Public Libraries and Twitter

I. Jill Erickson on Public Libraries and Twitter

I thought it would be great to video Jill Erickson, Head of Reference and Adult Services at the Falmouth Public Library.  As you can see, she has done an amazing job at introducing and developing the use of social media at the Falmouth Public Library.  

A brief outline of Jill’s suggestions and ideas on public libraries and Twitter

Familiarize yourself with Twitter—or all social media--first!

Twitter is great for advocating your library and getting the word out about library

services.

A library’s Twitter feed can be a municipality’s information center.

Twitter has a unique conversational quality that allows a library to connect with other

organizations within the region or at large.

Twitter book clubs!!!!
"The world is watching."

Think about establishing policy (more on that below)

Jill’s excitement is indeed catchy!

Thanks, Jill.* 

2. Notes on this week’s reading

“Twitter for Librarians: The Ultimate Guide” is a great resource, but set a good amount of time aside for reading this article. Oh, the places you’ll go! (Happy belated birthday, Dr. Seuss!)

“How Tweet It Is! Library Acquires Entire Twitter Archive” by Matt Raymond (I thought this was one of our fellow GSLIS classmates at first!) is very interesting.  After reading the comments, it is evident that the LC’s acquisition of the archive raises several issues as indicated by the myriad of responses.   Naturally, I had to visit their website. 

First, it is worth it to read Raymond’s follow up statement on the topic  "The Library and Twitter: An FAQ"

It is helpful to learn the Library of Congress's mission and current priorities, as well.

In fact, here is the Library's policy on social media.

These resources may be useful in such upcoming modules as “Ethics and Information” and “Policy Issues,” so perhaps it is better to reserve discussions on privacy and social media until then.  It is such a huge topic for librarians, regardless of the kind of library they work in.  However, I suspect public libraries have more facets to consider.

As mentioned in my comments in two other blogs, I am very interested in how the Twitter archive will be organized.  And my supervisor brought up great points about selection (thanks, Fran):  Since LC does not keep every book published in the U.S., will they keep all tweets?  Which begs the question of what the selection criteria will be. 

3. In conclusion

Having had some experience with Twitter at work in a public library, I think it is an essential tool for connecting with the public, as well as with others in the field of library science. 

Social capitol and Twitter: try not to barrage your followers!



*In case you were interested in the quote in Jill's office; it is by Allen Smith, who happens to be Jill's mentor (speaking of mentors!):

“In order to be really good as a librarian, everything counts towards your work, every play you go see, every concert you hear, every trip you take, everything you read, everything you know.  I don’t know of another occupation like that.  The more you know, the better you’re going to be.” 

For more quotes by Dr. Smith, click here.