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Originallypublishedin:
S.Steiner,&L.Madden(Eds.),TheDeskandBeyond:NextGenerationReferenceServices.Chicago,IL:AssociationofCollegeand
ResearchLibraries.
Available at:http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteS olution.taf?_sn=catalog2 &_pn=product_detail&_op=2635
FriendingourUsers:SocialNetworkingandReferenceServices
CliffLandis
Introduction
Socialnetworkingsitesarechangingthewaythatlibrariesengagetheirusers.
Sometimescalled“socialnetworkingsoftware”or“socialnetworkingservices,”theseWeb sites
aredesignedtoletuserssharetheirliveswithfriends,family,andthegeneralpublic. Many
librariansimmediatelysawthepossibilitiesintheproliferatingsocialnetworks—byconnecting
withourusersin“theirspace,”wearemakingourselvesreadilyavailableandremovingmanyof
theobstaclestotheirinformationneeds.
Asreferencelibrarians,ourfirstreactiontonewtechnology isto“setupdesk”—to
providethesameserviceswehavetraditionallyoffered,onlyinanewmedium.However,new
technologiesdemandanewapproach,andrecentyearshaveseenlibrariansofferingreference,
instruction,andotherservicesinuniqueandinnovativeways.
Whatisit?
Socialnetworkingsitesallowuserstointeractwitheachotherinthreedifferentways.
First,ausercreatesaprofilethatwillrepresenthimorhertootherusers.ThisprofileisaWeb
pagethatincludeselementssuchasdemographicinformation,hobbies,andinterests(suchas
favoritebands,movies,books,andTVprograms).Second,socialnetworkingsitesallowusersto
interactwith eachotherbysharingmediasuchasvideos,photos,music,andWeb sites.Third,
socialnetworkingsitesallowuserstocommunicatewitheachotherusingpublicmessages,
privatemessages,andblogs.Socialnetworkingsiteshavebecomepowerfulsocialtoolsbecause
Originallypublishedin:
S.Steiner,&L.Madden(Eds.),TheDeskandBeyond:NextGenerationReferenceServices.Chicago,IL:AssociationofCollegeand
ResearchLibraries.
Available at:http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteS olution.taf?_sn=catalog2 &_pn=product_detail&_op=2635
userscan quicklyidentifyindividualswithsimilarinterests,sharemediawithfriends,and
directly communicatewith otherusersallinthesameWebsite.
The“networking”partofsocialnetworkingsiteshappenswiththeactionof“Friending.”
ToFriendsomeone(verbformcapitalizedforthesakeofclarity)meanstoadd thatperson to
yourlistofFriendssothatyourtwoprofilesareconnected.Thisconnection showsthatyou
belongtoeachothers’socialnetworks. Itdoesnot,however,imply thatyouareactuallyfriends
withthatpersonindailylife—Friendingissimply awaytopubliclydisplaythatyouareinsome
wayconnectedtoapersonforanynumberofreasons(Donathandboyd2004,71). danahboyd,
speakingaboutthesocialnetworkingsiteFriendster,showsthatusersareawarethatthereisa
differencebetweenfriendsandFriends:“Overheardconversationsmightincludestatementssuch
as‘She’snotmyfriend,butshe’smyFriendster’ and‘DidyouseethatAlexisDrew’s
Friendster? (boyd2004).ByFriendinganindividual(suchasalocallibrarian)ororganization
(suchasthelocallibrary),theuseriscreatingaconnectionthatcanbeseenbyothers.
TheHistoryandPower BehindSocialNetworkingSites
ThefirstsocialnetworkingsitewasSixDegrees.com,whichbeganin1997andclosed
fouryearslater(Donathandboyd2004).Manysocialnetworkingsitesfollowed,including
Friendster,Hi5,Bebo,Orkut,and,ofcourse, thenowubiquitousMySpaceandFacebook.
