Facebook

I think that library Facebook pages have huge potential as an outreach tool to share news and promote library services to students. Large numbers of students have Facebook accounts, and I think it makes sense to appeal to users in a space they are familiar with and spend a lot of time in! (In this way I think Facebook has much more scope than Twitter as a means of communicating with students). Looking at the Cambridge library Facebook pages that exist, and seeing the number of 'fans' they have, shows just how useful they can be, and I was impressed by how much can be incorporated into the Page. The posts that can be written on the wall are perfect for sharing pieces of news, posting links to interesting news and information, promoting new resources, displays and exhibitions, talks and workshops, and notifying users to changes in opening times and vacation due dates etc. I'm also impressed by the number of library-related applications that are now available, for example the Cambridge Libraries Widget, COPAC, WorldCat and JSTOR searches, the possibility of incorporating other Things such as Delicious bookmarks and Flickr photostreams (I love that it's possible to bring things together into one place!) I also like the look of Bookshare, and adding book cover images of items the Library holds.

I found it very interesting reading about the differences between a Facebook Fan Page and a Facebook Group, and have given my vote to the Fan Page. This has much more scope for adding the extra apps and it is possible to get visitor statistics for the Fan Page (extremely useful for seeing how many people are actually visiting the Page, and may help in evaluating how useful the Page is). Fan Pages are also indexed which means they are visible to people not registered with Facebook, which increases their potential audience. I also discovered that updates can be sent to Fans via an easily missed updates folder within the messages section of the site. Unfortunately no indication is given that you have updates in your folder (unlike email notifications for messages), so on investigating my folder I found a large number of updates, much to my surprise!

My main concern about Facebook library pages is how much users will actually look at them. I think users would quite happily become fans of their library's page, but it's unlikely to be a page they would visit daily/regularly. In my experience, new additions/content to Fan Pages are rarely displayed on the newsfeed on the Homepage, so would it be best to write an update to Fans everytime something important/interesting is posted on the page to alert them to it (I don't think these updates are generated automatically), and then just hope that they think to look in the updates folder, for which they receice no notification? I guess not much can be done to resolve this problem, but the important thing is that it is another route for communication with users, and as long as they are aware it is there, should they need/want to look at it, it is available to them. It would be important to advertise the page well via the the library website and posters within the library.

I am planning to write a proposal for a Facebook Fan Page for my library, so watch this space. In particular the ease of adding content to the page, and its accessibility to our library users really makes this Thing stand out for me. Existing Library pages provide lots of inspiration and encouragement to give it a go, and I really believe that they have the potential to be greatly beneficial to users for keeping up-to-date and informed with library news and resources.

Reflection

Image by jsmoral on Flickr

So this is Thing 13, and that means I'm just over the half way point of the programme! What have I thought so far, and what have I learnt?

Without a doubt the programme has increased my confidence in using new technologies and exploring what is out there. I'd heard about a lot of web 2.0 tools, but never had the time or inclination to explore them for myself. By reading an introductory outline on what a tool is all about, and being given step-by-step instructions for signing up and getting started, I've had a great push in the right direction from the Cam23 team that has given me the confidence to give new things a try. It's also been extremely helpful to read articles, views and opinions on the various Things (tagging was especially thought-provoking), and to see real-life examples of how libraries are putting the tools into practice: great inspiration and food for thought!

I have been thinking about the usefulness of each of the Things in a personal and a professional capacity. Many of the tools already are, or have the potential to become, extremely useful for my own daily activities or as an aid to my general career development (e.g. keeping up-to-date with developments and news in the library and information sector)-Google Calendar, Doodle, Delicious, and RSS all spring to mind, and I would certainly recommend these to others.

In a professional, work environment the tools seem to divide between being internally useful among colleagues (e.g. Doodle, Google Calendar), and as new ways to reach out to users and promote services and resources. In terms of the latter, the time input required and the potential outreach of the tool would have to be carefully considered. For example, I don't think Twitter would be particularly useful for a College library, firstly because I don't get the impression that many young people/students are on Twitter, and secondly there would not be a huge amount of information to communicate in the Twitter format (which is particularly geared to speedy updates and news items). Emails, posters and the library website would cover the ground pretty well. Learning about Creative Commons on Flickr has been extremely useful, and I now have great hopes that my posters can become stunning works of art that will be much more eye-catching! Slideshare and Delicious are both great potentials, the former in particular for library induction information. I really like the fact that the two can be integrated into the library website. I don't think there's much point having information spread out all over the place because students just wouldn't have the time to go round looking at them all. But bringing things together on the library website would make them much more accessible.

I am very excited about web 2.0, and I think there is a lot of possibilities for libraries to take advantage of the free tools that are available to reach out and connect with users. Web 2.0 is certainly very trendy, but I think a lot of thought has to go into which things are most useful for an individual library and the community it serves. Because I had only used web 2.0 technologies in a personal social environment before, I now feel more confident to suggest them in a work setting.

As for blogging, I'm feeling more comfortable about writing something that is publicly viewable on the web. I wouldn't say I'm a pro, and I'm not sure that I'll continue blogging once the programme comes to an end. But I am finding the process of writing each post extremely productive-it forces me to evaluate the tool and to really think about it. The process of expressing my thoughts helps them to gain some clarity and leads me to form opinions that I hope others will find of some interest.

I'm looking forward to exploring the next 10 Things and considering their potential utility both for myself and the library world.

Twitter

I'd been aware that Twitter had become an extremely popular tool for sharing news and information, but I wasn't convinced that it was a service that I would find greatly beneficial to me. So Cam23 has given me an opportunity to try it out consider it's usefulness, in particular to the library profession.

Following the step-by-step instructions from the Cam23 team, I found it very easy to create the account, and before I knew it I was ready to make my first tweet! It was nice to be able to search for Cambridge libraries and librarians, along with other Cam23 participants, and I was soon following a whole host of library-related tweeters (and amazingly acquired several followers myself in the process)! It's taken me a little while to get used to the twitter settings and layout. I'd assumed my profile would be the place to be and where it all happens (as on Facebook), but everything seems to be on the home page. I think it would be useful if any tweets directed specifically to you were displayed on your profile page, as I have to keep remebering to click the @yourusername to the right of the home page to make sure I don't miss anything. And I think that's the main problem I have with Twitter: missing things. I feel that Twitter is about being instant, and if I haven't been on for a few days, and I see that 2 days ago there was an interesting discussion on which I may like to comment, I feel that the time has passed and I missed the boat. I suspect that is not necessarily so, but I do find it a bit hard to keep up with! I also find that I don't have a great deal to say (apologies to my followers). I don't really want to get in to the habit of writing regular personal updates on what I had for dinner or what I'm watching on TV. I will try to start tweeting about interesting professional news that I find, but again I feel a bit paranoid that I might be behind the rest of the world, and that everyone has already seen it/heard it. I also find some tweets extremely difficult to read, especially on the home page when they are out of context, and it's a reply to another tweet-but I probably just need a bit more practice!

I do feel that if I was using Twitter on behalf of the library, I'd find it much more useful. A tweet about new resources, changes to opening times, new displays and exhibitions, reminders of end of term and vacation borrowing dates, links to new accessions lists etc could easily be communicated through the Twitter format. And in particular the opportunity to interact with library users is perhaps greater on Twitter than on a library webpage. This seems to be one of the great benefits of Twitter, and the only way to realise it's full potential and make it worthwhile would be for libraries to encourage users to ask questions or write comments about library services, and thus utilise it's capacity for constructive communication, as well as a means of broadcasting information.

I will definitely keep my Twitter account and will do my best to become a more active and interesting tweeter! Followers, watch this space...