Social Networking Tools

This week I created a Facebook account. I found some old and some new friends and colleagues to add to my Facebook account (very nice). As part of the exercises I added several applications, which I found to be great additions to have close at hand. Visit me on my Facebook account and ask me to become your friend.

1. How can MLA use social networking to connect to members?
It seems to me that MLA could use social networking in multiple ways to connect to members. First, it can be another way to push out information to members. More importantly, I think it is a way to seek information from a "group" of people - to provide feedback to the organization from a greater mass. It could be a way of speeding up the work of the Board, as communication mechanisms make it easier to connect with the membership. Some of the annual meeting business with the membership could be conducted away from the meeting leaving time for alternative programming or discussion of meaty items affecting the organization and profession. Additionally, these types of tools lend themselves toward greater education and CE opportunities. Shorter, more targeted programs could be made available to members multiple times a year.

2. Should my library have a presence on Facebook, MySpace?
We have conducted preliminary inquiries, consulted the literature and have found that at this time there are very few health sciences libraries using Facebook. As part of the University Libraries system however, the general libraries have created a presence on Facebook directed toward our undergraduate population.

3. Are there privacy issues?
This is where I tend to have some difficulty, it is a fine balance between providing information and fearing that there are individuals (albeit few in relation to the numbers) who compromise the safety of individuals on these systems. Where is this balance? And it changes depending upon the type of information one is placing out there and for what purpose. Having voiced my concerns, there are scads of individuals placing lots and lots of information out there, and I don't think that trend is going to stop.

4. What did you like or not like about your experience?
I must admit after creating my Facebook account, I found that the applications and communication capabilities under one source could be a benefit of time and access. With time being such a precious commodity the greater number of things you can accomplish from one destination the greater the appeal. This poses challenges for libraries, because instead of coming to our sites, individuals are beginning to take what they need - often leaving other relevant & quality resources behind (not to mention any new resources that could be missed.)