Facebookwillbetheprimarydiscussionpointofthispiece,butmanyothershaveproliferated,
oftensettingthemselvesapartbyspecializingindifferentareassuchasbusinessrelationships
(Ryze,LinkedIn),schoolrelationships(Classmates.com,Graduates.com),andhobbies(Catster,
CarDomain,Sportsvite).Profilescan alsobeseenbeyondsocialnetworkingsites,sincemany
Originallypublishedin:
S.Steiner,&L.Madden(Eds.),TheDeskandBeyond:NextGenerationReferenceServices.Chicago,IL:AssociationofCollegeand
ResearchLibraries.
Available at:http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteS olution.taf?_sn=catalog2 &_pn=product_detail&_op=2635
popularWeb sitesgiveuserstheoptiontocreateprofilesandconnectionswithotherusers
(LiveJournal,YouTube,Xanga,LibraryThing,Flickr).
Themoreusersasocialnetworkingsitehas,themorepowerfulatoolitistoconnectwith
otherpeople.Alargesocialnetworkallowsuserstostayintouchwithindividualsthroughout
theirlives.AccordingtoDunbar'sRuleof150,wehavetheabilitytomentallymaintain
relationshipswithapproximately147.8individualsthisnumberisconventionallyroundedto
150(Dunbar1993,682). Aswemeetnewfriends,welosecontactwithsomeoldfriends.Social
networkingsitesallowustomaintaincontactwiththoseindividuals(suchasabestfriendfrom
middleschool).Althoughtheusermaynottalktohisorhermiddleschoolbestfriendsanymore,
byFriendingthem,theusermaintainsaconnectionandcanstillvisittheirprofilesandseewhere
they areandwhattheyaredoing.
SocialnetworkingWeb sitesarechangingtheInternetasawhole.Asof May14,2007,
fiveofthetoptwentyfivemostvisitedWeb sitesweresocialnetworkingsites(MySpace,Orkut,
Hi5,FacebookandFriendster,inthatorder),andmanyoftheothertoptwentyfivehadthe
abilitytocreateandconnectprofiles(Alexa.com2007).Userslooktoeachotherforinformation,
andsocialnetworkingsiteshelptomakethatcommunication possible.Peoplemakeuseofsocial
networkingsites’builtinanduserdesignedapplicationstodiscovernewmusic,planparties,
catchupongossip,findinterestingeventstoattend,watchTVshows,andcreativelyexpress
themselvesthroughblogs,videos,quizzesandcomments.
Thedifferencesbetween socialnetworkingsitesareimportanttonote. Some,suchas
MySpace,allowuserstocreatebothpersonalandinstitutionalprofiles.Thisflexibilityallows
librarianstorepresentthelibrary,theReferenceServicesdepartment,orjustthemselves.
MySpacealsogivesuserstheabilitytoedittheoverallappearanceandorganizationofthepage,
Originallypublishedin:
S.Steiner,&L.Madden(Eds.),TheDeskandBeyond:NextGenerationReferenceServices.Chicago,IL:AssociationofCollegeand
ResearchLibraries.
Available at:http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteS olution.taf?_sn=catalog2 &_pn=product_detail&_op=2635
allowingyoutobrandyourprofileappropriately.Othersites,suchasFacebook,limitprofilesto
individualsanddonotalloweditingof theprofile'sappearance.Instead,Facebookallows
institutionstocreate“Pages,”whichgivesomeofthefunctionalityofprofiles(suchastheability
tosendmessagesandcomment). Inaddition,aPagecreatorcanmonitorhowmanytimesthe
Pagehasbeenviewedandcreateadvertisementcampaigns.Although theinabilitytocreate
institutionalprofilesmayseemlikeadrawbacktoFacebook’sservice,itemphasizesthepersonal
socialnetwork,andalsogivesusersthebenefitofaconsistentinterface.Additionally,Facebook
allowstheaddition ofusercreatedapplications.Somearerelevanttolibrarianprofiles,suchas
librarycatalogandpollingapplications;others,suchas“(fluff)Friends”and“MyAquarium”are
primarilyforentertainmentandcanunnecessarilyclutteralibrarian’sprofile.Similarly,Google
hascreatedOpenSocial,ausercreatedapplicationsetthatwouldallowthesharingof
applicationsbetweensocialnetworkslikeOrkut,MySpace,Friendsterandothers.Thiswould
proveparticularlybeneficialforlibrariesthatwouldwanttospreadtheircatalogsearch
interfacesintosocialnetworkingsites.Thedifferencesinsocialnetworkingsitesshouldbetaken
intoaccountasyoudevelopyour(oryourlibrary's)profiles.
