Social Networking and Libraries by Melissa

Social Networking and Libraries

Social networking is a big part of our lives.  According to a Pew Research study in 2014, 71% of adults use Facebook, 28% use Linkedin or Pinterest, 26% use Instagram, and 23% use Twitter with social media use growing every year.  Social networking is used for personal purposes like connecting with friends and for professional purposes like finding a new job.  It is also a powerful advertising tool and can be used by libraries to promote library services and programs.

I have noticed that many public libraries advertise their social media pages both in the library and on their websites.  I work in an elementary school library and it has been suggested that school libraries promote themselves through social media.  I recently read an article which advocates Twitter as the top choice for a social media platform.  Fichter and Wisniewski argue that Twitter not only provides a platform for your library to connect with the community, it also allows you to get ahead of any potential misunderstandings or bad press by immediately responding to misconceptions and starting a dialogue with the community (74).  One clear advantage of Twitter over other social media platforms is that people can browse content without being a member or logging in, which platforms like Facebook and Linkedin require.  Twitter is linked with Google so that tweets can show up in search results immediately after being tweeted ( Fichter 75).  With Twitter, you can follow the groups and organizations that are relevant to your library and community and spread the word about services and programs.  You do not need to compete for attention in a news feed like you do on Facebook or Linkedin (Fichter 76).  I did a quick search of school libraries in my community and some nearby communities and found that there are no local school libraries with Twitter, though some schools are on Twitter and I would assume that the library could post to school feeds.  I think Twitter could be a great way to build community support for and involvement in school libraries.  It’s free to try, so why not!

Works Cited:

Duggan, Maeve, Nicole B. Ellison, Cliff Lampe, Amanda Lenhart, and Mary Madden. "Social Media Update 2014." Pew Research Center Internet Science Tech RSS. N.p., 09 Jan. 2015. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.

Fichter, Darlene, and Jeff Wisniewski. "The Twitter Tipping Point." Online Searcher 39.5 (2015): 74-76. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.

Libraries as Social Hubs by Melissa Van Wyk

Libraries are an important part of every community.  Libraries provide residents with a free place to go to read, use the internet, study, or meet other people.  Since libraries are free and open to everyone, they are ideal locations for social gatherings.  Many libraries have community rooms or conference rooms to host meetings or social events.  Senville’s article (“Public Libraries: The Hub of Our Communities”) describes libraries located in downtown areas, centerpieces of shopping districts.  He states that libraries located in downtown areas provide more traffic for local businesses (102).  Libraries are always looking for ways to remain relevant in their communities and they provide programs and services for community members, making them a valuable resource.

“The library as the village green, the meeting place, the stimulus for social contact and discussion will be attractive to [baby boomers] partly because…a library seems to be not devoid of values, of course, but not carrying cultural baggage [like churches and schools]. (Hugh Mackay social researcher)”  (Williamson 85).  Williamson’s study explores how public libraries are relevant to baby boomers and concludes that libraries will and should be a community gathering place that provides important resources (87).  No matter what the age of the user, libraries serve as ideal social gathering places.

Works Cited:

Senville, Wayne. "Public Libraries: The Hub Of Our Communities." Aplis 22.3 (2009): 97-103. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

Williamson, K. (2009). CREATING THE NEW VILLAGE GREEN: THE IMPACT OF THE RETIREMENT OF THE BABY BOOMERS ON THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. Aplis, 22(2), 83-88.

Introduction Blog Post

Hello all!
I am Michelle but I go by Shelly.
I have never done a blog, I personally still use pen & paper to write in journals myself, but I do enjoy some people's blogs & websites who are more in the writing/creative vein such as Neil Gaiman & The Oatmeal. The only real experience I have with reading a blog regularly was when one of my best friends Mia would go to Ghana for 4 months a year, which she did for about 4 or 5 years while she was researching her thesis. I am also pretty inept in the world of social media. I don't have a facebook account, I've never used Snapchat, and the only Twitter account I occasionally read is Matthew Gray Gubler's, because he's even more quirky & funny than Dr. Reid.

I've chosen this group because I am not a social media guru, which I think will give a helpful perspective in it's creation along with my learning about something I know very little about.

