The library that I am working in at present does have a website and blog, but due to staffing levels, maintenance is not very regular and so the site seems a bit stale. The online information requires users to come to it, with no social networking tools being used to take the information to the people.
Five points from the article A-Z of Social Networking for Libraries will be considered against the backdrop of my current school library as an aid to helping us embrace a Web 2.0 ethos.
1. Active – in order to promote and keep content fresh, more staff time needs to be allocated to this. Perhaps, evaluating what tasks are really necessary and gaining time by reprioritizing current work patterns would help in gaining time for keeping up to date with library news.
2. Content – The library does currently offer research lists to assist students with assignments. The content comes from academic databases within subject areas. However these lists are buried deep within the library website. By redesigning the website and content in a variety of formats, the library could attract more users and accommodate more learning styles, as content at present is heavily weighted to readers.
3. Facebook – The library needs to develop a Facebook presence so that users can quickly be informed about new resources that have been purchased or new content that has been added to support subject areas. This presence would entail updates being maintained by several staff to ensure relevance and currency.
4. Help – The entire team needs to embrace the need and the practicality of engaging with social media to reach the school population. One method to employ could be to use some staff meeting time each week to discuss what is new and allocate specific tasks between staff members for updates.
5. Youth – Seeing as we are a school library, we need to stay current with our client group, the students, otherwise we run the risk of appearing outdated and lacking in relevance to their needs. We need to use the social networking tools of their generation in order to engage with them, so that they can see libraries are relevant to them.
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