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First, here’s an interesting fact: There are currently 600
million users on Facebook as of January 2011 and most of them visit Facebook
daily and interact with approximately 130 friends and other people they may
know. [1] This can mean many things for a librarian thinking to start a
Facebook Page for his or her library.
What You
Should Consider Before Creating a Facebook Page
King (2011) suggests that before creating a Page for
your Library—as opposed to a personal Facebook profile—librarians must consider
the following questions:
- Who will be responsible for working on the Facebook Page and updating content?
- Who will answer questions that may be raised by patrons?
- Who will update the Events section, like post Events?
- And how often will updates happen? And who will be in charge of tracking user names and passwords?
These are crucial details that must be decided among
the library staff before a Facebook Page for the Library is even created. King
(2011) suggests that it is better to have more than one person manage the
Facebook Page as having more people means that monitoring and answering questions
can be better handled. [2]
But even before creating a Facebook Page for your
library, you may ask yourself, is it even worth it? Will students “Like” the
page and become fans? How do students actually feel about librarians using
Facebook as a tool for outreach?
Well, the Valparaiso University Library conducted a
survey in the months of January and February in 2008 in which they surveyed 366
students to determine how students felt about librarians using the social media,
such as Facebook and MySpace, to reach students. They survey generated both
positive and negative comments. When asked about how they felt about being
contacted by the library through Facebook, most respondents say they did not
mind, but a smaller portion reacted negatively. [3] What can we conclude? That
feelings are mixed when it comes to librarians approaching users by befriending
them. Since this survey and article were conducted and written before the option to create a Facebook Page
was available, the these results may not be as relevant now.
With a Facebook Page, there is no “friend request.”
Davis (2011) states that students felt that requesting a librarian to become his
or her friend was “creepy.” [4] Users can simply “Like” the Library’s Page and
through this “Like,” they will be receiving any updates that the library will
post on its Page, same as a with having it as a friend.
Benefits
of Using Facebook
Davis (2011) suggests a few reasons why Librarians
should use Facebook. She quotes Mathews (2006) who suggests that one of the reasons
why librarians should use Facebook is because “your customers are using
Facebook” and that “your community is on Facebook.” [5] That is, the librarian should
go where the users are and keep up-to-date with what the community is doing.
Mathews (2006) described his Facebook outreach campaign to engineering students
at Georgia Tech and stated the numerous ways he was able to help these
students: “He was able to answer patron questions including which software was
available on library computers, how to renew items online, recent building
changes, and information about library study spaces.” [6]
Other benefits include free marketing. Because
Facebook has so many users, with each user connecting approximately with 130
friends and family members, “…this venue becomes a very compelling place for a
business or organization to be.” [7] That is, libraries can easily connect with
more users through their main subscribers or "fans." In other words, as King (2011) puts it, some users who are already part of
the Library Facebook Page can become advocates for the library. He cites Jamie Hollier of the Colorado State library who stated that “[u]sing
Facebook to post events brought new users to events by making our users the
advocates.” [8] That is, if the “fans” of your library page share the library’s
new event on their Walls, then their friends will also be able to view this information.
These fans are then acting as advocates for the library which then could lead
to much more traffic on the library’s Facebook Page. [9]
How to Lure
In “Fans”
King (2011), by citing others, suggests numerous
approaches:
- Update your status in a way that will attract and invite individuals into joining a conversation
- Update the library’s status daily
- Make status comments that are friendly and that would make you look personable and approachable.
- Make some status comments that are controversial, as these can stir conversations
- Ask questions about books, such as “What is your favourite author?” or “What books are a must if you were trapped on a deserted island?”
- Share interesting things about your library or information that can be found there. [10]
Best Ways
to Use the Library’s “Facebook Wall”
Miller (2007) and Davis (2011) recommend the following
ways in order to keep the Library’s Profile and Wall active and friendly:
- Like mentioned before, update your status!
- Posting up to date contact information or office hours
- Sharing favourite books, TV shows, interests or quotes
- Reply to questions posted by users
- Start conversations about issues that affect librarians and libraries, such as current changes that are happening in databases, journal subscriptions, or publisher mergers.
- Introduce a new database or resource that’s now available at the library.
- Share the library’s blog link.
- Inform the public about new events that are open to everybody, such as film series or exhibits.
- Post trivia questions and have a prize for the first person to message the answer. [11] [12]
Best Ways
to Use the “Albums,” “Events” and “Applications”
For Albums, you can take a picture of new books or
you can take a picture of any employee with the books and then tag them in the
picture so their Friends can see them with the new books. You can take a
picture of all the staff members, introduce them by providing a brief
description below the picture and tag them. You can create a building tour of
the library, taking picture of all the hot spots and guidelines to use them.
