13: Unlucky for some!

I’m quite happy in my own little world of “not exactly a luddite but generally one step behind the latest thing.” As such, I use facebook and have for a while, but am not yet prepared to make the bold leap to twitter. I was first introduced to social networking via myspace, which I joined once I realised that just about everyone else had joined already. Facebook, I believe, started up as a means of keeping University students in touch with each other after graduation and it actually took a long time before a valid university email address was not required to become a member. I joined around about 2007 when a friend, whose opinion I trust dearly, told me he had “officially” ditched his myspace in favour of a facebook account. For me, it’s just about the perfect net-based tool and it’s what I think of before anything else when talking about Web 2.0. In fact, I’ve been waiting for it to come up in 23 Things Oxford for weeks!

In terms of how libraries can use facebook, I’m inclined to think that its most powerful asset is its ability to gather members and communicate with them quickly and easily – in short, it is a powerful networking tool. There are arguments for “becoming a fan” over joining a group (although you are welcome to be a fan of something without using facebook. I myself am a secret X factor junkie), and visa versa, but both methods allow libraries to virtually re-create their member database (to an extent – there must be willing on the part of the user) and communicate or share with them what they will. It’s a very effective way of getting members of an organization or group, or people who share a common interest, into a shared “virtual” room. I’m imagining 10,000 “virtual” monkeys crammed into a “virtual” clown’s car!

It’s “click-of-a-button” easy to message ALL group members (up to 5000 members) so this would be a good way of alerting your readers to, say, new or amended opening hours and a great way of advertising an upcoming exhibition (or some public libraries have author events). The informal nature of facebook groups allows fellow readers to meet, discuss topics and, if they so wish, get to know one another (an opportunity rarely allowed inside a library because, as we all know, libraries are quiet areas of hushed tones and disapproving looks). I could imagine a research student encountering a fellow researcher online sharing a similar area of interest, for example. It’s a great, free means for libraries to reach out and find its target demographic and to use feedback to improve its services and you can add rich media to your page allowing interlinking to, say, videos of interest, virtual tours etc.

Best of all, you don’t usually need to be an actual library member to join its group , which perhaps makes a library a little more accessible (scary, intimidating places that they are!). It’s a way of staying connected to readers all over the country and all over the world. The Bodleian has such a fantastic, world-class catalogue, it should appeal to library users and researchers the world over, and it’s another means of allowing everyone to feel more connected.