By now, many of us in the library world are familiar with Linda Holmes’ NPR article about libraries as the next big pop culture wave, after cupcakes. And I’m all for it. I love libraries even more than I like cupcakes. And you should know that I really, really enjoy cupcakes.
But what I want to speculate about today is: If libraries are “in,” is social media really at the heart of this? I think it might be.
I was first made aware of Holmes’ piece through one of my many daily RSS feeds. Before I knew it, the article was zooming around the internet (or at least my library-centric corner of it), being sent out on listservs, tweeted and re-posted on facebook, and blogged by librarian bloggers around the world. Oh wait, kind of like I’m doing right now.
And then there was the starting point for Holmes’discussion: the YouTube videos. First there was Librarians doing Gaga. Then the Old Spice man had something to say about libraries, and Brigham Young University wanted us to study like a scholar, scholar. Things so popular, they were shared by people with no connection to libraries whatsoever (at least according to the extremely scientific evidence of my Facebook News Feed).
So it would seem that social media is certainly helping us to make libraries popular though online sharing. But how does this fit in with Holmes’ 6 pieces of evidence as to why the libraries (and librarians!) are bound for stardom?
- Libraries get in fights.Yes they do. And their fights have share toolbars and twitter archives, so that everyone can join in.
- Librarians know stuff. And now they will use social media, as well as traditional means, to tell you about it and let you ask questions.
- Libraries are green and local. And they blog about being green and local.
- Libraries will give you things for free. Libraries WANT to give you things for free, and they can promote those free services using every available means.
- “Open to the public” means “some days, you really have to wonder about people.” For better or worse, many librarians share anecdotes about serving the public in online spaces.Scott Douglas made a career out of it.
- There seems to be a preposterous level of goodwill. Most librarians like to share. Now they’re collaborating using wikis to make sure everyone has the best information out there.
Admittedly my tone, like Holmes’ article, is lighthearted. But I do believe that social media is allowing libraries to promote themselves in new ways, and that this is hopefully leading to greater recognition in popular culture. So bring on the “happy-fuzzy pop-culture stories.” And pass the cupcakes.
Image: “Montreal Twestival 2009 Cupcakes.” Flickr. Web. 22 July 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/clevercupcakes/3920802507/