Face to Facebook

I do happen to love Facebook. I keep up with friends from all over the place there. I am also a part of the ACRL group and the Library 2.0 group.

There are privacy issues when it comes to using social networking tools. If I were to use FB as a librarian, I would definitely start using the filtering tools to keep work and private sharing separate. Right now, it is not an issue for me but many libraries are starting to use FB as a communication tool between branches and departments as well as with the community.

Libraries at the very least need to examine the impact filtering social networking sites has on facility usage and/or public satisfaction. It would be an interesting piece of research to examine this effect. There are some days that I spend WAY too much time there, but I see some of my friends spending even more time there with all the crazy games and apps. Allowing access to social networking sites may change the demand for computer access. If there are not time limits on computer usage, there may need to be to allow greater numbers of users access.

2.0 Reference

It's about time for libraries to move into the 2.0 world for reference services. More people are communicating and spending time in the 2.0 world. Libraries that use Facebook or IM to answer reference questions will be best served if the staff are already using those services in their daily lives.

However, there comes a challenging point of whether staff will want to use the same account for private use as well as business. The issue of privacy in the social networking environment is touchy. Some people carry aliases to allow them more privacy and separation from their jobs and social lives. As librarians, who are concerned with patrons' privacy, we should also be concerned about our own privacy.

Should libraries use a generic account that displays no personal information about the employee responding to the reference inquiry? If so, how does that impact the sense of receiving personal service? As librarians continue to forge into the 2.0 environment, they will need to find the balance between the public role of the profession and online social privacy.