Libraries and Social Networking

MySpace and Facebook serve as modern community outreach tools and can assist both in the promotion of the public library and its services and as an avenue for community feedback. These spaces can be used to display upcoming events and increase collection awareness (for example, by providing reading lists). Message boards, such as Facebook's The Wall, can be utilised to invite community feedback. A facility for people to recommend books to others could be established or a question could be posed to the community about a new collection in the library. Entries on tips for searching the library catalogue and online databases could be particularly beneficial for university and other tertiary education students.

For reasons of consistency a MySpace or Facebook library account should probably be maintained by one or two key staff. In designing the page a target audience would need to be determined. Whilst MySpace and Facebook might be better received by younger audiences other age groups should not be overlooked. Staff would need to discuss what they are trying to achieve in setting up the page and list the possible outcomes of providing this outreach tool. Any library staff could have input into the content but the same key staff would be responsible for the maintenance of the web page. Staff willing to participate in such a social networking project need to be committed to the ongoing editing and updating of the web page to keep information current and retain an active online presence on behalf of the library.

I have looked at some American library MySpace pages and although I liked the concepts, I thought the layout and aspects of design needed much work. I didn't feel, when browsing the web page, that the creator's goals were clear. A goal could be, for example, providing a specific focus, such as a space to discuss things people have read. I think it would be an interesting exercise to create a Facebook account for the library I work in and promote it on the library's blog to see what kind of interest is generated. I think our target audience would be the 12-35 age bracket but you never know!