MySpace at Your Place: Using Social Networking Forums in a Public Library
From LIS5313
Link to Wiki Report Treatment
Link to Media
Contents |
[edit] Social Networking and MySpace
Social networking software applications are often "web-based tools [that] allow individuals to meet, interact, collaborate, and share. There are a variety of sites for a variety of purposes, including:
- Meeting friends (e.g., MySpace and Facebook)
- Sharing media (e.g., Flickr and YouTube)
- Sharing ideas (e.g., blogs and wikis)
- Collaborating at work (e.g., SharePoint)
- Dating (e.g., eHarmony)
An individual can create his or her own personal space within the service, but interaction with other users is the key feature" (Greenwell 2006).
Among the plethora of social networking software products and sites is MySpace. This widely known tool is useful for many situations, including personal, business, and educational uses. Sites like this “are particularly popular with 'Net Generation' users. An estimated 85% of students in high school and college have at least one profile in at least one of these sites. The central feature of this particular kind of social networking site is the ability to identify a group of friends whose profiles become linked to yours. Your group of friends becomes a network with unique communication privileges. Your friends can post comments that will appear on your site. You are able to broadcast announcements that go to your entire group of friends or your network in one stroke. The personal connection encouraged by these sites is both the strength and potential vulnerability of this type of social networking" (Greenwell 2006). Because these sites are so well-used as an up and coming way of life in this Information Age of infants born with PDAs in there hands, MySpace and other social networking tools may be primary sources for some organizations as common practice applications.
[edit] Why MySpace for Public Libraries?
"During the fall of 2005, librarians noticed something unusual going on in the Houston Cole Library (HCL) at Jacksonville State University (JSU). Students were coming into the library in droves. Patrons waited in lines with photos to use the public-access scanner (a stack of discarded pictures quickly grew). Library traffic was noticeably busier than usual and the computer lab was constantly full, as were the public-access terminals. The hubbub seemed to center around one particular Web site" (Charnigo & Barnett-Ellis 2007). The website these particular students were so interested in was Facebook, another social networking site with the same principle that is dedicated mainly to college students. This type of craze has been occuring everywhere as more and more people become aware of the possibilities of accessing and using sites like Facebook and MySpace.
Setting up a MySpace account is fairly simple and the best feature for a non-profit organization like a public library system is that it is free. Not only is MySpace free, but it is used by millions of people throughout the world which means
Susan Hildreth (2007) in the article, Engaging Your Community: A Strategy for Relevance in the Twenty-First Century comments on the requirement of libraries to stay relevant with the times, keeping up with the trends and services of society as the twenty-first century progresses. With the internet oriented and focused youth that are coming up in today's society, MySpace and other social networking sites are major resources to a public library's youth services department. More and more, young adults are using the web for resources, information, gaming, and discussion. They are browsing for hours a day. With MySpace as a free host to personal and business webpages, the options are limitless for such an institution as a public library.
Many library systems are gearing their MySpace sites toward marketing to young adults. They are doing this by making the pages funky and colorful, filled with dynamic advertisements for the library's programs and even including links to such things as YouTube videos. The libraries are including fields to directly search the library catalog for materials. These public libraries who are taking steps in the technological direction are using MySpace to its fullest. With this type of representation and access, it is as if the public library has a second homepage separated for young adults.
With these sort of materials hosted on a webpage managed by the library, young adults can browse it with the ease of access from a computer where they spend a large part of their time as it is. Even better, young adults can interact on this webpage. Because MySpace is set up as "a place for friends," it provides a forum for connecting all individual pages in a manner that they call "friending." Friending on MySpace adds links to each others pages. This allows the respective friends to view content on one another's pages, send messages back and forth, and enables the users to post comments to the sites. Along with all of these amenities, MySpace offers their own reasoning as to why a person or organization should join: "Why join MySpace? >Create a Custom Profile >Upload Pictures >Send Mail and IMs >Write Blogs and Comments >It’s Free!” (MySpace 2007). With this type of free option literally at the fingertips of a public library system that can help reach young adults, my question now is why not?
