I think allowing comments on blogs is a great idea. For libraries, it is probably simpler to allow anyone (not necessarily just a registered user) to comment on the blog and assign a staff member to moderate the comments.
A challenge for libraries is giving patrons a reason to comment on the blog. With the entertainment blogs I read, they receive a lot of responses when asking the audience for input. (For example, they'll ask people to name their top 5 sci fi films.) They also get a lot of comments on their summaries of television shows, especially complex or cliffhanger episodes which are open to interpretation. Popular books with unique or open-ended endings might inspire some postings. (Two possible examples: Life of Pi and Oryx and Crake.)
Surveys could also be a useful tool, but I think they would need to be targeted to the correct audience. You would also have to keep in mind that the non-web users might not have a voice unless you take extra measures. Here's one idea: if your library sends out an email newsletter, you could survey those subscribers to see what information they find useful and if there is anything else they would like to see in the newsletter. You might have a better response rate since they are already computer users.
What do you think? Will patrons be interested in commenting on books and movies? Is there a real future for this in libraries, or will something even better come along?
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