Is Becoming an Expert Social Networking Librarian Worth It?
By F. DiPietro
Social networking in libraries is not a new concept. You could almost say that librarians were experts at coordinating and maintaining social networking applications before technology stepped in and automated it. To describe social networking in its basic form, simply imagine a bulletin board. Adorning the top of the board, you would find the equivalent of website banners, seasonal pictures and headings, such as " Books Just Arrived!", "Events", "Jobs", "Roommates Wanted", and "For Sale". Just below that, business cards and notes pinned to it with small tear-off tags containing phone numbers (profiles, walls, and photos). With the advent of the internet and social media sites, librarians no longer have just a few bulletin boards to update in order to keep patrons informed. By becoming experts at managing social media, librarians can take advantage of the social media explosion and promote their library. But with that expertise, libraries may have to increase their pay-rates in order to keep these tech-savvy librarians.
The idea of using social media to promote libraries sounds like a good one. The list of social media applications is extensive and here are examples of some (Balas, 2010):
All of these applications are of value to the library, but can be just as much a detriment if they are not managed properly. Before installing any of these, the library must develop a best practices strategy for implementing and maintaining the application and ensure appropriate staffing to keep the application up-to-date. What starts out as a positive way to promote the library can quickly become an eyesore once the library has a reputation for unfriendly, outdated, unproductive and immaterial website applications. "The new social media offerings, not to mention the discipline specific software applications and networks springing up, can be useful or just the added burden of a useless tool." (O'Dell, 2010).
The influence of social media has prompted many libraries to add applications to their websites in order to build community, promote their services, communicate with their patrons, and relay reader reviews on their catalog items. With all of these options available, it's important that the librarian in charge of maintaining the website keep the website current. If keeping the website current is not their only job responsibility, they have to put a priority on this task and hopefully, they are earning a fair wage for the job they perform.
"The increase in social networking suggests a set of skills that librarians should possess as social networking-literate information professionals capable of implementing library services and using information at social networking sites," Joe Murphy, science librarian at Yale University, and Heather Moulaison, a doctoral student at Rutgers University, said in a presentation in 2009. These include skills for interacting with patrons within the sites, understanding and articulating the nature of social networking sites and their potential roles related to library services, creating presences and content, evaluating and applying information, and being able to help patrons acquire and apply these skills. The next step should be to pass these skills on to library patrons by applying them to library instruction activities." (ALA, 2010).
The influence of social media has prompted many libraries to add applications to their websites in order to build community, promote their services, communicate with their patrons, and relay reader reviews on their catalog items. With all of these options available, it's important that the librarian in charge of maintaining the website keep the website current. If keeping the website current is not their only job responsibility, they have to put a priority on this task and hopefully, they are earning a fair wage for the job they perform.
"The increase in social networking suggests a set of skills that librarians should possess as social networking-literate information professionals capable of implementing library services and using information at social networking sites," Joe Murphy, science librarian at Yale University, and Heather Moulaison, a doctoral student at Rutgers University, said in a presentation in 2009. These include skills for interacting with patrons within the sites, understanding and articulating the nature of social networking sites and their potential roles related to library services, creating presences and content, evaluating and applying information, and being able to help patrons acquire and apply these skills. The next step should be to pass these skills on to library patrons by applying them to library instruction activities." (ALA, 2010).
References
ALA. (2010, April 5). Social networking and lbraries. Retrieved November 12, 2010, from http://http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/mediapresscenter/americaslibraries/socialnetworking.cfm
Balas, J. (2010, September). Social networking in the library -- What is it good for? Information Today, 30.
O'Dell, S. (2010). Opportunities and obligations for libraries in a socal networking age: A survey of Web 2.0 and networking sites. Journal of Library Administration, 50(3), 237-251. doi: 10.1080/01930821003634989
Great post. You raise an important point: there is nothing worse than a library's Facebook page or Twitter account with no recent updates. It seems worse to have that than to have no Facebook or Twitter presence at all! There is something about digital neglect that reflects poorly on a library's reputation. However, it can become tiresome for some librarians to continue to churn out posts and tweets on a regular basis. I think that as social networking becomes fully integrated with library marketing and outreach there will be more librarians who have dedicated time to keep up with these tools.
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