Let's Get Social: Facebook and Libraries

I guess if truth be told while my "real" persona is somewhat shy, digitally I'm a social animal.

I love Facebook. If my computer is on, one (or more) tabs on my browser is open to Facebook.

Like most people I've encountered in my age group (adult) I was reluctant to play. I'm a big geek, but I didn't see the need. Couldn't be bothered.

Then I overheard some co-workers bragging about their latest high-point Scrabble scores on Facebook (note: Scrabble had to be taken down due to copyright issues and Lexulous has taken its place) and I wanted in.

And so have most of my family, friends and co-workers. We keep up-to-date with each other on Facebook, share pictures and frustrations and successes, im each other, challenge each other's word scores, feed each other's virtual puppies and lots of nonsense. We're very social with each other. In little bits, When it's convenient. We stay in touch.

I don't have a ton of Facebook friends, just a handful. I'm cautious about what I write and what others read about me. I am aware that my words will live on and take on a life of their own. I monitor my privacy settings carefully.

I've seen others get burned. Someone I know sadly had a change in marital status and thought she was privately editing her Facebook profile setting, only to be inundated with questions from her Facebook friends. Facebook notified each of her friends of her change in status. Something she had not yet told anyone about. We all learned after that that you can control what goes out and what does not, but you have to be aware.

My husband, a freelance writer, uses this aspect of Facebook to his advantage, including in his status line a call for help when needed on story or a link to work he's completed. People do read these things and respond.

So, keeping in mind the issues involved with privacy and longevity of your words on the web and policies of who owns your words, I think it's very appropriate for libraries to join in and be part of the social stream.

In the early days of the web libraries debated their need for a web presence. No longer. Libraries understand the need to reach their patrons where they are. And in a 2.0 way. People want to interact on the web; they've come to expect it -- to register for programs on line, to participate, to share what they know, what they think. These social networking tools are already in use and popular.

In my opinion, libraries should be there. I'm working on creating a Facebook profile for my library.