Reservations
Aswithanynewtechnology,manylibrarianshavereservationsabouttheplacethat
socialnetworkingsitesshouldhaveinthelibrary.Thesereservationsarepartially dueto
negativemediaportrayalsinrecentyears.Thereisalsotheperceptionthatlibrariesaremoving
awayfromtheirmissionofdeliveringinformation,andareinsteadturningintocommunity
playgrounds.BeforeImoveontotheroleofsocialnetworkingsitesinreferenceservice,Iwould
liketoaddresstheseandotherconcerns.
Originallypublishedin:
S.Steiner,&L.Madden(Eds.),TheDeskandBeyond:NextGenerationReferenceServices.Chicago,IL:AssociationofCollegeand
ResearchLibraries.
Available at:http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteS olution.taf?_sn=catalog2 &_pn=product_detail&_op=2635
Privacy,Predators,andFreedomofInformation
Librarianshavelongstoodattheforefrontonthebattleforprivacyrights,soitisnot
surprisingthatlibrariansareskepticalofsocialnetworkingsites,whichconnectpeoplethrough
thedisclosureof personalinformation.Yet,librariansarenotaloneintheirconcernsabout
privacy;socialnetworkingsiteusersareconcerned,too.InSeptember2006,Facebooklaunched
its“minifeedfeature,”whichaggregatedallofauser'sbehavioron Facebookandputitintoan
RSS(ReallySimpleSyndication)feedontheirfriends'homepages—makingallauser'sactions
(fromaddingfriendstochangingrelationshipstatus)visibletoeveryonetheylistedasafriend.
Immediately,therewasabacklash,includingabarrageofcomplaints,apetition,andthecreation
ofaprotestWeb site(Cashmore2006a).Facebookrespondedbycreatinga“MyPrivacy”
feature,whichgreatlyenhancedusers'abilitytocontrolwhatinformationwasvisibletoother
users.Thisreactionwasasurpriseforsocialnetworkingsites,which discoveredthattheirusers
arequiteawareoftheprivacyimplicationsoftheirbehavior,andarewillingtofighttoprotect
theirprivacy.
MySpaceandFacebookgainednegativeattentionwhenthemediahighlightedinstances
of sexualpredation onsocialnetworkingsites.However,LarryRosenstudiedover1,400
teenagedMySpaceuserstodeterminetheinstancesofpredation,withthefollowingresults:
First…stalkingisextremelyrare,happeningabout1.3%ofthetime,whilebeing
approachedforsexhappensslightlymoreoften,roughly 5.1%ofthetime.Second,given
theexplanationsfromMySpacers,itappearsthat,for thevastmajority,theepisode[of
beingapproachedforsex]wasbrushedoffandhadnolastingimpact. (Rosen2006)
Mostteensandadultswhousesocialnetworkingsitesaresavvywhenitcomestoblocking
communicationsfromsexualpredators. Unfortunately,governmentsrespondtothefears
drummedupbymediareportsbylegislatingblocksagainstsocialnetworkingsitesfromlibraries
andschools,ratherthanbyeducatingstudentsonappropriateandsafewaystousethem.This
Originallypublishedin:
S.Steiner,&L.Madden(Eds.),TheDeskandBeyond:NextGenerationReferenceServices.Chicago,IL:AssociationofCollegeand
ResearchLibraries.
Available at:http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteS olution.taf?_sn=catalog2 &_pn=product_detail&_op=2635
restrictionofaccesstoinformationdoesnotstopstudentswhousesocialnetworkingsitesfrom
home,butinsteadfurtherlimitstheopportunitiesforstudentswhoaccessthesesitesfrom
schoolsorlibrariesforeducationalpurposes.
ButIt'sKidStuff!
ManylibrariansseetheseWeb sitesasinappropriateforeducationalinstitutionsor
faculty.ThereisstillaperceptionthatMySpaceisgearedtowardhighschoolstudents,andis
thereforeinappropriateforcollegesanduniversities.However,accordingtoacomScorereportin
October2006,“Internetusersbetweentheagesof3554nowaccountfor40.6percentofthe
MySpacevisitorbase,an8.2percentagepointincreaseduringthepastyear”(comScore2006).
