Does social media have a place at the library? This is a complicated question.
On one hand it you don’t keep up with certain popular trends, you will be left behind. Libraries may be seen as soooo last century, but they are still pertinent fixtures in our society - we just need to let everyone else know that. What better way to keep in touch with the next generation of users than with technology they grown up with. RSS feeds and twitter are extraordinarily useful for keeping patrons informed of events or changes in operating hours or new acquisitions
BUT I do agree with Rochelle Mazar (in her article “Libraries and Social Media” for Access) when it comes to appropriate social media. The success of Facebook has placed it in that “too popular to be cool” category. Everyone is on Facebook, whether it’s the people who are truly your friends, or beer companies. I feel like there is going to be a backlash to Facebook, much like MySpace has experienced, in the not too distant future.
Connecting with your patrons is important, but if they aren’t buying what you’re selling there is no point. If you want people to follow what is going on at your library, develop a great web page, and keep it up to date (for god’s sake, keep it up to date). An iPod/iPad app that allows a search of the libraries database and gives users the ability to reserve a book is just what people need, and want, in the 21st century. The Vancouver Public Library has an app that does that and a lot more, allowing users to rate and renew books.
On the other hand, social bookmarking is definitely something that could be of great use to libraries. Utilizing social bookmaking to see what is of interest to other libraries is a way to connect to so much more information on the web than a single user could find on their own. Setting up a site for patrons to share links to new releases, or reviews of books, could be worthwhile in this technologically heavy world. A social networking site that allows patrons to contribute links to sites of interest to other library users would require a commitment of time, but it could also bring in younger, tech savvy users.
There are plenty of social networking site available to employ. Del.icio.us, Reddit and Digg are three well known sites, but there are literally hundreds of others. Digg and Reddit are similar in the way they have set up their sites – very text oriented, but not particularly attractive. Aesthetically speaking, Del.icio.us wins hands down. It is very visually appealing and even has a prominent link to an instructional video for learning how to “stack”. Digg allows you to quickly set up your own account by linking to your Facebook account, a no hassle way to get started. All of them are basically lists of links that aim you to areas of interest, so it is a subjective decision which to use.I use Stumbleupon. It has a structure that allows you to indicate which pages you prefer and it then uses that information to display sites that fit your interests more exactly. It does tend to be a time waster. As you page through what it brings to your attention, and it learns your preferences, more pages are of interest to you, and so you wander off down the social bookmarking path. Not necessarily a good thing for a site connected to a library.
With so many options out in the online world, the question is not if social media does or doesn’t have a place in libraries, it does. The question is, in a Web 2.0 world, which form of social media is right for both you and your patrons.
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