This blog is pretty much in full swing by this point, so I cleaned up a few things. I made it so that the front page only shows the last 5 posts instead of 7. I changed the order of the links on the right hand side, with the other LT blogs being first followed by the contributors and lastly the LT program link. The LT program link that Lora had set up was not showing up in the actual blog & it looked like the link itself was not copied correctly, and I liked her idea about having that available so I deleted & re-created it, checked it showed up & worked properly before adding it back into the blog.
I also created & added a mobile template so that if someone is signing in or reading the blog on their mobile device that it has a separate template that is easier to read. I went with the dark brown & blac watermark one since it echoed our own design best. I tried out several of the templates on my own phone before opting for that one. One of the designs on it was having the contributors at the bottom, which looked quite nice to me, and served as the inspiration to move the contributors list lower on the page layout.
I hope everyone likes it, and if there's anything else that needs to be done or added, please feel free to let me know. Cheers to an amazing semester!

Introduction!

Hello, this is blog contributor Lora Beatty. I'm not new to blogging, but I'm new to Blogger. So far, I've found it to be easy to use. I really appreciate Leona's efforts to get our blog up and running. I also like the changes and additions done by our other contributors. Together, we can make a great showcase of our knowledge on social media and libraries. Go team!
I have added a new gadget to the left sidebar titled "Libraries on Facebook", continuing the theme set up by Alison with Twitter and Pinterest. I've also added a new gadget to the right sidebar with a link directing the reader to Palomar's Library and Information Technology program website. I thought it would be of interest to people who visit our bog who aren't familiar with Palomar or the LIT program.
If anyone has any suggestions for further alterations I could make before Thursday's deadline, please throw them my way, I'd be happy to help.

Cheers!

Lora

Introductory Post

My name is Georgiana Wentz but I like to be called Gigi. I currently live with my parents and two dogs in Rancho Santa Fe. I have a German Shepherd and her name is Teddie Girl and a Golden Doddle and his name is Mister Rodgers.

I love my LORD and Savior JESUS CHRIST with all that I am and I am learning each day to trust HIM above my feelings and circumstances. I love to talk about HIM and how you can have a relationship with HIM. For this is the best relationship to have.

I love my family and friends as well as my books. When my literal friends are not available I go to my other "friends" which are my books. I find reading to be cozy, enjoyable and an activity that I love to do each moment of each day. My favorite genre of books are Christian Fiction, Christian Romance, Christian comedy or Christian Historical Fiction. My favorite authors are Karen Kingsbury, Francine Rivers, Robin Jones Gunn, Beverly Lewis and I could go on but those are just some of my favorites. If you ever want a recommendation of a good book, please do not hesitate to ask me.

I love to hang out and just enjoy life.

The contribution that I made to the blog was changing the image. The reason why I changed the image was because I felt like the one that I choose was better suited for this blog.  I also added another Youtube video that describes how social media can be used in libraries. 

More Blog Updates

Hi, Everyone! Our blog is really taking shape.  I love reading blogs of all content, especially library blogs.  I think ours will be a great tool to help us explore the world of Libraries and Social Media.  I work as a library media technician in an elementary school and am always looking for ways to communicate with our school community.  I've started using Twitter a bit, but hope to learn more ways to use it effectively.  Today, I added two widgets to our left hand side bar.  One of the widgets is a list of links to library Twitter accounts and the other is a list of links to library Pinterest boards.  I also added a search bar to the top so folks can search our blog and other items we link to.  The last thing I did, as Leona suggested, was to add a blog roll on the right that links to other LT 130 blogs.  We followed the Teaching Technology group's lead, as they had done the same thing.  I think that was a great idea.

Have a great day, All!

My Blog Contribution!

Hello everyone!
My name is Alex Orlando and as everyone has probably already read in the introductory post under week 1, I am 22 years old and I love to read, binge watch Netflix and of course, try to adopt every single dog I lay eyes on. I am excited to get to know all of you and work together on this blog! As per the assignment this week, I just wanted to let everyone what my contribution was. First, I updated the general description of what our blog was and what we would be doing. Then, I decided to add in a gadget image (I found this by simply doing a google search and sorting through the images) that was relevant to our topic. This is the image that appears directly underneath the description. Finally, in an attempt to try something new and slightly challenging, I not only created but changed our favicon to match the gadget image. I can not wait to see what everyone else does and am looking forward to the rest of the semester. Have a pleasant day!

Alex Orlando