IndividualsofallkindsareusingMySpacetoconnectwithfriends.
In2006,Facebookopenedtononstudents. Therewereinitialfearsthatitwouldloseits
coreofcollegeanduniversitystudentsasmembersofthepublicjoinedthesite.However,as
PeteCashmorepredicted,sinceFacebookopenedtheirservicetothepublic,therehasnotbeen
an“exodusof Facebookusers”(Cashmore,2006b).Thefuturewill showwhetherFacebook's
demographiceventuallygrowsbeyondthecollegecrowd,butfornowFacebookisanexcellent
waytoreach academiclibraryusers.
WhoCanKeepUp?
Somelibrarianshavecommentedthatsocialnetworkingsitesarejust“onemorething”to
addtothelistofthingstokeepupwith,andthattheyfalloutsideofourmission—todeliver
informationandinstructiontolibraryusers.Admittedly,intherealm ofreferenceservices,things
arechangingalmostdaily—astheyalwayshavebeen.Thelibrary professionhasahistoryof
workingwiththelatesttechnologytohelpusers,whetherthrough punchcardsorinstant
Originallypublishedin:
S.Steiner,&L.Madden(Eds.),TheDeskandBeyond:NextGenerationReferenceServices.Chicago,IL:AssociationofCollegeand
ResearchLibraries.
Available at:http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteS olution.taf?_sn=catalog2 &_pn=product_detail&_op=2635
messaging,microfilmordatabases.Wehavealwaysstruggledtokeepabreastofthesechanges,
andnowhavenewtools(suchasblogsandRSS)tostayuptodatewiththesechanges.
WenowhavetocompetewithservicessuchasYahoo!Answersandsearchenginessuch
asGoogle.Forlibrariestostay relevantinthisnewinformationenvironment,wemustprovide
excellentservice—servicethatouruserscannotgetelsewhere.Thekeyistodiscoverbothwhat
userswantandwhatusersneed—andthensupplyboth.Socialnetworkingsitescanbeagreat
waytodiscoverthesewantsandneeds,becausetheycanbeusedformarketing,reference,
instruction,andimprovementofservices.
CurrentUses
LibraryMarketing
Librarymarketingoftenfallstoreferenceandinstructionlibrarians,sincethey provide
theindepthhumanresourcesthatstudents,facultyandstaffturntoforresearchhelp.Yet,most
librarianscanrelateanexperienceinwhichlibraryuserscomplainaboutthelibrarylackinga
particularserviceorresource,wheninfacttheresourcewasthere,butunknown.Thistypeof
complaintshowswherelibrarymarketingisvaluable:
Librarieshavealongtraditionofbringingserviceswherevertheirpatronsarelocated,
throughsuchapproachesasbookmobilesandbranchesinstripmallsandcommunity
centers.Thishasalsobecomethecaseintheonlineworld.Whilemostlibrarieshave
theirown Web sites,somearealsostartingtopushtheirservicestotheonlinesitesat
whichpatronscongregate. (Farkas2007,27)
Socialnetworkingsitesarethenextgenerationofwordofmouthmarketing.Anexampleisthe
Universityof IllinoisatUrbanaChampaign’s(UIUC)Undergraduate Library’sMySpacepage
(http://www.myspace.com/undergradlibrary).ThelibraryhasoverfourhundredFriends,
includingstudents,localbands,andotherlibraryrelatedusers.Changesinhours,eventsandnew
Originallypublishedin:
S.Steiner,&L.Madden(Eds.),TheDeskandBeyond:NextGenerationReferenceServices.Chicago,IL:AssociationofCollegeand
ResearchLibraries.
Available at:http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteS olution.taf?_sn=catalog2 &_pn=product_detail&_op=2635
servicesareadvertisedviaMySpace’sbloggingtool,whileacatalogsearchboxhasbeen
embeddedintothe“AboutMe”section.Additionally,theUIUCUndergraduateLibraryhas
createda FacebookprofileandjoinedotherlibrariesincreatingFacebookapplicationswhich
allowuserstoaddacatalogsearchboxontheirprofiles(http://apps.facebook.com/uiuclibrary/).
