5th Year Anniversary Celebration of 21st Century Information Retrieval & Dissemination Network

October 2021 is the 5th anniversary of my blog / website

I started blogging in October 2017 when I was Chief Librarian at College of Law & Governance, Hawassa University, Ethiopia. I created a professional blog/website currently entitled: [MULUGETA] 21st Century Information Retrieval & Dissemination Network [Library & Information Service] Professional Blog/Website. I used one of the most popular blogging platforms called WordPress, which “now ‘powers’ over a fifth of the internet.” WordPress is very easy to use and is very popular with bloggers and businesses looking to create identifiable brand desires.

Prior to that, in August 2016, I created a quarterly published currently named Link-Up e-Newsletter of Librarianship & Information Technology; I finally designed my blog/website as a primary form of communication with Hawassa University community and, eventually, the outside world. I chose my blog/website as my format because I found it easy to use and share with others.

I sent my blog/website links every three months by private email to the university community and elsewhere, along with the Link- Up quarterly newsletter. Feedback and comments from recipients/readers of Link-Up e-Newsletter were always very positive. This is a great way to connect with students, academic staff, researchers, and other staff inside and outside the university. Above all, it is also an important tool for building international professional networking and partnerships with colleagues around the world.

Here are links of six posts selected from the 16 posts that posted when I started blogging in October 2017:

የአለም ሎሬት ፕሮፌሰር ገቢሳ ኤጀታ

የዓለም የምግብ ዋስትናን ለማረጋገጥ በሰሩት ሥራ በአለም መድረክ ስማቸውንና የሀገራቸውን ስም ያስጠሩ ፀሐፊ፣ አርታኢ፣ መምህር፣ አማካሪ እና ተመራማሪ የአለም ሎሬት ፕሮፌሰር ገቢሳ ኤጀታን ከረዥሙ የሕይወት ጉዞአቸው በጥቂቱ ይዘንላቹሁ ቀርበናል፡፡

ለትዉስታ፤ማን ምን ነበር? የዶ/ር ገረመው ኃይሌን ሥራዎች በጨረፍታ

የአብዮቱን ፍንዳታ ከ40 ዓመት በኃላ ስናስታውስ ሁላችንም በአብዮቱ ሂደት ውስጥ ያየናቸውን ገጠመኞች ማስታወሳችን አይቀርም። በተለይም የ17 ዓመቱን የደርግ አገዛዝ የሁላችንም ትዝታ ነው። ከፊሎቻችን የተደሰትንበት፣ በተስፋ የፈነደቅንበት፣ ሌሎቻችን ደግሞ ያዘንበት፣ የተጎዳንበት፣ ወቅት ነበር። የዝብርቅርቅ ዘመን።

The History of Library Automation at Hawassa University, Ethiopia.

The library system of Hawassa University consists of the following eight libraries: School of Natural and Computational Sciences, School of Social Sciences and Humanities…etc

Three Ethiopian Journals Go Open Access

EIFL (Electronic Information for Libraries) welcomes the news that all three journals of the Institute of Education Research of Addis Ababa University are now available in open access (OA)

Lauret Tsegaye G/Medhin

Poem Collections.

21st Century Information Seekers

Whether your want a space to entertain or a place to relax our latest collection of living room design ideas will have something for you.

BLOG STATISTICS

My blog/website statistics are slowly evolving. The following figure outlines the statistical data for the last 5 years (31 October 2017 – 31 October 2021.

Blog stats seem to be getting more traffic than usual! Views every 29 hours Average views every 2 hours, blog statistics now reach almost 40,000 views.

Benefits of Blog/Website

Blogging has many advantages, both professionally and personally. On a professional basis, it not only allows you to create and manage your identity but also makes your parent institution/organization visible around the world. My blog is now the hub of everything I do professionally. Use of my blog/website; I have all my professional careers at hand. Having a blog with your name on it will also point people in the right direction when searching for you. This will help other professionals learn more about your work and hopefully share your best practices.

Blogging will teach you many things. At first glance, you’ll learn the basic technical skills needed to publish your work online. By blogging and sharing your professional activities and others’ works; you can connect with other professionals in your field. By reading, sharing, and understanding the perspectives of others, you will become more informed and involved in your librarianship profession and academic community.

By sharing your blog as a blogger and on an online platform, it’s clear that you will be interviewed in your area of expertise. If you are consistent, positive, and honest, you will grow followers who will want to hear what you have to say. Talking at events and conferences allows you to connect with professionals around the world and highlight your wonderful work in front of like-minded professionals. For example, here is a link: “Books For Africa” Being a Librarian in Ethiopia. Mario Coffa Interviews Mulugeta Woldetsadik, from Hawassa University, Ethiopia

Through my blog/website, I have added a new follower to my business social media channel called Mulugeta: Library and Information Service. I have built up true friendships and positive professional relationships and have become a better librarian. If you stick to the blog long enough, you will build a devoted group of followers for idea exchange.

One of the most exciting moments for an extroverted librarian like me is attending an online conference or webinar. Other librarians say they really enjoyed reading my blog and website. It’s a feeling that never gets old, and it’s a great way to make connections that benefit everyone.

Your blog can serve as your resume in many ways. It is a professional portfolio to show you when you are looking for employment in a new location or industry. If you use it as the basis for everything you do professionally, you will only get positive results.

Librarians Should Have Blog/Website

My advice as a 21st-century librarian is to start by creating a blog/website to share ideas, skills, experiences, and knowledge and as well as to promote library and information services. The blog definitely made my career better. It connected me with my professional colleagues around the world in ways I never expected. It provided me with some new career advancements and it enables me to run and perform my professional activities which benefits my parent institution i.e. Hawassa University and the surrounding communities in a thoughtful and effective way using a 21st-century tech landscape via online platforms, this a way forward to be impact librarian rather than being routine librarian.

My hope is that others or my colleagues will enjoy the same experience if they are prompted to start their own blog/website after reading this.

To conclude, I take hats off to everyone who has given me your comment (via my blog/website comment menu, email & telephone..etc) pertinent to my blog posts.