Facebook and the Library

Source: https://www.facebook.com

What is Facebook?

Facebook is a social networking site originally created so college students could connect with one another. Users could keep up with classes, events on campus, and other students all from their computers. As more and more college students began using the site, it expanded to allow anyone over the age of 13 to have an account. Now you can keep in touch with friends and family who live in various parts of the world without having to leave your couch! Not only can you keep up with people you know, but you can meet new people, learn about world events, and watch cute animal videos.

Facebook and the Library:

Now that you know a little bit about Facebook, lets talk about how it can be a useful tool for librarians. The first thing you need to do is figure out the purpose of your Facebook page. Are you going to use it to recommend books, advertise events, or show off the creativity of your students? You are not limited to one purpose, but make sure you give ample wall space to each of your goals. Once you have decided on your purpose, you need to consider your audience. For the most part your audience is going to be your students, but keep in mind that faculty and parents will access your page too. Memes (funny images used to convey a message) are a good way to go about targeting teens and tweens, but they might be over the heads of elementary library users.The Montclair High School Library Facebook page is a good page to check out for the clever use of memes.

Source: http://www.memecreator.org/meme/you-shall-not-pass-no-library-card/

Even if you do not use memes, visuals are a must if you want to reach your patrons (Montclair also uses visuals well). Pictures grab attention and force users to look at what you have to say. Libraries that have the most visits to their Facebook pages are the ones that have pictures and videos. This does not mean that you cannot use the written word to make your point. What you need to remember is that social networks are meant to meant to be quick reads, so status updates should be to the point. Facebook does not limit the number of characters you have for your posts, but this does not mean you need to test the limits of infinity with your post. President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was less than three minutes long, and it is the most remembered speech in American history. Edward Everett's speech was supposed to be the main speaker, but his two hour oration is little remembered (History.com Staff, "The Gettysburg Address", 2010). Check out the Doaktown Community School Library page. This page is mostly written status updates and does not have as many page visits or likes as other libraries. The Cleveland High School Library has found a pretty good balance between visual and written posts.

Make your page interactive by having contests (selfies, bookmarks, reviews, etc) or guest post. Have students like and share posts to win a prize, or have them take a picture of themselves reading in their favorite reading spots (selfie) and post them on the library's Facebook page. Brooks School Elementary Library post the winners of their Birthday Book contest on their site. Remember to monitor post from other users as comment wars (arguments between users) can erupt overnight. Facebook is a great tool to teach students how to effectively communicate on the internet, but their fight or flight reflex will kick-in when they feel attacked. You may also want to consider making your page private so that only students, faculty, and parents can access the page. This will offer your students some protection, but also limits who can see the great things happening in your library.

One of the most important thing to remember about this tool is to remember to use it. Just like with books on your shelves, no one is going to come visit your page if there are no posts. To help you get started, check out the American Library Association's page to see what they are posting. If you know of other libraries that have pages, search for them too. If you have a personal Facebook page, you should consider "liking" library pages that you find inspiring so you can see what they post. If they post something you think your students should see, then post it to your library page. 

Here is the page I helped to create for the Odyssey Academy housed at Stephen F. Austin Middle School in Bryan, TX. While not a library, it might help you generate ideas for what to put on your Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Odyssey-Academy/181196328600689?ref=br_tf


Watch this screencast on how to create your own screencast.
http://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/c2jvcLn8g1

Here are some other pages you might want to check out:
Disney-Hyperion School & LibrarySchool Library Journal
Hampton High School Library
YALSA

Good luck creating your own pages!

Brittany

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Resources:
History.com Staff. (2010). The Gettysburg Address. Retrieved August 29, 2014, from http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/gettysburg-address