Eachoftheseeffortsincreasesthelibrary’sonlinevisibility.
Marketingusingsocialnetworkingsitescanbeatimeandbudgetsavingwaytoreach
outtolibraryusers.AsJudithA.SeissexplainsinTheVisibleLibrarian,“Ifyou’rewondering
whentomarket,theansweriseasy—always.Everyencounterwithacustomeroraprospective
customerisamarketingopportunity”(2003,33). Socialnetworkingsitescanreachusers
whenevertheylogon through aninterfacetheyarealreadyfamiliarwith.Thiscanbemore
invitingthanlibrary Web siteswhichare(toooften)hierarchicalanddifficulttonavigate.
Socialnetworkingsitesarealsoafreewaytoreachouttopotentiallibraryusers.By
performingadvancedsearches,youcandiscoverindividualsatyourinstitutionwholist“books”
or“reading”asoneoftheirinterests, orifyouremployeesarethinkingofsettingupagaming
nightatyourlibrary,asearchfor“gaming”asaninterestwillprovideyouwith aquickinvitation
list.Createaneventanduserswillbeabletoconfirmwhethertheyareattending. Doyouhavea
marketingbudget? Considerpurchasing“flyers”on Facebook—shortadvertisementsthatappear
tousersatyouruniversity.Nomoney?Youcanstillpostbulletinson MySpaceandnoteson
Facebooktoletusersknowaboutupcomingevents.
WhetherornottoactivelyFriendlibraryusersisadebatabletopic.Millennialstudents
areusedtoreceivingadvertisementsfromcorporationsandorganizationsthroughsocial
networkingsitesthatallowsuchaccounts.Therefore, organizations(suchaslibraries)can often
Friendlibraryuserswithoutappearingtooassuming.However,individuallibrarianswho
Originallypublishedin:
S.Steiner,&L.Madden(Eds.),TheDeskandBeyond:NextGenerationReferenceServices.Chicago,IL:AssociationofCollegeand
ResearchLibraries.
Available at:http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteS olution.taf?_sn=catalog2 &_pn=product_detail&_op=2635
activelytrytoFriendusersmaybeperceivedaspushy.So,itmaybebesttoreach outtousers
throughothermeans,andallowthemtoFriendyou;
However,thisactuallyworksoutstudentslikecountingfacultyastheirfriends.If
you'vecreatedarichprofile,itshowsstudentsthatyoucareaboutFacebook,anduseit
somewhatregularly.Withtheadventofnewsfeeds,studentswillbroadcastthefact
they've[F]riendedyou,andthiswillstartthefriendrequestscomingin.(Stutzman2006)
Regardlessofwhichtoolsormethodsyouchoose toemploywithsocialnetworkingsites,they
shouldbepartofalargermarketingplan.Theplanwillensurethatinformationsuchasblog
posts,pictures,andeventinvitationstieintothelargerpictureofthelibrary.
Reference
Manyofthesametoolsthatcanbeusedformarketingviasocialnetworkingsitescan
alsobeemployedtoprovidemoretraditional referenceservices.Messagescanbesentdirectly
betweenusers(similartoemail),sothatdirect,privatequestionscanbeasked.Publicmessages
canbedisplayedontheuser'sprofile(called“commenting”on MySpace,and“writingona
user’swall”on Facebook).Also,groupscanbecreatedtogiveusersaforumtoaskreference
questions.AtValdostaStateUniversity,Icreatedan“AsktheLibrarian”Facebookgroup.
