The Use Of MySpace In Public Libraries

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[edit] Introduction

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Social Networks and MySpace

While social networking is not new, the popularity of social networking has grown in the last few years due to the online versions. In today’s world, social websites are extremely popular among teens and young adults. One of the most popular social websites is MySpace. According to Julian Aiken’s article "Hands off MySpace" [1], in November of 2005, there were 150,000 new users signing up with MySpace everyday. MySpace, considered the largest social networking website, has over 100 million members, and it is the top online social network available [2].

Why Teens Like MySpace

MySpace appeals to teens and young adults for a variety of reasons. One reason is because teenagers are allowed to express themselves. Each MySpace member can create their own profiles, participate in blogs, post photos, and create forums. In their profiles, teens are allowed to express the things that interest them, such as their favorite movies, books, music, and television shows. Users are also allowed to customize their site by choosing their favorite backgrounds and streaming videos or music on their site[3].

Teens also appreciate the social interaction that MySpace allows. Teens are able to go onto MySpace and chat with friends and meet new people from across the world. One reason MySpace is popular is that it encourages MySpace users to “assemble galleries of friends with their photographs providing a link to their own pages. Upon visiting their friends pages, members often visit their friends’ friends’ pages and extend their social network in this manner” [4]. MySpace users can also communicate with each other via the MySpace instant messaging program, by posting comments to each other's pages, joining chat rooms, joining groups, and posting to forums.

Users who value the fact that they can be constantly entertained join MySpace. Users can search and listen to music, watch videos, read blogs, and communicate with their peers. MySpace allows users to discover the last music, music videos, and YouTube videos available. Users also recommend and receive recommendation on the latest media accessible [5].

[edit] Should libraries be involved?

Over the last few years, many have questioned whether libraries should have a presence on MySpace. Some fill as though libraries are invading a teenager’s personal space by creating a MySpace site. However, others disagree; young people spend hours on the internet, writing comments on each other profiles, chatting, posting pictures and other images, while often at the same time working on their homework or doing research. Libraries involvement on MySpace allows teens to do all these things at the same time and still have help from librarians for homework or to locate a certain reference book. Also by having a presence on MySpace, teens will learn to rely on librarians to assist them when it comes to research. By having “the library functioning in the space might be just the reminder they need to use library resources in their next paper” [6].

[edit] Benefits and Concerns of MySpace

Benefits

While there are several concerns about MySpace, there are also benefits to libraries using MySpace. Libraries can use MySpace sites as a way to facilitate two-way communication with library users, even when they are at home. Many library MySpace accounts have links to Ask a Librarian. This allows patrons to ask reference questions from their home or work computers and receive an immediate answer. Other library MySpace accounts encourage patrons to post their questions to the site and then a librarian will answer the question. This is different then Ask a Librarian because this allows all visitors to benefit from seeing the question and answer. Libraries also benefit from MySpace because the site enables libraries to advertise and promote programs, books, movies, and other events [7].

Concerns

Many parents have concerns about allowing their teens to use MySpace. Some of the concerns that parents have has lead to some libraries even banning patrons from accessing MySpace. Some of these concerns deal with issues of safety on MySpace. One reason parents do not believe that MySpace is safe for the teens is because MySpace users create profiles. Some users write specific information in their profiles as to where they live and other important information. Some parents worry that their teen’s profiles are available for anyone to view. Another issue parents have with MySpace is that some users might misrepresent themselves and they might not be who they claim. However, one way in which parents can prevent some of their concerns from occurring is to educate themselves. MySpace allows users to restrict their profiles so that only approved friends will have access to their personal information. Another safety measure is to be sensible about accepting friends and become aware that open profiles are accessible to all viewers [8].

[edit] Libraries Use MySpace

In the last few years, as the growth of online social networks has skyrocketed, libraries across the nation have taken notice. Libraries have a tradition of going where the people are located. Due to this tradition, library branches have popped up in strip malls, bookmobiles travel to community schools and groups, and Librarians have created their own account on MySpace [9]. In the following sections, five libraries,Birmingham Public Library, Denver Public Library eVolver, Hennepin County Library, Sunnyside Regional Library, and Mary Vinson Memorial Library HiYa, that have created MySpace accounts have been researched to discover what kinds of material and information are available to the teens and young adults. One library in particular, Mary Vinson Memorial Library, will be the main focus on how young adult librarians view MySpace.

[edit] Mary Vinson Memorial Library

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Why MySpace?

The Mary Vinson Memorial Library HiYa, has only been on MySpace for about four months. The HiYA site was created at the beginning of August. The reason Lisa Morgan, the Young Adult Coordinator at the Mary Vinson Library, created the space was that she had her own MySpace and had seen the popularity of it grow in the past few years so she thought it would be a great web presence for her young adult section. The Young Adult section has had its own webpage before but she chose to use MySpace based own several reasons. Some of those reason include its popularity with teens, the ease of updating and changing the site and the social nature that would allow her to communicate and process to needs of her teen audience. Ms. Morgan also chose MySpace to host her YA page because she hoped that, while teens might not just automatically click onto the library’s site while they were online, that they might multi-task. She hoped that if the teens were on their friends list and cruising MySpace, they might just click over to the library’s space. HiYA also includes a short history on the young adult section of the library as well as a place where the teens can request that the library purchase their favorite DVDs and books.

Purpose of using MySpace

According to Morgan, the purpose and primary goal of her MySpace page is to share information with the teens in a fun interactive format. She also wanted it to be a site the teens could access from any location in order to receive information on upcoming programs. Morgan also uses the calendar on the space to give basic library event information. More detailed information about events,contests, and book news is posted in the Blog section. She utilizes the "Bulletin" function to send out mass mailings to “friends” about upcoming library events.

