Dr. Derek Hansen and his Library Science graduate students in his Information Access (LBSC 650) class have utilized new social media tools to compile and annotate a selection of "green" information resources in a new website called Go Green: A Resource Guide (see http://gogreenaresourceguide.wetpaint.com). The website, based on wiki technology, contains critical evaluations and insightful descriptions of resources on environmentally friendly topics to help individuals be more "green" in their everyday lives. Developing the website provided a highly engaging class-wide project that enabled students to develop critical information skills, as well as learn to effectively collaborate using new community-based Internet technologies. While the website started as a class project, it was always intended to benefit those outside of the classroom. The fact that over 60 new members have joined the Go Green website and over 2,000 unique visitors have accessed the site in the few months since its creation are good signs that this desired outcome is being reached.

Dr. Hansen says, "Go Green: A Resource Guide is an invitation for interested individuals to participate in the important work of selecting, evaluating, and summarizing information - work that is extremely important, yet often under-appreciated and poorly performed. It is an excellent example of how librarians are harnessing new, community-based technologies to extend their reach well beyond the buildings they inhabit."