Now and Then

During the first decade of the 21st century, libraries in general were not embracing social media in comparison to libraries now in this current decade. Jonathan Bodnar, a business & user experience analyst for the  Robert W. Woodruff Library of Emory University and Ameet Doshi, a user engagement librarian and assessment coordinator from Georgia Tech Library (2011) wrote a constructive critique discussing the use of social networking sites in academic libraries. In their article, the authors discussed how several libraries were using Facebook as a way to interact with their fellow scholars, while other libraries were denying their users access to post on the library Facebook page. One of the possible reasons that libraries denied users the right to post was that librarians feared that the library would lose control of its Facebook page (p. 106). They also noted that libraries who limited user access had less activity. 

Now libraries, whether it is public or academic, are looking past the negative of social networking sites and using social media as a positive marketing tool to reach more scholars or patrons. Librarians must continue to experiment with sites like Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter and effectively use social media to better enhance its presence in its respective service area. Librarians should also strive to reach users in the most creative and energetic ways possible. 

Bodnar, J. & Doshi, A. (2011). Asking the right questions: A critique of Facebook, social media, and libraries. Public Services Quarterly, 7(3/4), 102-110. 

Emory University Library and Information Technology Services. (2015). Robert W. Woodruff Library home page. Retrieved from http://web.library.emory.edu/index.html

epstengroup.com. (n.d.). Robert W. Woodruff Library Front [Google Image]. Retrieved from http://epstengroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/r-w-woodriuff-libraryfront.jpg

Georgia Tech Library. (n.d.). Georgia Tech Library home page. Retrieved from http://www.library.gatech.edu/

Social Media and Readers' Advisory

Rebecca Anwyll and Brenda Chawner (2013) were guest columnists alongside columnist/editor Laurel Tarulli and wrote a column named Social Media and Readers' Advisory, in the Reference & Users Services Quarterly journal. They examined the use of social media for Readers' Advisory (RA) by interviewing 15 librarians from New Zealand public libraries. The information that Anwyll and Chawner provided were very similar to the way American libraries use social media to interact with patrons. 

Here are some key points that were very interesting to me as a librarian. The key reasons for adopting social media in libraries were staff interest, attending conferences, and monitoring trends (p. 113). One of the main objectives for engaging library users was to promote Readers' Advisory by posting content about new resources, books, reviews, and blogs. The interviewees acknowledged that there should be more positive awareness of Readers' Advisory (p. 117) in social media, but there must be an exact distinction between just posting links about new books and RA. If social media is used wisely in libraries, RA would thrive. For example, there's plenty of websites and links that could be posted to Facebook  and Twitter. Goodreads and NoveList would be great links share with patrons. 

It is also interesting to note that New Zealand libraries are governed a little differently than American libraries. New Zealand libraries are governed by local city (district) councils which in part have policies and guidelines in place to govern how social media is utilized. Councils are in charge of what libraries can post on its Facebook or Twitter. Some librarians that were interviewed were not allowed to post anything political or even negative, which seems to me to be understandable. It appears that these particular city councils have a reputation to uphold and if publicizing negativity would be bad for public relations. I personally searched for public libraries in New Zealand who participated in some type of social network. It was very difficult to find one on social media, but did find the Porirua Library on Facebook. 

One librarian had mentioned their council developed eight commandments for social postings. One of the most interesting commandments was this: "Be social. You only get out what you put in. Share the love (p.116)." That statement is so true and should be to all librarians. We need the share our love for the library and how the library can be useful to all people in its service area. 

Anwyll, R., Chawner, B., & Tarulli, L. (2013). Social Media and Readers' Advisory. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 53(2), 113-118.

Porirua Library. (n.d.). Porirua Library Facebook page. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/Porirua-Library-276031052466679/

Taupo District Council. (n.d.). Libraries and museums. Retrieved from http://www.taupodc.govt.nz/our-services/libraries-and-museum/Pages/libraries-and-museum.aspx]

Taupo Public Library. (n.d). Taupo Public Library [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.taupodc.govt.nz/our-services/libraries-and-museum/libraries/PublishingImages/Taupo-library-560x321.jpg

Library user's right to privacy

When libraries utilize social media whether it is to share information with patrons or patrons using social media in libraries, the issue of privacy arises. Harvard University (Parry, 2013) learned the hard way by randomly tweeting recent books that had been checked out by their students on Twitter. Each “tweeted” book did not enclose the identity of the student checking the book out, but it did raise concerns of an individual’s reading habit. This caused a concern that patron privacy was being violated, so the University stopped using Twitter for this purpose.

As ALA adopts many privacy practices, patron privacy plays a major role in securing intellectual freedom. ALA stresses that libraries must conduct regular library privacy audits.  Libraries should also gather very little information on library users (Lamdan, 2015). Based on Article III of the ALA’s Code of Ethics (2008), “we protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted.” This is a rather hard task to do since new social media innovations cause a strain on library privacy ethics. We, as librarians, have an obligation to uphold to our users by making sure that their privacy is secure while using social media in our libraries. 

American Library Association. (2008). Code of Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/proethics/codeofethics/codeethics

Parry, M. (2012). As libraries go digital, sharing of data conflicts with tradition of privacy. Chronicle Of Higher Education, 59(11), 14.

Lamdan, S. S. (2015). Social media privacy: A rallying cry to librarians. Library Quarterly, 85(3), 261-277.

www.madisonaveinsights.com. (n.d.). Privacy [Image]. Retrieved from  http://www.madisonaveinsights.com/files/2014/06/privacy_image.jpg