I’m relatively new to the whole social networking experience. Although MySpace and Facebook have been around for a few years now, it wasn’t until this summer that I started my own Facebook page. I used to be sort of wary about creating such pages because I didn’t like the thought of people I don’t know viewing my information. However, I have found Facebook to be a fun and interesting experience (and I’ve adjusted the site’s privacy settings so that not just anyone can see my profile). I’ve been able to get back in touch with people from high school and college and it also allows me to connect with other Dominican GSLIS students.
However, Facebook is not just for connecting with friends. I read an interesting column in yesterday’s Chicago Tribune “Swamp” blog (a blog that covers politics and what’s happening in Washington). The column discussed a recent finding that young people are increasingly using Facebook to keep up with the political scene. For example, people can join Facebook “groups” that promote a particular politician—I have a number of friends who belong to the “1 million strong for Barack” group. Also, people can become Facebook “friends” with political candidates—two of my friends are “friends” with Tammy Duckworth. The column questioned whether Facebook is really causing young people to become more politically active. One expert that was interviewed said yes, but another expert said that he thinks Facebook is more of an opportunity to “bring like-minded people together.” I agree with this assessment. I belong to the Facebook “Support Arts Education” group because I strongly believe in keeping music and art alive in schools, but I’m not actively on the frontlines fighting for it. Facebook is just a place for me to state my position.
The Swamp column made me wonder how libraries can use Facebook. I’m not sure if librarians could really use it to connect with users. Could patrons really be able to find their librarians on Facebook and “friend” them? I’m not so sure that would work. However, Facebook is an excellent way for librarians to network amongst themselves. I belong to several librarian-related Facebook groups, including the Dominican GSLIS one. These groups can be very helpful for librarians to bounce ideas of each other. My boss recently told me that my name was brought up as a suggestion for the library’s student liaison. I have no experience with that, so if I do get that post, the Dominican Facebook group might be a good place to get suggestions and feedback on possible ideas. Also, librarians could use Facebook as a way to get the word out on upcoming events. Facebook allows you to create invitations, so librarians could send them out to friends, who could send them to other friends, etc. Ultimately, networking sites such as Facebook are tools that librarians should be aware of and explore how they can help them serve their patrons.