The internet is our future. It is time to accept it. As this Promotional Video for the use of MySpace states: "Welcome to the New Millenium." Now more than ever, public libraries need to get with the times and join the internet revolution!
[edit] Creating a MySpace Account
To sign up is as easy as going to the main page of MySpace and clicking on the link at the top right corner marked, SignUp. Required are several fields of personal information ranging from name to birth date to email and postal code. By filling in the fields and clicking the Sign Up button, a person is agreeing to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy of MySpace. Once this process is complete, you are free to edit and share nearly anything on your personal homepage.
There are a number of sites out there and appearing daily with templates and add-ins that may be used free of charge to add character to a MySpace page. MySpace editing, however, is as simple as using html codes. Hypertext Markup Language is one of the languages of the internet. It is the bones of a webpage and the background information used to create the formatting that a casual observer sees upon opening a link. A MySpace page may be developed by selecting templates or learning the slightly more complicated method of writing html codes, which can be done simply with an instructional book on hand. Many libraries have taken to this simple method by adding a MySpace page into the daily functions of a digital architect commonly employed by today's library systems to create and manage the OPAC (online public access catalog).
In the event that a public library finds their MySpace page ineffective or causing too much concern amongst parents and/or the public, it is easily removed from the site. All that is required is for the staff member managing the MySpace to log on through the main page, click on Edit Profile, then choosing Account Settings in the top right corner, and simply choosing Cancel Account. As simple as that a problem can be solved if something goes awry on a public library's MySpace page.
[edit] Pros and Cons
Many public library systems today have a MySpace page to represent their youth services. They also allow access to MySpace on the public terminals within the library and some even offer MySpace courses in regular class meetings. While this is the case in many libraries, there are still a large amount restricting access to MySpace which prevents them from developing young adult marketing in this arena. There are many opinions and concerning circumstances related to the use of MySpace that may impact a decision like this in a public library system.
While the site is an optimum ground for social networking, this type of arena really opens up the possibilities for predators and improper content.
While predators are a common concern of an average user, the public library system can combat these concerns with careful monitoring. The public library can use MySpace as an advertising ground while accepting potential youth as "friends" on their page. The answer to avoiding harmful content is in being aware of the pages of the so-called "friends" to the library MySpace page and being sure to approve or deny all comments based on content. The library system is enabled as the hosting source to deny any controversial content and remove "friends" at will based on character concerns.
Another possible concern evolving with MySpace and the interent in general is one of privacy. As a library user and a MySpace page holder, a young adult may want to access the library's MySpace page and can without even becoming a friend because of the freedom of the site's applications. Public libraries employing MySpace pages must also be vigilant about the type of information that they are putting out to the public and what can be returned to them. The same rules of decency and professionalism must remain in the MySpace arena of a public library as they do with any other type of marketing tool like flyers, television commercials, or even billboard ads.
The possibilities for positive and negative concerns regarding the use of MySpace are endless. Each public library should individually decide if this is the right method of outreach to teens in their area based on local mores and values. Weighing the lists of pros and cons will determine the result. In the event a public library goes forward with a MySpace page and has complications, it is easy enough to remove and little is wasted in the area of budget or energy.
[edit] MySpace at Orange County Library System
The Orange County Library System(OCLS) in Orlando, Florida is a sprawling network of a large main facility and fourteen branches spread throughout the county. It is a fast paced, highly used system that is always breaking ground with new technologies in the libraries of the Central Florida area. Not surprisingly, the Orange County Library System has had their Youth MySpace Page up and running for approximately two years. By perusing the youth MySpace page and conducting a brief email interview with a member of the youth services and collection development team, Edward Booker, at the Orange County Library System, it is easy to understand the reasoning for social networking outreach at this particular public library.
