I did a search for "school library" to get a better idea of how school libraries are using Facebook. I found many local school library pages to explore. I noticed that many of them use their page to promote events such as book fair, share makerspace activities, highlight student club activities, and post library hours and important information. Even though the pages had many followers, I noticed that very few people comment, or even like the posts. It makes me wonder how many parents and students are really paying attention to the information shared. Exploring the library pages made me realize that like anything, there are advantages and disadvantages to libraries using Facebook pages.
Advantages:
- Free platform to communicate with families
- Many people are already using Facebook
- Promote school and library events
- Share photos of what the students are doing in the library
- Share new books, makerspace tools, or technology
- Post library hours and schedule
Disadvantages:
- Not every family uses Facebook
- Time consuming to keep information up to date
- Followers often don't engage with the page through likes or comments
Another popular social media network is Twitter. Unlike Facebook, tweets are limited to 280 characters. Twitter is used by many people to keep up with breaking news, entertainment, and politics. I have never been very comfortable with Twitter, but it is my goal to start using it more this year and become more familiar with this platform. For my assignment, I was given a list of people to follow and explore on Twitter. I hope that you'll find some new faces to follow as well.
Kathy Schrock: @kathyschrock
Kathy Schrock is frequently posts about technology. She is definitely one for librarians to follow as we shift into a more tech driven school environment. However, her posts aren't solely directed at librarians. Much of the information she shares is relevant to the general public. I was excited to see this tweet about Microsoft Office.
Linda Braun: @lbraun2000
Linda Braun is an educator, librarian, learning consultant, and a previous YALSA president. She frequently retweets YALSA and tweets about youth services. You can tell she is passionate about being a teen advocate. I personally liked this article that she shared about how libraries have transformed in this digital age to stay relevant.
https://t.co/5pp2PeY3NN
David Warlick: @dwarlick
David Warlick's Twitter bio says that he's mostly retired. That makes sense, because most of his tweets are about nature, music, and politics, with a few tech tweets sprinkled in.
The Daring Librarian: @GwynethJones
The Daring Librarian, Gwyneth Jones, is Future Ready Librarian and public speaker. She has a huge following, not just on Twitter, but also on other social media and her blog. She is extremely active, posting multiple times a day. She is a must follow for any librarian! I love that she uses her social media presence to get people involved through challenges like this post.
Jim Lerman: @jimlerman
Jim Lerman is an educator, author, and speaker. He posts tips for using various forms of technology, tutorials, and many educational helps. He is very active, posting a couple times a day. He would be a great person for any educator to follow. I really enjoyed reading the article he shared about collaboration with librarians.
https://t.co/UO9zgxILeX
It’s interesting that library Facebook pages do not receive many comments. As you point out, families may not be viewing the posts. The time commitment to create posts may not be worth it.
ReplyDeleteI like how you added advantages and disadvantages to Facebook but I also feel that Twitter is a better way to promote the school library. However, I have also seen that many schools prefer Facebook over Twitter for promoting current educational activities.
ReplyDeleteI like the advantages and disadvantages. That's a great way to look at it. I think that Facebook is used more by family and friends. I'm a little surprised that they don't get many comments on it, but it does make sense that not everyone uses Facebook or just may not follow the library on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteTwitter I feel like is more of a business, networking, educator thing. I never used Twitter either until we started using it at my school. Then we sailed with it and I use it all the time for professional development opportunities, showcase what we are doing, networking and much more.
I think it is interesting we had to review Facebook as a social media platform because I believe it is slowly dying. I don't use Facebook for work. I prefer Instagram and Twitter. Although I am feeling the pressure to start using Snapchat to reach these high school kids via social media. It's not something I want to do on a personal level, but so much of our job is about meeting kids where they are at. It's not about us.
ReplyDeleteFacebook is a popular social media site. It amazed me that libraries do not receive comments like other users. I believe there are other ways to promote libraries like we have learned in this course.
ReplyDelete