Groupsin Facebookhavebothpublicmessagespace,aswellasdiscussionboards.Studentsask
questionsinbothoftheseforums,whichallowotherstudentstoseeboththequestionsaskedand
theanswersprovided(Landis2007,6). Somelibrarieschoose toprovidereferenceservices
directlywithinthesesocialnetworkingsites.Intheseinstances,Istronglyrecommendthat
librariansmakeuseof anyemailnotificationsystemsprovided.Thesenotificationsystemswill
alertstafftonewquestionsimmediately,sothattheywillnotbeforced tologinseveraltimesa
daytocheckthesocial sitefornewquestions.Inadditiontocommunicationtoolsprovidedby
thesocialnetworkingservices,somelibraries(suchasthePublicLibraryofCharlotte&
MecklenburgCounty—http://myspace.com/libraryloft/)areusingpluginsandwidgetsto
Originallypublishedin:
S.Steiner,&L.Madden(Eds.),TheDeskandBeyond:NextGenerationReferenceServices.Chicago,IL:AssociationofCollegeand
ResearchLibraries.
Available at:http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteS olution.taf?_sn=catalog2 &_pn=product_detail&_op=2635
providechatreferenceservicesdirectlyfromtheirprofile,allowinguserstoseekreferencehelp
withoutleavingthepage.
Thelargestriskassociatedwithprovidingreferenceservicesthroughsocialnetworking
sitesisstretchingservicestoothin.Forexample,creatingindepthreferencediscussionboards
onseveraldifferentsocialnetworkingsitescandilutetheservicethatusersreceive.An
alternativeistosetupaknowledgebaseatyourlibrary'sWeb site,andtoallowusersto
(anonymously)postquestions.Alinkto theknowledgebasefromeachofyour onlineprofiles
allowsuserstoaskquestionsandsearchforanswers.
Instruction
Inadditiontoprovidingreferenceservicesviasocialnetworkingsites,librarianscanalso
provideinstruction.InhisblogpostFacebookasaToolforLearningEngagement,Fred
Stutzmanoffersanintroductorycaveatregardinginstructioninsocialnetworkingsites:
Facebookisn'tBlackboardoranyothercoursemanagementsystem.Itisn'tawiki,ora
blog,oranysortofsilverbullettool.Facebookisthedigitalsocialcenterofthecollege
campus.Itisasocialtool;itsuseisprimarilythemanagementofthesociallifeat
college.Ofcourse,collegelifeisgearedaroundacademics,soinherentlythesocial
worldsofcollegestudentsintersectwithacademics—butonlytoacertainextent.
(Stutzman2006)
Keepingthisinformationinmind,itshouldbenotedthatFacebookhasbeenusedbystudentsfor
organizingstudygroups,andbyprofessorstodeploycoursecontent.Bymakingconnections
withusers,librarianscanembedthemselvesintobothkindsofgroups,offeringusersthe
instructionthattheyrequireatthepointofneed.
Oneofthelamentsofinstructionlibrariansisthatthereisneverenoughtimewiththe
students.Bymentioningyourprofileatthebeginningandendofaninstructionsession,youcan
encouragestudentstocontactyouiftheyhaveanyquestions.Thisattentionmakesanimpression
onstudents;althoughtheymaydiscardhandoutsorneglecttowritedownanemailaddress,a
Originallypublishedin:
S.Steiner,&L.Madden(Eds.),TheDeskandBeyond:NextGenerationReferenceServices.Chicago,IL:AssociationofCollegeand
ResearchLibraries.
Available at:http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteS olution.taf?_sn=catalog2 &_pn=product_detail&_op=2635
quicksearchfor“librarian”willrevealyourprofile.Later,whenstudentshaveresearch
questions,theycanaskforhelpandreceiveinstructionatthepointofneed.
FortheOtherFolksintheLibrary…
Referencelibrariansarenottheonlypotentialbeneficiariesofsocialnetworkingsites. In
thecaseoflibrarytechnology,thereisoftenadisconnectbetweenthe“frontend”servicesand
“backend”servicesoflibraries—particularlywhenuserswanttoreporta problemorrequesta
service.Socialnetworkingsitescan oftenhelptoreducethisgap.Byprovidingaforumfor
offeringsuggestions,thelibrarycanreachouttousersandimproveservice.
In GoingWherePatronsAre:OutreachinMySpaceandFacebook,MeredithFarkastells
thestoryof Bennington(Va.)College'slibrarydirectorOceanaWilson,whousesherFacebook
profiletosolicitcollection developmentsuggestions.AsFarkasexplains,“Althoughmost
librarieshaveanacquisitionssuggestionform,studentsmaynotfeelcomfortableusingitormay
thinktheformisonlymeantforfaculty.Inthiscase,Benningtoniscomingintostudents'virtual
spacetosay,'Wecareaboutyouropinion'”(2007,27). Thisoutreach isanexcellentexampleof
makingtheefforttoremovebarriersbetweenusersandlibraryservices.
