So last week I signed up for Twitter. So far this week it is going okay, though I keep forgetting to post new Tweets. I do have a few followers though! And I am following a few classmates. It is nice to not feel so alone in the Twitter world. I am not just stalking Jian Ghomeshi and Douglas Coupland anymore.
I also (proudly) figured out how to post my Twitter feed on this blog, which was a bit of an trial for me, but it is all solved now. And my loyal blog readers can also find and follow my twittering. If I remember to tweet…
As I feel like I learn more and feel more comfortable with Twitter and other social media tools, such as, RSS I am beginning to see the huge benefits these tools can have for libraries. In my experience working at public library I see that the library is, in some circumstances, becoming a more remote facility for users. Many people use libraries now without ever physically walking through its doors. It is not even always because the user is unable to physically access the library, many people just choose to access the library mostly through its website and online services. My husband is one of these people. He rarely goes to the library and we only live four blocks away from one, but he is a very active library user. As a teacher, who has no library in his school he relies on the public library for a lot of his teaching resources. He accesses the library from its website and through the website he does his research, reads the paper and places holds on materials. Sometimes he has to go to the library to pick up his holds, but honestly he usually gets them sent to a branch I work at regularly and then I bring them home for him. But I think certain types of social media, especially Twitter and RSS would help get him, and library patrons like him, into a real, physical library building more often.
Twitter or RSS feeds that kept followers up to date with events, programs, newly released materials and other library happenings are an easy, quick and efficient way to attract and entice people to come to the library. At the moment, unless you check my library website’s numerous pages quite regularly a library user could easily miss something of interest to them. Setting up a Twitter account or RSS news feed allows library users to easily keep up to date with the library because the library can use these tools to disseminate information to its followers. Who knows, what followers read on these feeds might even convince some mostly remote users to actually get out to a branch and participate in some of the non-virtual services the library provides.
This isn’t by any means a new idea. Loads of libraries are doing this already, which leads me to wonder why isn’t my local library doing this? Thinking about Twitter and RSS has also made me excited to learn more about different social media that can be used by libraries.