Social networks allow users to browse, search, interact, collaborate with others users, and share comments and entries. To some people, this can be a fun and easy way to keep up with friends, track old friends, or to keep up with current events. For others, it can be viewed as a waste of time, very distracting, too new, or simply too overwhelming. Consequently, there has been some debate whether social networks can be beneficial in an educational setting and more specifically with library services.
I think two of the most popular social networks being used today are MySpace and You Tube. In doing my research, I found a lot of wonderful, useful, information being posted on MySpace regarding library services. MySpace even has a section dedicated to library teen services that feature profiles oriented specifically to teen patrons.
Within most of these profiles, there were several links to blogs that featured subjects such as favorite teen books, Aime meetings, Twilight reading parties, and links to libraries that were offering SAT practice tests for teenagers.
I think this is a great resource for teens that may not know how to drive, have access to a car, or transportation, they can simply log on and get sorts of information from their local libraries. This would also be beneficial for students that are planning to attend out of state colleges. They can log on and research colleges via MySpace and get information as to how to apply for financial aid and get answers in real-time.
One of my favorite sites is You Tube. You can find just about anything in You Tube in just about any subject imaginable. I found several great tutorials from "How to use the library," to "How to use Ebsco."
How to use the library:
Find articles in a library:
Magazines vs. Scholarly Journals
I think these are valuable tools for people who may be shy about asking questions on how to do a research paper, how to use the card catalog, or what the difference is between Google and ProQuest.
Even for those people who were once experts in library usage that have to return to school, they may not be familiar with the new technical aspects being used today. There may be that one person who has three college degrees from 1989, but now has no idea what Ebsco is and may be too embarrassed to ask for help. They can look up these tutorials in the privacy of their homes.
Librarians can also use these sites to create pages and inform patrons of coming events, services, post videos of popular events, or post how to tutorials. MySpace and You Tube can not only help promote library services, but patrons can also provide instant feedback to librarians. Since people are no longer communicating through traditional methods, social networks are a great platform for librarians to utilize and reach a larger market.
Unfortunately, not all libraries use social networks to promote their services. Many view social networking as too new or too trendy. Some libraries have even banned social networks such as MySpace and Face book (It is unknown if it's due to funds or library management).
As we have seen, social networks can be very beneficial and highly useful to promote education and in library services. There are several social networks currently being used today, and no doubt, there will be more emerging in the future. It will be up to each individual library to decide how to best implement the use of these tools. Social networks are here to stay and best of all, they are still FREE!
Excellent comments. There are certainly many ways that social networking can be used in the library.
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