The document discusses the significance of social networking sites for libraries, highlighting their popularity and potential for community engagement. It provides statistics on user visits and compares platforms like MySpace and Facebook, emphasizing how libraries can leverage these tools for outreach, communication, and resource sharing. Additionally, it addresses the importance of social networking literacy for users and suggests future considerations for library involvement in these digital spaces.

1. Social Networking Sites & Libraries Sharon Clapp Web Resources Librarian Connecticut State Library

2. What are “Social Networking Sites”? social networking site ( plural social networking sites ) ( Internet ) Websites that provide a virtual community in which people with a shared interest may communicate [from Wiktionary - http:// en.wiktionary.org/wiki/social_networking_site ] Most popular = MySpace

3. Why do libraries care about social networking sites? “ If there’s a consensus in technology, it’s that the next big thing after Google (Charts, Fortune 500) is social networking.” [from “As Facebook takes off, MySpace strikes back.” Kirkpatrick, David. Fortune : Sept. 19, 2007.]

4. Stats on Social Networking Sites September 2007 – Unique Visitors Facebook visitors, 24.2 million MySpace visitors, 67 million Google visitors, 124.5 million Page Views: MySpace Gets More than Google!

5. Stats on Library Sites September 2007 – Unique Visitors Library of Congress visitors, 1.6 million Worldcat, 912,180 Cslib.org, 28,538 [from Compete.com]

6. Social Networking Sites MySpace Facebook Orkut Friendster Bebo Xanga Plaxo Yahoo Mash - BETA LinkedIn Ning Manage them all via ProfileFly

7. Social Networking @ the Trustees’ Boot Camp Audience participation time…

8. Why Social Networking Sites? Free Easy to Use Popular – where your community is at! Continuously being developed

9. How Libraries Use Social Networking Sites Youth outreach Creation of online groups to support library (e.g., Friends, teen advisory) Lead into catalog, highlight collections, provide online reference through messaging Promote events Staff development & communication / professional networking [instead of intranet?] Create Facebook applications for searching library resources, keeping up with library news…

10. Good or Evil? Dark side of sites like MySpace Awareness of tools allows programming for youth, parents/caregivers – how to use social networking sites safely Importance of social networking site literacy for future employability

11. CT Libraries on MySpace http://www.myspace.com/danburylibrary http://www.myspace.com/darienlibrary http://www.myspace.com/windsorlibrary http://www.myspace.com/westportlibrary http://www.myspace.com/qvcclibrary (Quinebaug Valley Community College Library) http:// www.myspace.com/ccclibrary (Capital Community College Library)

12. Danbury Public Library - http:// www.myspace.com/danburylibrary

13. Windsor Public Library - http:// www.myspace.com/windsorlibrary

14. Jennifer – YA Librarian for Otis Library - http:// www.myspace.com/yabooknerd

15. InfoAnytime 24/7 Virtual Reference Service - http:// www.myspace.com/infoanytime

16. Brooklyn College Library – http://wwwmyspace.com/brooklyncollegelibrary

17. Facebook Ways it’s different than MySpace MySpace still tops, but Facebook is gaining significantly in popularity Facebook’s advantage is its applications feature [little programs that you can browse through, add to your Facebook, and/or create yourself] In August 2007, 14 million people interacted with their applications Opened to developers on May 29 th , by September, 5,000 applications created Facebook activity grew 32% from May to August, while MySpace activity decreased.

18. Facebook http://www.facebook.com Friends groups (e.g., Westport Library Pals) Library staff development groups Creation of Facebook Applications Login and demo

19. Facebook Demo: Groups – The Discussion Board

20. Facebook Demo: Applications

21. LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com

22. Ning – www.ning.com

24. Microblogging – What are you doing now (in 140 characters or less) Twitter Jaiku Pownce

25. Twitter – www.twitter.com

26. What would a library use Twitter for? Virtual reference – quick ?s Keeping up with the latest in professional development by following library leaders Fun way to market library activities or events

27. Neat Twitter features Mobility & flexibility – use from cell phones via text messaging or from web (or Facebook) Creation of instant short web addresses for articles you find online (tinyurls)

28. What next? Things for libraries to consider… What if search begins at social networking spaces – not at Google? Q. Where should our librarians be? [A. Online] … How?

29. Thank you! If you’d like a copy of this presentation, or would like to discuss any of these topics further – contact Sharon Clapp, Connecticut State Library: [email_address] 860-424-3617 Twitter – http://twitter.com/sclapp