Lastly, you can take print-screen shots of software or hardware and include instructions
for ways of using it. [13]
For Events, Miller (2007) suggests to host at least one of
the following Events at your library:
- “Plan a drop-in workshop on a new tool at your library…”
- “Create Events for book groups, exhibit openings, or student appreciation festivities”
- “Publicize Banned Books Week celebrations, National Library Week activities, or Friday afternoon library coffees” [14]
Lastly, Secker (2008) suggests the first two Facebook
Applications for Libraries while I am suggesting the last two.
- JSTOR Search http://www.facebook.com/JSTOR.org?ref=ts
- “Ask a Librarian” http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ask-a-Librarian/107073355995337 in which you can register yourself as a librarian and provide answers to any queries individuals may have. [15]
- Good Reads http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=41517697371
- Book Reviews which is an application “…that lets you share book reviews and see what your friends are reading” http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=145168322181871
Based on this, should Libraries create a Facebook
Page? Do you think they could use Facebook to their advantage? Or will patrons
not care?
References
[1] King, D.L. “Facebook for Libraries.” The Magazine of the American Library
Association. 27, May 2011. Retrieved from http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/features/05272011/facebook-libraries
[2] King, D.L. “Facebook for Libraries.”
[3] Connell, R.S. "Academic Libraries, Facebook and MySpace, and
Student Outreach: A Survey of
Student Opinion." Libraries and the Academy. 2009. Vol.
9, No. 1, pp. 25–36.
[4] Davis, H. “Reconsidering Facebook.” In the Library with the lead pipe.org. 26,
Jan 2011. Retrieved from http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2011/reconsidering-facebook/
[5] Davis, H. “Reconsidering Facebook:
Section Drawbacks of being a Facebook dropout in Light of the Evolution of
Facebook.” In the Library with the lead
pipe.org. 26, Jan 2011. Retrieved from http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2011/reconsidering-facebook/
[6] Davis, H. “Reconsidering Facebook:
Section Drawbacks of being a Facebook dropout in Light of the Evolution of
Facebook.” In the Library with the lead
pipe.org. 26, Jan 2011. Retrieved from http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2011/reconsidering-facebook/
[7] Davis, H. “Reconsidering Facebook. Section:
Drawbacks of being a Facebook dropout in Light of the Evolution of Facebook.”
[8] King, D.L. “Facebook for Libraries.”
[9] King, D.L. “Facebook for Libraries.”
[10] King, D.L. “Facebook for Libraries.”
[11] Miller, S. E. “Connecting and Communicating
with Students on Facebook.” From the Selected
Works of Sarah Elizabeth Miller. 2007. Retrieved from http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=sarahmiller
[12] Davis,
H. “Reconsidering Facebook. Section: Drawbacks of being a Facebook dropout in
Light of the Evolution of Facebook.”
[13] Miller, S. E. “Connecting and Communicating
with Students on Facebook.”
[14] Miller, S. E. “Connecting and Communicating
with Students on Facebook.”
[15] Secker, J. “Case Study 5: Libraries and
Facebook” LASSIE: Libraries and Social Software in Education. London School of Economics and Political
Science. 2008.
They should. It's good idea.
ReplyDeleteBrain Dumps
I definitely agree that Facebook is a useful tool for libraries to use. It's a great, free way for people to learn about what's happening at the library and their communities. I also agree that there should probably be more than one person in charge of monitoring the page, as some people like to post offensive comments that are sometimes not even relevant to the topic at hand.
ReplyDeleteHey Alex,
ReplyDeleteGreat topic! I think you definitely hit all of the key points. In our 9004 class, our group's final project is to find & analyse messages about LPL in the media, and Facebook is one of the places we looked. I think your points about 'How to Lure in Fans' and 'Best Ways To Use the Library's Facebook Wall' are perfect. They key is to keep it active--update daily, and always, always, always respond to questions or comments in a timely manner. If someone asks a question (for example, "Are you guys going to be doing a photography program (or something)" and 2 weeks go by without a response, how likely is that person going to be to actually go to a photography program when it's actually set up? Social media is a lot more personal than some people think.
It's also great for marketing (or "brand awareness"), to get your library out there in the public. You can also use it to see other people's opinions of your library too, without conducting a formal survey, which is always awesome!
Great post!
--Heather M.
Hey Alex,
ReplyDeleteAn interesting post! I think it's a great idea for libraries to use facebook because so many people are using facebook as a way to communicate with each other. One of the challenges of organizational facebook pages is that they often come off as strictly promotional. I think it would be a good idea for the people involved with posting to inject more of their personalities--if they would be more quirky, it would be more appealing. Otherwise, there may not be enough incentive to really follow what's happening at a library.
