Iguana goes so far
A key characteristic of the evolving web is the user’s ability to customize what information to see and where. Content no longer resides in one place; through widgets, RSS feeds and mobile apps, users take information from a multitude of web sites and access it at the time and place of their choosing. In this ‘portable’ environment the library has a unique opportunity to extend its reach and take its online marketing to a new level. With Iguana, you now have the tools to reach farther and promote your services in many different ways and places.
Portability and ‘openness’
The Iguana platform is based on the principles of information portability and openness. Through its widget-based interface and open framework, library users can easily take information along or ‘integrate’ applications within their personalized environment. Each Iguana application is a widget – allowing users to grab the content and place it on their iGoogle page, social networking site, personal blog and more. Likewise, users can take applications from elsewhere and place them on their own, customized library page.
The Iguana concepts
Collaboration
With Iguana, your users can share your content with others. They can create affinity groups around your content; think of book clubs for example, or discussion groups around the library’s art exhibits. Your users can also connect with their friends to share items – books, DVD, CDs, etc.
Discovery
With Iguana, your users can discover information in the library and beyond. Your users can discover the library’s collections and more in an interactive and personalized way.
Personalization
Iguana provides users with a highly personalized environment. Iguana delivers information that is based on a user’s profile; the user views events for his or her library branch, for example, and reads news based on his or her interests.
Portability
The Iguana platform is entirely deconstructed; each content area on the page is a widget – users can move content on their library’s page and create their own views. Users can also move content elsewhere – to external environments such as Facebook or iGoogle, for example. Now your users can interact around your content on those pages that they visit the most.