Blogger, Google, the Bangor Public Library Blog & You

A few people have asked why the blog is set up using Blogger, a Google operated blog publishing service. Further, people have wondered they will not be able to leave comments because they do not have Google accounts. Below, I have addressed a few of these concerns.

This blog is using Blogger for publication for a number of reasons. For one, Blogger is -- one of the greatest of all things -- free.

There are many other blog publishers, but many of the others require the placement of advertisements on all blogs created. Blogger allows ads to be placed on blogs, but does not demand all bloggers do so.

Blogger is also relatively easy to use & modify by blog authors. I am not a computer novice, but I'm also not an expert. I wanted to open up this type of forum for our library patrons, but did not want to be limited by an interface that demanded more time of me, making it more prohibitive of my time at work.

Still, Blogger is not a perfect system. Since it is owned by Google, users of Blogger are required to create a Google account. However, from my experience, the account only requires a user name & password. No one is required to leave a real name, email address, or other identifying information to create an account with Blogger.

You will also not be asked to change your email or any other accounts to a Google account just so you could leave comments on this blog. If limitations or demands of this sort were required, I would not have chosen this publishing service.

I am new to using blogs. I am attempting to make this as accessible as possible, knowing that it may not be at this time. I look to amend whatever is needed to better serve our library patrons. If you have any difficulty in using this blog to communicate with the Bangor Public Library, please feel free to email me directly at playne@bpl.lib.me.us.