Facebook
& Twitter For Libraries
Instead of calling, sending information in the mail, texting, or
emailing, many people have adopted social media as their primary means of
communication. Schools, businesses, and artists have Twitter and Facebook
pages, but where do school libraries fit in?
Facebook
When
searching for school library Facebook pages, I saw many pages that made posts
about events/programs at their library and in the community, competitions,
research projects, student work, hours of the library, book trailers, books to
read for the summer, and funny memes
related to the library or reading. Some posts were highlighted blue with a few
likes, but I did not observe hardly any comments, and posts that did have
comments did not have very many. The main advantage of school libraries having
a Facebook page is that it's another way to communicate information to the
students/community, but the disadvantage is that there is wasted time if no one
is really looking at the page. Anyone can create a page, but what makes the
page successful is the amount of involvement. Nancy Dowd wrote an amazing article
concerning libraries and social media. It is definitely worth reading, and she
references Columbus Metropolitan Library to show how libraries can manage a
successful social media page.
Twitter Tech Leaders
As
technology bombards its way into education, leaders emerge showing their
support and ideas. What better way to share those ideas than Twitter. Kathy
Schrock, Jim Lerman, Gwyneth Jones, Buffy Hamilton, and Linda Braun are just a
few who have made a name for themselves in regards to educational technology
and share their ideas through Twitter.
After
reading Lerman and Jones' tweets, I discovered that they both also have
Scoop.it accounts. Scoop.it reminds me a lot of Pinterest. There are ideas and
articles that you find of interest to you, and you can share your thoughts on
what you've found through multiple channels of social media. Everything that you
"scoop" stays on your board, which reflects an online magazine. This article by
Stacy Firth goes into much better detail describing Scoop.it.
Below are my
observations of each of these leaders'
Twitter pages.
Jim
Lerman-
·
Mainly posts
through Scoop.it.
·
Tweets contain
information for teachers (Summer Learning, Teacher's Toolbox, Teacher Guide to
Twitter, Tools For More Interactive Videos).
Gwyneth
Jones-
·
Some tweets
through Scoop.it account.
·
Tweets contain
information and events concerning the library she works at, books she's
reading, and posts from her
·
She also posts some
personal things about Tv shows she's enjoys. I personally think her tweets
about The Bachelorette are hilarious and add a personal touch.
Buffy
J. Hamilton-
·
Often updates
what she's reading via goodreads.com
·
Retweets articles
concerning different areas of education. Two of my favorites are about the inquirylearning plan and deepwork.
·
She also tweets a
lot of personal things that are sports related. Go Cavs!
Linda
Braun-
·
Since Braun is a
Past President of YALSA(Young Adult Library Services Association), most of her
tweets involve information and events in relation to YALSA.
·
She also retweets
articles that shine light on the good things that teens are involved in, hence
the "teen advocate" description on her page.
Kathy
Schrock-
·
Schrock tweets
information from several of her websites.
·
Tweets include
links to reviews on technology, technology updates, conferences she's attending
or speaking at, technology advice, and much more.
·
She shares a lot
of her personal discoveries about her own electronic devices along with some
personal tweets of family or traveling.
I
was surprised at how much information could be shared through a retweet or 140
characters. Twitter serves as an effective way to share your thoughts, ideas, and
opinions in a fast paced setting. The content you see is dependent upon who you
follow. All of the tech leaders' Twitter pages are so different, yet unique, in
their own way and provide tons of valuable information. I won't disclose my
favorites or do any rankings. I'll let you do that for yourselves. Happy
tweeting! Follow me @DN_Woodard as I break into the
world tweeting.
Source For Photo
Source For Photo
Crofts, A. V. (2012). Portland shows their library some love: Social media style. Retrieved June 11, 2016, from http://flipthemedia.com/2012/05/portland-shows-their-library-some-love-social-media-style/
