Social Networking

This week's activities have prompted me to sign up for Facebook, a site which I have been meaning to check out for many months now. So many of the Young Adults and people in their twenties who visit our library use this sight (or Bebo or MySpace) and I have been really curious as to what all the hype is about.

So I am really grateful to this Libraries Learning program for prompting me to look more into social networking sites as I think there will be much value for me in understanding how they work. Yes, I can see the obvious benefits of a Library using MySpace or Facebook for communicating with users, posting information about upcoming events, posting photos of exhibitions, receiving feedback from the public and having more of an online presence, but personally I think one of the greatest benefits will be knowing how to use these sites so that I can talk to the youth in our library and not appear completely out of touch. In this way I can work towards breaking down the stereotype of the dull and boring librarian. How nice it would be if we were all seen to be cool and 'in thek know', and able to speak the language of the majority of our online users. As I explore Facebook some more over the coming weeks I will defintely share what I have learnt with fellow colleagues and encourage them to also find out for themselves why these sites are so popular.

One other thought I had was that with such a focus on web 2.0 technologies and meeting people in the online environment, I suppose we need to be mindful that we do not neglect all of our valued customers who prefer to visit the library in person, and that we make as much of an effort to be innovative in the way that we engage with them in all of the activities we offer.