Challenges

According to Morgan, the biggest challenge she faces using MySpace is actually getting the teens to friend the library. HiYA has approximately 50 friends on their friend list currently and a majority of those are YA authors looking to promote their newest book and other organizations, such as the Augusta Library, Meg Cabot, Patricia McCormick, DC Comics, and Vertigo Comics. As Morgan only works part time, she believes that another challenge she faces is being at the library the same time the teens are there. She believes that if she were there directly after school that she would be able to encourage more teens to “friend” her space. Since she is not there during those times, the only YA friends on her MySpace are the teens that attend her monthly events. Morgan also thinks that part of the problem with getting teens to join her space is that a majority of the libraries teen patrons are the younger teens, those between the ages of 12 – 14. This creates a problem because recently MySpace changed their rule and users must be 14 or older to create a MySpace account which means that the younger teens, the ones that Morgan believes would utilize the site cannot get an account.

Media Component

The following is a selected clip from the interview conducted with Ms. Morgan. Ms. Morgan granted permission for the interview to be recorded although she did request that she be given a copy of the interview questions before hand. In the interview, Ms. Morgan answered several questions such as how long has her MySpace account been active, what problems does she face with using MySpace, and why she chose to use MySpace with her teens.

[edit] Birmingham Public Library

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Birmingham Public Library has a MySpace account. This site has 2234 friends. Some of the features that are shown on this space are lists of new books, DVDs, and audios. This space also allows users to search the catalog from the site and renew books. This space also encourages teens to ask for assistance with the Ask a Librarian and Live Homework Help features. These two features allow users to receive instant help from qualified librarians with all their homework and research needs from their homes. Another great feature about Birmingham’s MySpace account is that portrays other types of media as well. Users are encouraged to participate in the library’s blog and to view the three YouTube videos.

[edit] Denver Public Library

The Denver Public Library also has a MySpace account called the eVolver and it has 561 friends. One way in which the eVolver is different then the Birmingham space is that the eVolver has music playing on their space. Their page opens with an upbeat piece of music which changes frequently. Teens are also allowed to post reviews on their favorite movies, books, and music. Like the Birmingham space, the eVolver also has a YouTube video. The video is a summer reading club promotional video in which teens meet Kitty. In the video, “Kitty has taken a summer job only to realize he'd rather be at the Denver Public Library reading, hanging out with librarians and so much more” [10]. Like Birmingham, the eVolver also offers teens the chance to browse the catalog and ask for a librarian’s assistance through AskColorado.

[edit] Hennepin County Library

Hennepin County Library is another library that is connected to MySpace. This library has 1069 friends including authors such as Meg Cabot and other libraries like the Denver Public Library, St. Paul Public library, Oxboro Library, Minneapolis Teen Central, and YALSA. Hennepin allows teens to bypass the library’s homepage and gain access to the catalog from the MySpace page. Like the eVolver, Hennepin’s site opens to music playing in the back ground. Hennepin also offers a list of newly cataloged movies, books, and music. This space offers homework helperand free advise on topics such as college information, dating, ways for teens to express themselves, managing money, and health and fitness [11].

[edit] Sunnyside Regional Library

Every MySpace site can select their own background but the Sunnyside Regional Library MySpace account has a unique background. Their background is covered in different types of bookcovers including titles such as Landscaping for Dummies, JPod, Miss America, Oh, the Places You’ll Go, and Mommy Wars. Sunnyside also has a calendar of events, which list all programs that are occurring today and in the future. The space is also companied by several YouTube videos; one of which includes a ten minutes documentary explaining why parents should not fear social networking sites. Another YouTube video describes what MySpace mean in the lives of today’s teens. Also provided on the space are links to free tutors, the library’s catalog, and a live homework helper [12].

[edit] Conclusion

Despite the concerns many parents have, libraries across the nation are turning to MySpace to provide their teen and young adult patrons a site where they can socialize with each other, as well as communicate with a reference librarian, receive homework help, search the library catalog, and view and request recommended materials. The five libraries that are mentioned in this report are only a few of the libraries that are involved with MySpace. For libraries that are interested in creating their own MySpace account simply go to MySpace sign up and start creating an account. Based on what other libraries have placed on their spaces, it is recommended that spaces include links to the library's catalog, and a recommended list of books, music, and DVDs. Some libraries even include YouTube videos and background music.

[edit] Notes

  1. ↑ (Aiken,2006)
  2. ↑ (Courtney, 2007, p.79)
  3. ↑ (Arthur et al, 2006)
  4. ↑ (Arthur et al, 2006)
  5. ↑ (Arthur et al, 2006)
  6. ↑ Farkas, 2007)
  7. ↑ (Greenwell & Kraemer, 2006)
  8. ↑ (Greenwell & Kraemer, 2006)
  9. ↑ (Farkas, 2007)
  10. ↑ (Denver Public Library)
  11. ↑ Oleck, 2007)
  12. ↑ Oleck, 2007)

[edit] References

Aiken, J. “Hands off MySpace”, American Libraries, August 2006.

Arthur, D., Sherman, C., Appel, D., & Moore, L. “Why young consumers adopt interactive technologies”, Young Consumers, Quart 2, 2006.

Courtney, N. (2007). Library and beyond, Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. ISBN 1-59158-537-6

Farkas, M. “Going where patrons are”, American Libraries, April 2007.

Greenwell, S. & Kraemer, B. “Social networking software: FaceBook and MySpace”, Kentucky Libraries, Fall 2006.

Oleck, J. “Libraries use MySpace to attract teens”, School Library Journal, July 2007.

[edit] Resources

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