Social Networking

As someone who moves every few years, I make use of social networking sites to learn about my new community as well as to keep in touch with friends and organizations from the communities in which I have lived. I also use social networking sites in my everyday life for, among other things, general information gathering; sharing ideas and lesson plans with colleagues; and researching my family's genealogy. I was introduced to some of the blogs, communities, and resources that I now frequently access by a librarian who used what I knew about the social networking site LiveJournal to frame our initial dialog.

Social networking sites are changing, and in the best cases improving,  the way in which librarians and library members interact with each other. When well utilized and maintained, social networking sites enhance communication and familiarity with library services. When social networking sites are used as digital newsletters where information is dispersed but not collected, librarians remove themselves from a valuable conversation. By tuning in to social media that people in their community are already using, librarians access valuable information which will help them create a common dialog with their communities and provide valuable information about what their communities need.