Twitter - Tweets

Quick searches on topics of libraries and public libraries provided the following tweets of interest:

1. Comments on the role of a library - somewhere to go now that bookshops are closing down..

Visit: Can libraries pick up the slack from bookstores? - The Washington Post http://pwne.ws/SkJ1CO

twitted on 2/11/12 by Publishers Weekly@PublishersWkly –> Takes you to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/all-opinions-are-local/post/can-libraries-pick-up-the-slack-from-bookstores/2011/03/09/gJQAXpn4ta_blog.html

2. Interesting facts on libraries
Visit: Evidently, some ghosts are eternal bookworms: 10 haunted libraries around the world: http://oedb.org/blogs/ilibrarian/2012/10-haunted-libraries-of-the-us/ … via @mental_floss

Twitted on 3/11/12 by Grace Ioppolo@ProfShakespeare –> Takes you to:
http://oedb.org/blogs/ilibrarian/2012/10-haunted-libraries-of-the-us/

3. Interesting ideas on where a library can exist - not just inside a building!

Visit: Public phone booths in New York repurposed into libraries http://bit.ly/AoB8k2

Twitted on 2/11/12 by Lost at E Minor @lostateminor –> Takes you to:
http://www.lostateminor.com/2012/03/10/public-phone-booths-in-new-york-repurposed-into-libraries/
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This prompted me to search for another area of interest - Repurposing aka recycling/reusing items

Visit: Coolness!! -> 30 Creative Ways to Repurpose & Reuse Old Stuff
Bored Panda http://www.boredpanda.com/creative-reuse-upcycling-repurposing-ideas/ … via @boredpanda

Twitted on 9/11/12 by Yonela Tananda@yonelatananda
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Twitter to me seems to be another great tool for promoting events, items for sale, people, places and things. Simply send a quick tweet with a link to a website for more information for interested parties.

Searches for my own library shows tweets on upcoming author talks, school holiday programs for the kids and dates for the next book sale.
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Twitter as a loudspeaker to announce what someone is currently wearing, eating, doing on a daily basis is less interesting but can be useful for instance in the event of a natural disaster.  The ability to quickly announce ones location or alert others to a dangerous situation cannot be denied ... as long as someone you know checks your tweets.

Social networking ... online

Facebook? Bebo? Twitter?
Decaynne? Orkut? Foursquare?
Nexopia? Studivz? Myspace? Friendster?
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Which social networking tool should a library use?

There are so many options which a library could choose from but
Facebook certainly seems to be the most popular (for now).

Perhaps the main question one should ask is --
should a library use a social networking tool at all?
______________________________________

As a service provided by a local council we already have space on the
council's website. Library members, new residents, ratepayers and
interested parties can all gain access to information about the library
and it's catalog. The IT person at our library and community
information staff already contribute and manage this data in what
can be quite a time consuming activity.

AS one of the busiest library services in NSW do we really need to have a facebook page too?
___________________________________________________

The answer is No and Yes. No, for just some of the reasons already
listed but also Yes for just some of the following reasons:

* To make users of social networking tools (in this case facebook) who are not part of the local community area aware of the library and to provide access (a link) to the library's (and council's) website. [ADVERTISE]

--> Some of the information provided on this facebook page could be just snippets of what is already found on the library page of the council's website or it could be an extension of what is already there.

Examples could include:

1. Pictures and embedded videos of recent events at the library - e.g. children's school holiday programs

2. Pictures and embedded videos of historical events involving the library - e.g. the original library's demolition through to it's rebirth in 2011 as part of the concourse developement

*To allow library member's to interact and choose what information they want to receive and when. [CLIENT INTERACTION]

Examples of this interaction could include:

1. Allowing library members to suggest items for purchase, vote on their favourite books and write reviews on them.

2. Providing library members with the ability to sign up for the library newsletter, notification of the author talks and other council events e.g. bushwalks or the Spring Festival

* To provide other means of communication between libraries and other related organisations [NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES]

---> We could be "friends" with not only our neighbouring libraries but also with those around Australia and the world.

Photo: "Blue Marble (Planet Earth)" by Woodleywonderworks found on Flickr, courtesy of NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center.