LIS 9763

Admittedly, I’m not a huge fan of social networks. Oh, I certainly don’t see anything wrong with them- although I don’t think I had much respect for MySpace prior to Boyd’s article- it’s just that they were never my cup of tea. Currently, I have an account on Facebook, but I really don’t use it much: I pop in once every other day, if that, to read updates, but otherwise don’t bother.

My apathy however, is clearly in the minority: Facebook, Myspace and other social sharing sites are clearly huge success stories; creating an online phenomenon the likes the web hadn’t seen before. Suddenly, everyone has a face, and they are more than happy to share it with the rest of the world. For libraries, the question should not be “should we have a social networking presence” but rather “how would we benefit from such a presence and what should we do to develop it”. Certainly, I agree with Farkas: there’s no point in putting it out there if the reason is just to appear “cool”. However, as the data Mack at all present, if librarians work to create social profiles as a means of active communicating with their users, the users will use it.

The case study of Ann Arbor District Library, is such an example. Toting 284 billion friends, it is easily possible to see why: not only is the layout attractive, but it has much to offer, including blog entries, links to clubs, and messaging. Clearly, the space is intended to reach out to the user population (in particular, I suspect, the teen population) and encourage interest by using the tool to show what the library has to offer. Hennepin Library is another fine example: flipping through the profile, the library uses its Facebook to promote further communication with users and interested parties. Although not as popular as Ann Arbor, the “friends” number and posts suggest that it is working for them. This is a stark contrast to Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County, where it appears little care has been made to make the profile current and relevant to user needs: certainly, there’s a lot of work needed there.

Finally, a little note on Roush and  the DPOA- I don’t know as much as I feel I should about this act, although I agree with his comments, particularly that publicly blocking social networking will do nothing against predators and only discriminate against those from families who cannot afford computers or online access at home. What’s most interesting I think is to read the comments: I almost wonder if the debate at the time wasn’t about the technology so much as picking sides on the political fence.