Interesting post. I think it is definitely important for a library to have a Facebook page. Although, I don't necessarily agree that they should update their status on a daily basis. I think the facebook page should definitely be maintained an updated regularly but I know I wouldn't want my news feed full of library updates. That being said, I think the status should be updated once or twice a week but the page should still be monitored daily. This would allow the library to ensure that all patron's posts or questions are answered in a timely manner and would keep the page current.
ReplyDeleteI have similar feelings about a library establishing a Facebook page as I do about them creating a Twitter account, although I believe FB would be the greater value of the two. Don't get me wrong, I think it is important to be where your users are, but unless you are being innovative in your use of any social media, the value which you can convey to patrons and prospective patrons is likely minimal. While the cost of social media is fairly low...basically limited to the staff time required to maintain the presence, it is still a cost to be considered.
ReplyDeleteAs Sarah says, you don't necessarily want to be inundating your followers with incessant messaging, often about events that many will not have an interest in. Unfortunately following a library on Facebook and Twitter is an opt-in proposition, so it is a fine balance between being informative and being annoying.
I think the question is not "should libraries create a Facebook account" but rather it should be "how to get people on Facebook to join the library's Facebook account?" I know that the GRC has a Facebook page and it posts useful information that I would have otherwise not known of if I didn't join their FB group.
ReplyDeleteMariam
I agree with Mariam, in that the question should be "How to get people on Facebook to like the page." I'm not sure but I think I mentioned this back in the Twitter post that you did, but just in case - I'll mention it again. I found that for the library that I was working at, the Facebook page mainly consisted of employees actually "liking" it. Currently, there are a little over 1000 people that have liked the library's page, but I often wonder how many of them actually check the Facebook page, or even go to the events that are posted on it. Out of the 1000+ people, how many are employees? Also, if you consider how many people use the library to how many people have "liked" and followed the Facebook page, it is a very small percentage of the patrons that actually use it.
ReplyDeleteI think it is very important, like you mentioned, for libraries to keep their Facebook pages updated and fresh - or else the page can be prone to falling off the grid of people's feeds and interests. In my opinion, having a Facebook page is beneficial to a library only if it is interesting and updated regularly. Otherwise, it is just another piece of online information staying stagnant and unfortunately, boring, on the main library website.
I don't think anyone can deny the power of Facebook in today's society - it's a very powerful tool, especially for business, as you can reach a large population for very little effort. I really like your tips for gaining fans and how to use the various features of Facebook. However, from my own experience in the work force, I'm a little hesitant about blending the personal and professional in regards to library staff on Facebook, such as posting images and tagging so that friends can see, etc. Although it sounds really harmless, I have seen numerous occassions where such innocent and harmless things suddenly became unexpectedly volatile when personal and professional issues collide. It may be my personal paranoia and overcautiousness regarding Facebook, but keeping those two elements as separate as possible seems the wisest course of action.
ReplyDeleteHey Alex! The library I work at in Toronto did try something like this, creating a branch Facebook page, but the effort soon fizzled out. Not many of the patrons were using the page and the person in charge of it soon became distracted by other issues of the job. I think you really outlined in your post some important ways to make sure that doesn't happen. Having more than one person running the Facebook page would have been a very good idea for one. Also, your research also pointed out one of the other major problems with having a Facebook page, most people don't see it as "cool" or whatever to be "friends" or even "like" a library on a public forum like Facebook. Even if they love the library and come all the time! It is certainly an interesting aspect of social media.
ReplyDeleteGood post Alex! It made me question the proper use of Facebook by libraries. Along with the previous comments, I think it is important for a library to have a Facebook page. Using the GRC's page as an example, as a user, I have found it to be extremely useful. The variety of information provided on the page has maintained my interest as well as for the most part not felt that I was being overwhelmed with posts/status updates. I think the best bet for a library in maintaining its users' interest in their Facebook page is through providing a variety of information in different media formats, that would appeal to more than one type of user, yet not posting everyday (like Sarah Brown said). I admit that this isn't necessarily the easiest of methods, however I think the library would maintain interest their Facebook page beyond the initial view to "like" the page.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I agree that libraries having their own Facebook page is a very powerful thing. As far as academic libraries go, I'm willing to bet that the majority of students are using Facebook, and that they check their Facebook feeds more than they check their library's website. So it is a perfect place to promote library events to their patrons. In my experience though, the library must commit the resources in order to maintain the page. That was the reason that the page of the library that I previously worked at eventually died off, and the library decided to delete it.
ReplyDelete