Libraries+Using+Facebook+Pages

=**Facebook Reaches Target Audience Through Common Interests**= My research started with Google. I put in a search for "Using Facebook in Libraries" and I got several different results. The first was a Facebook page called "Libraries Using Facebook." This is a page dedicated to librarians and serves as a public forum for them to share ideas about how to utilize a Facebook page in a library setting. For example, one librarian in New York used this particular page to promote an open "unconference" (or event), called the "Library Camp @ Syracuse: First library unconference in Upstate NY" and posted her event to the page for all to see. The purpose of the 2-day event was to bring librarians from school, academic, public, and special libraries as well as consultants and a few of Syracuse's faculty members together to brainstorm the future of libraries. Over 80 people attended and Facebook greatly helped this librarian share her event with her target audience. Without this particular social media her event might not have been such a success. I would like to encourage the librarians in my district to have a Facebook page so we could all get to know one another better. It would be a great way to set up meetings and collaborate on book talks and book clubs for students.

= = ="The Gypsy Librarian"= I found another hit on my search that led me to a librarian's blog called, "The Gypsy Librarian." On his July 10, 2009 posting titled "Article Note: On Libraries Deciding to Use Facebook for Outreach or Not". In his post he reflects on an article by Peter Fernandez entitled "Balancing Outreach and Privacy in Facebook: Five Guiding Decision Points". His analysis goes though the pros and cons of exclusivity and privacy and he concludes that for Facebook to be a useful tool for libraries, it must be an open forum. Limiting to "friends only" would defeat the purpose of the outreach but it is important to use the personal information features in order to target the right people to begin with. The balance between outreach and privacy is tricky. Before the librarians in my district get together to create a Facebook page someone will need to set the guidelines and be very specific. I would like to use the example the "Gypsy" used and post my favorite books on my Facebook page. He also listed a few books that the kids were interested in reading that would be coming soon to the library.
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 * Author:** Amy Smiley