WhereLibrariesareHeaded—AndHowtoGetThere
CreatingyourBrand
Alsoonthetopicofmarketing,manylibrariesarelookingattheconceptofbranding—in
otherwords, tyingallofalibrary'sadvertisingefforts underasinglesloganoricon.Anexcellent
exampleisAnnArborDistrictLibrary,whoseWeb site(http://www.aadl.org/)andMySpace
profile(http://www.myspace.com/annarbordistrictlibrary)sharethesamecolorschemeandfont.
TheMySpacepagehasayounger,funkierfeel,butisstillrecognizableduetotheconsistencyof
Originallypublishedin:
S.Steiner,&L.Madden(Eds.),TheDeskandBeyond:NextGenerationReferenceServices.Chicago,IL:AssociationofCollegeand
ResearchLibraries.
Available at:http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteS olution.taf?_sn=catalog2 &_pn=product_detail&_op=2635
thebranding.Whenusersvisitthesepages,theyknow thattheyarelookingatAnnArbor
DistrictLibrary,regardlessoftheWeb site'sURL.
Aslibrariescreatebrandidentity,theyseparatethemselvesfromothersourcesof
informationanddefinewhatmakesthemdifferentandvaluable.Thisidentitycanthenbespread
throughoutdifferentsocialnetworkingsites,aswellasotherWebbasedandfacetofacetools
(suchasIMandTwittericons,wikis,nametags,flyers,andlibrarysignage).
YourFriendlyLibrarian
Someservicesdonotallowforthecreationofinstitutionalprofiles(suchasFacebook
andHi5).Inthesecases,librarianscreatetheirownprofilesandengagewithlibraryusers
directly.Itmay seemtemptingtocreateafake“MariontheLibrarian”profile,andtomake“her”
partofyourlibrary’sbrand,butthisgoesagainsttheideaofsocialnetworkingsites,whichisto
connectwithpeopledirectly.Sowhatdostudentsreallywanttoseeonalibrarian’sprofile?
First,theywanttoknowalittleaboutyou.Theywanttoknowsomeofyourfavorite
books,moviesandTVshows.Yougetnopointsforloadingyourprofilewithpretentious
interests—studentswanttofeelconnectedtoyou.IfyouliketheFamilyGuyorCurb
YourEnthusaism[sic],shareit.Second,studentslikepictures....Thekeyincreatinga
profileissharingalittlebitoftherealyouwhenyoucanmaketheseconnectionswith
yourstudents,youwillengagethem.(Stutzman2006)
Thepersonalprofileofalibrariancandomorethanjuststakeyourlibrary'sclaiminasocial
networkingsite.Referencelibrariansarefamiliarwithhavingstudentsidentifyaparticular
librarianas“mylibrarian.”TheabilitytoFriendalibrarianprovidestwosignificantbenefits:the
potentialtoreducelibraryanxietyandtheabilitytoofferusersaconsistenthumanresourcefor
researchhelp.
MakingtheILSFriendly
Integratedlibrarysystemsarealready changingtoallowformoreinputfromusers.
LibrariessuchastheAnnArborDistrictLibrary(http://www.aadl.org/),aremodifyingtheir
Originallypublishedin:
S.Steiner,&L.Madden(Eds.),TheDeskandBeyond:NextGenerationReferenceServices.Chicago,IL:AssociationofCollegeand
ResearchLibraries.
Available at:http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteS olution.taf?_sn=catalog2 &_pn=product_detail&_op=2635
catalogstoallowuserstowritereviewsandaddtags.Otherlibraries,suchastheUniversityof
WashingtonLibraries(http://www.lib.washington.edu/),areintegratingWorldCatintotheir
catalogswithWorldCatLocal.Atthesametime,book lovershavecreatedWeb sitessuchas
LibraryThing,whichallowsuserstocreatetheirownprofilesandcatalogsandtoFriendother
users.Thissocialsiteallowsuserstosharetheirfavoritebooklistsandreceiverecommendations
forbookstheymightlike.
