After my initial post about MySpace (check out the valuable comments left there if you haven’t), I’ve watched some invitations to become ‘MySpace friends’ roll into the library’s email box. Hennepin County and Lansing Public here in Illinois are two libraries now friends with Thomas Ford. I have the right mind to start a Libraries and Librarians group for all of us to join.
I can see the development of some different approaches for library content on MySpace. Libraries can either use it to refer back to the teen portions of their library website, take content from their library site and paste it into MySpace, create original content for MySpace, or a combination of both. Better yet, have active teen users of the library manage it. They’re bound to be better at it than we are. I won’t spoil it, but Brian Smith has a great idea in regards to that.
Wouldn’t it be great too if we had some leadership in this area? I guess if they can’t get an email newsletter right I shouldn’t hold my breath. I’d like to see ALA have a MySpace account with a library locator to connect MySpace users to their library. I’d also like for ALA to have someone participate in theAskMetafilter community and answer Reference type questions. Things like this would be good PR for libraries (and librarians) and reach a market that READ posters aren’t.
11 Comments
I like your ideas, though of course I want to keep clueless people away from AskMetafilter. I think part of the problem is the whoole cluetrain thing. People and organizations like ALA need to be confident enough that they can continue to keep the money rolling in even if they give stuff away for free (like newsletters without web bug and spammy ads, or buttons that really are promotional tools as well as a sales opportunity). It would be cool to see ALA organizational folks participating more *as humans* in the wider world of library fun online, but that would necessitate them having a different view of the work/life dichotomy than, say you or I. For now someone from the ALA *is* working on AskMetafilter, me, since it’s a memebr organization (and you, and I can think of a few more) but it may take a while before doing “stuff online” is seen as a legitimate way for librarians to do work. I don’t need to be convinced, and a lot of the younger wired librarians don’t, but for others it may be a while.
I disagree that the READ posters were a bad PR move. Why are they still around (and still selling like hotcakes) if they don’t do anything for the profession? I also think that librarians love them (compare it to the Nancy Pearl figure – same concept). It’s good for the profession to see celebrities as poster boys/girls for literacy and libraries. ALA is for librarians as well as for library users, not just for library users. Some tend to forget that.
An aside: Your text comes up really small in FireFox. Is anyone else seeing this?
But, Steven, don’t they have to already be *in* the library to see the READ posters? I think the hope would be that a MySpace presence would get ‘em where they live, and compliment other PR efforts.
And, Aaron, I love seeing libraries and librarians on MySpace, Metafilter, Flickr, and whatnot; I’m not really sure what ALA as an organization would add in these spaces, though.
@Jessamyn
I <3 you for your librarian presence on AskMe. Positively representing librarians (not only) online is one way we all can contribute to the profession. You’re right, contributing ourselves is the best we have for now. Better to do this than just gripe :]
@Steven M. Cohen
I didn’t claim that READ posters are a bad PR move. I just said that contributing to online communities would “reach a market that READ posters aren’t [reaching]. Blimey! If you’re going to be a gadfly, read carefully.
@Steve L.
Great point, we need to get outside of the library! I too like seeing librarians contributing online, but I think that ALA could post interesting photos with commentary (PATRIOT Act, GLBT issues, cencorship) on flickr. Maintain awesome bookmarks on del.icio.us? Connect people to materials at 43 Things?
Whoops. I read that post differently yesterday. Right you are, Aaron. I have to be more careful with my commentary
I also wonder if there would be a way to get celebrity endorsements of libraries into online communities, be it with read posters or otherwise.
Thoughts?
How about talking about My Space and libraries?
its a thing for 18 year olds
i’LL LIKE TO GET ON MYPSPACE
hello my little bean burrito!!! u remind me of cheese, and dinosours thank u for your service at the library, and u will always be in my thoughts. have a great summer
Hello excuse my sister lola 1 she is a little bit off if you caught my drifft or something like that
my sister has bannanas in her ears love you buy
hi i do not have bannanas in my ear, it really is my sister that does. sorry about that whole bean burrito, it was a mixture of my friend and my story. luv ya lots bye
One Trackback
[...] Recently there have been lots of discussion of libraries who set up their own MySpace account. For example, here, here, here and here. The recipe seems to be: “Go to where your users are (MySpace), get an account, add some information, and maybe a catalogue search box, get some friends and voila! an extra service point”. I wonder whether this is only an American trend, as I don’t know of any Australian libraries doing it…. although the Second Life Libraries have. [...]