Last week a blog post from the ACRLog titled “Satisfaction For The Profession” got me thinking again about the often tense relationship between social media and and the library profession. Unfortunately for the author, the main point of the post was overshadowed by these sentences:
When I occasionally check Facebook or Twitter during the work day it seems that some colleagues are frequently changing their status, reporting their top five kung-fu movies or sharing quiz results that indicate which Star Wars character they are. A passionate academic librarian would be so immersed in their work that he or she would not only not have time for such questionable diversions, but would be so caught up in their work that they would hardly even contemplate stopping for a little break. I’m not suggesting there’s anything wrong with the occasional social network visit – it may even be beneficial in giving our brains a needed rest. A truly passionate academic librarian just wouldn’t go there.
This reminded me of similar sentiment that I had read in a local newspaper column about Twitter “From the Library: It’s all in the delivery“, written by a library director:
When Twitter became a real sensation in June after the Iranian election we heard much of the real news and street talk due to Twitter. And while CNN correspondents and Larry King had Twitter accounts before this incredible ‘happening,’ everyone seemed to catch the Twitter frenzy. Even our local news teams were tweeting along with millions of new users. Have I missed something, I asked? I revisited my Twitter page. Sad to say, I just didn’t get it a year ago and I still don’t. Twitter’s claim on its homepage is that you can “share and discover what’s happening right now, anywhere in the world.” My problem with Twitter is that the world is a very big place. I can’t possibly keep up with all my email, my Google Reader aggregator and my online feeds, my Facebook family and friends. How can I possible discover and share with the rest of the world in constant 140-character Tweets? Why do I have to know these things?
Why indeed. Here are four reasons why libraries should embrace social media:
1. It’s not going away
According to the website analytics company Compete, in the month of September 2009, Facebook had only 20 million fewer unique visitors than Google. While Twitter has seen a 600+% increase in unique visitors this year. Furthermore, Amit Agawal writes in his blog, digital insipration:
Thomas Baekdal who also predicts that traditional media reporting on newspapers, Television & Radio will disappear by 2020 to be replaced by social news. The traditional journalistic reporting is by now completely replaced getting information directly from the source. Everyone is a potential reporter, but new advances in targeting will eliminate most of the noise. The journalists will turn into editors who, instead of reporting the news, bring it together [from citizen journalists or live sources like Twitter] to give us a bigger picture.
2. Your patrons are using it
Do we teach patrons about using book indexes, subject headings, and boolean searching? Then why would we be unwilling to help them understand how to find information on Facebook or Twitter? Are our services only offered through the communication mediums that we feel comfortable with (face to face, email, phone), or do we offer multiple channels (Twitter, IM, SMS, Facebook) for a variety of preferences? Is it their library, or ours?
3. It’s free
The only cost to the library is time. Of course, time costs money, but it does not require any line item additions to the budget.
4. It’s an easy way to provide continuing education opportunities for your staff
There will be a time in the future when social media skills will be as commonplace in job descriptions as the ability to use Microsoft Office is today. Starting a social media initiative at your library will allow staff the opportunity to gain valuable new skills that will serve them well throughout their career.