This large library system, like many other public libraries, finds the most difficult group to reach is young adults. The library created their
Along with the teen vibe screaming off the webpage, there are several animated ads for library programs, YouTube videos of past library events, and a searchable link to the library's catalog. OCLS boasts 263 friends at the moment and a number of amicable comments posted by what appear to be teens and young adult authors. Some comments even question the dates and times of particular programs, which are responded to as a part of the outreach this type of marketing demands. Edward Booker, interviewed December 2007, responded about the issues of friend requests and inappropriate comments by stating:
"We pretty much accept anyone who requests to be our friend and we try to get all of the authors we can on our friends list to keep up with what they are doing and connect them to the kids. We make sure to promote our MySpace page to the YAs [Young Adults] in all our programs...As for comments, we just approve or deny them as they come. It's easy to see which are okay and which aren't."
MySpace as a marketing tool for OCLS is considered highly effective relative to a cost to value ratio. Because the only cost to the organization at this point is in the form of employee time, the return on that investment is great. OCLS monitors the comments and site hits to estimate usage of the MySpace page. The organization also pays close attention to feedback offered by teens during programs and events regarding the space. OCLS considers their MySpace page a strong step in the right direction to get more involved and in touch with the target age group of teens and 'tweens.
Because OCLS has had a good experience thus far with MySpace as a promotional tool, Edward Booker (2007 Dec) states: "I would definitely recommend MySpace as a way to reach the kids. It gets right into what they are already doing, communicating with friends online. OCLS is now a friend to them." Because MySpace is not strictly for the young, the page can reach older crowds, too. It is a nice spot to network with authors and potential contacts for event planning, as well.
[edit] Conclusion - Evaluating the Results
Word of mouth is the cheapest method of advertisement and in cahoots with the free access to a MySpace account, a public library system cannot go wrong. While there are concerns about the negative aspects associated with MySpace, it is easy as a public library to avoid such things with careful monitoring and professionalism. Set up and maintenance for the site are fairly simple and in the event that negative issues become too great or the page is underused, it can be quickly removed with short steps.
The Orange County Library System shows an excellent example of what a MySpace page can do for a public library. It increases activity among the young adults, especially by putting a page in their environment that seems specifically suited to them. This type of personal attention with Web 2.0 features is key to negotiating lifetime library patrons. This is an important example set by OCLS in the Central Florida region. More and more public libraries across the nation are developing their own MySpace pages. Other examples can be found at LibSuccess.org.
MySpace is merely a singular form of social networking in the world of Web 2.0 and the ever-rising Information Age. Public libraries should contemplate these aspects as they consider their own future within an increasingly more independent society. By taking this step in the right direction, libraries are ensuring a position for themselves in the needs of society for the future. As Web 2.0 culture becomes more prominent, public libraries may find themselves taking on new tasks such as blogging, digital video, and podcasts as added features to connect with all of their patrons and not just the young adult crowd that MySpace has a tendency to reach. Participatory culture and internet-information sources are our future, maybe it is time for public libraries to get involved, MySpace is just a place to start.
[edit] References
- Charnigo, L., et. al. (2007 Mar). Checking out Facebook.com: The impact of a digital trend on academic libraries. Information Technology and Libraries, 26(1), 23-34.
- Greenwell, S., et. al. (2006). Internet reviews: Social networking software: Facebook and MySpace. Kentucky Libraries, 70(4), 12-16.
- Hildreth, S. (2007). Engaging your community: A strategy for relevance in the twenty-first century. Public Libraries, 46(3), 7-9.
- Lamb, A., et. al. (2006 Oct). Want to be my "friend"? What you need to know about social technologies. Teacher Librarian, 34(1), 55-7.
- Rathburn, S. (2007 Mar). Public library warns of MySpace.com danger. KVOA Tuscon. Retrieved December 6, 2007 from, http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?s=5534147.