Featuresliketheseallowuserstoaddvaluetothecatalog,andimprovetheoveralluser
experience.Theseefforts,ofcourse,shouldalwaysbedesignedasoptin,allowingusersto
protecttheirrighttoreadandtheirrighttoprivacy.Yetmanyindividualsarewillingtosetaside
theirprivacyinordertointeractandshareintheirinterestswithothers.
Keepingup
Ifyouarefeelingabitoverwhelmedbyallofthis,donotworry.Whereveryoucan
dreamofgoing,alibrarianisalreadythere.IneverysocialnetworkingsiteIhavejoined,there
isatleastonegrouppagecreatedbylibrarians,forlibrarians.Ifyouarecurious,search asitefor
theword“librarians”or“libraries,”andyouwillfindyourcolleaguesreadytohelp!
Conclusion
Socialnetworkingsitesaretakingreferenceservicesbeyondthetraditional reference
desk.Thesesitesallowlibrarianstoreachouttousersinafamiliarinterface,andtoprovide
userswithinstruction,researchhelpandtheopportunitytohavetheirvoicesheard.Byjoining
usersin“theirspace,”librariansareabletoreducelibraryanxiety,markettheirservices,andstay
connectedtowhatuserswantandneed.AllittakesisbeingagoodFriend.
Originallypublishedin:
S.Steiner,&L.Madden(Eds.),TheDeskandBeyond:NextGenerationReferenceServices.Chicago,IL:AssociationofCollegeand
ResearchLibraries.
Available at:http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteS olution.taf?_sn=catalog2 &_pn=product_detail&_op=2635
SourcesforAdditionalResearch
Casey,M.E.,andL.C.Savastinuk.2007. Library2.0:AGuidetoParticipatoryLibrary
Service. Medford,NJ:InformationToday.
CaseyandSavastinukprovideanaccessibleguidetounderstandingandimplementingan
overallLibrary2.0plan.Thisbookincludesinformationontheunderlyingconceptsand
valuesofLibrary2.0,technologiestoconsider(includingsocialnetworkingsites),
achievinglibrarywidebuyin,andhowtokeepa2.0serviceplanrunning.
Farkas,M.G.2007.SocialNetworkingSoftware.In SocialSoftwareinLibraries,109124.
Medford,NJ:InformationToday.
Farkasprovidesanindepthlookattheorigins,history,andvarietyofsocialnetworking
sites.Shealsoprovidesinformationondoingmarketresearchandoutreach,and
considersprivacyandintellectualproperty implicationsof usingsocialnetworkingsites.
Library2.0.http://library20.ning.com/.
Sinceitscreation,theLibrary2.0networkon Ning hasquicklybecomeagatheringplace
forlibrariansusingtechnologytoreachandservelibraryusers.Explorethissitetogetan
introductiontoeverythingLibrary2.0,andtostartcollaboratingwithotherlibrarians.
Mashable:SocialNetworkingNews.http://mashable.com/.
Mashableisacommunitywrittenblogthatcarriesallthelatestnewsintheworldof
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Originallypublishedin:
S.Steiner,&L.Madden(Eds.),TheDeskandBeyond:NextGenerationReferenceServices.Chicago,IL:AssociationofCollegeand
ResearchLibraries.
Available at:http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteS olution.taf?_sn=catalog2 &_pn=product_detail&_op=2635
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TheFriendsblogwillhelpyoustayuptodateonhowlibrariesareusingsocial
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Schmit,A. 2007.walkingpaper.http://www.walkingpaper.org/.
Aaron Schmit’sblogisagreatresourceforinformationonLibrary2.0technologies.He
haswrittenandpresentedextensivelyonlibraries’useof MySpaceandFacebook.
Originallypublishedin:
S.Steiner,&L.Madden(Eds.),TheDeskandBeyond:NextGenerationReferenceServices.Chicago,IL:AssociationofCollegeand
ResearchLibraries.
Available at:http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteS olution.taf?_sn=catalog2 &_pn=product_detail&_op=2635
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