into my usual place, just on the falling edge of the curve. This is the story of my life: “Oh look at all those cool people doing that cool thing!” –> Iris starts doing the cool thing –> people are pretty much done with the cool thing.
Or you could look at it this way: Iris sees that the cool thing has turned into a useful thing. Those more interested in the coolness of it (the Oh, Shiny Brigade) walk away. Those who still find it useful keep doing it.
I like your version better!
Of course, that means I should probably blog more often these days. Ahem.