Up in the Stacks

Libraries can utilize social media to keep the community in the loop about library events, such as programs for children and book clubs. If I am entering a new space– library or otherwise –I will scour their social media accounts to get a lay of the land. Social media can bridge the gap between new patrons and the library. Social media posts that show librarians and users can create a space that is more inviting before a person has even visited. Social media can be a brutal place, but it is also notable for its instant feedback. The comment section is where library admins can build a community in different ways. They are able to view and react to comments or criticisms. A response doesn’t mean an argument. For example, I can’t imagine a library going back and forth with the public on the platform formally known as Twitter. Hopefully. Social media can be a place for libraries to see how the community is responding to recently implemented programs. Social media can be used to find what i...

  After reading this week’s articles about social media and libraries, how to get (and keep!) the attention of one’s audience has been on my mind.  It seems to be an ongoing challenge.   I have very little extra time lately, so I am very selective about how I spend that time on social media.   I looked into this a little more and found several sources. Some addressed social media in libraries, others were libraries themselves that had been recognized for their social media.   These suggestions are from the New Jersey State Library.   I enjoy seeing   what other libraries are doing! Taylor and Francis provide some helpful information  here.   This library ’s TikTok and Instagram became extremely popular, and I want to follow them myself now!

When considering public libraries' involvement in social media, the biggest reasons for use tend to be marketing and communication with the community. Social media platforms are great avenues to connect with existing or potential library users, and I wonder about employing them more for virtual programming. I remember after the Covid-19 pandemic hit the US in March 2020, libraries like mine scrambled to still offer services to the community with virtual programming largely not being practiced. As a society, we often talk of how busy life is today and know nearly everyone has a device constantly at their fingertips, which begs the question... why are more libraries not using that knowledge to their advantage for virtual programming?  A popular library program that could be moved to or have additional groups in a virtual setting are book clubs. With an increasing number of social media platforms out there that promote book discussion or discussions in general, now seems easier than e...

 Hello all,  While listening to one of my favorite radio channels, WBZ News Radio for Boston, they briefly covered a very interesting piece on the increasing price of ebooks in comparison to their physical counterparts. This has been an increasing issue, especially considering many libraries are trying to work with the ever-rising demand for ebooks from people borrowing books. because of this, they cannot afford as many copies and there is usually a very long wait for extremely popular titles. I ended up looking into this and found that this is not a new problem I received articles dating back as far as 2019. This comes as both no surprise and a bit of a surprise given the history of OA and other sources of that type. I'm including a fantastic article I found below on this matter that really helped break it down for me. Some of the craziest things that I read included the fact that some publishers don't allow libraries to lend out their books at all, the fact that print books ...

  The number of libraries, large and small, that have jumped into the social web is impressive and Choi’s literary review and marketing analysis indicates that libraries are more comfortable about the concept of integrating social media. A couple of small Maine libraries I am familiar with each handle things very differently, which makes me think about the staffing issues and user needs that our blogging group read about this week, but also information needs that are the core of our information science program. As if trying to strike a timing and outreach balance isn’t enough, libraries need to decide which platform(s) to use. Considering the wide age range of users they may be working with, it must be quite a challenge. Some people may have settled into their favorite platform, some simply don’t want to engage in social media through the library, and other members of the library community may be jolted by political issues such as those of X and TikTok. Pew Research  recently ...

 Just over a year ago, I was offered a position as the Sullivan Free Library's 'Community Engagement Librarian.' This side job has proven to be the perfect opportunity for me to dig into the works of a small-town public library.  I chose to take a social media course this semester because I knew it was an area that we needed to work on.  As I have been studying other organizations and their social media presence, I have noticed areas we are lacking and found myself thinking a little more deeply about how our library can take advantage of social media.  Right now our goal is to get people to visit the physical library and advertising on social media has been key in getting the word out about our programs.  But there is so much more that I would like to see happen.  Book talks, a place for advice and questions, and patron conversations are only the beginning of what I would like to see happening.  I occasionally share new titles by creating posters on Ca...

While considering social media in education, I thought about my local school district being a "Google district", meaning that the schools use Google applications for teachers, faculty, and students including Google classroom, Google Drive, Gmail, and more. I imagine teachers in a Google district who wish to incorporate social media into their lessons would enjoy the ease of using social network sites that permit login through Google. Gmail is also a common email provider outside of K-12 education, which means tons of college faculty members and students have Google accounts as well and use Google logins elsewhere.  Pinterest allows logging in through Google, but before now I never considered using the platform for school. (This realization did not even occur to me while creating a project showcasing Pinterest!) Its collaborative boards could be fantastic for group projects or peer feedback in the comment sections. Boards can be made secret so only collaborators can access the...

This week, I wanted to look more closely at the use of social media in education. Most kids growing up now are familiar with smartphones and social media. I was interested to see how a lesson plan about social media would actually look. I found that there were lesson plans addressing how to incorporate social media into the classroom.   The University of San Diego has many resources for social media use in the classroom There are many examples of lesson plans developed around social media. This one shares many ideas for  classroom use .  A teacher shares her experiences teaching about social media in the classroom  in this blog. It is important to think about the effect that social media has on students’ mental health. This video from PBS discusses it further and brings up what role schools can have in this.

I love learning, but I sometimes lack the discipline to be a true autodidact. I get distracted far too easily by the wide range of topics. One week is Spanish, while the next I'm onto history. Barring the rampant misinformation, we have the ability to explore so many topics through the web and social media. Social media can sometimes fill the gaps we are missing in school and within our community. When I first began my natural hair journey, there were very little credible sites on the internet, and companies simply did not carry products that preserved the health of Black natural hair. I discovered YouTube where a handful of Black women made videos demonstrating how they grew and maintained long, healthy hair. More than that, there were actual scientists who explained things at a molecular level. It was a powerful movement that engendered self-love. More recently, I have turned to social media to learn about the multiple genocides happening around the world. I have noticed now that...

Many conversations happen about the use of social media and its use in classrooms and schools.  Over the last couple of years, I have chatted with teachers both for and against the use of social media in the classroom.  Usually the comments against include things like "Kids are on social media outside of school, they don't need it in their school lives."  And then there is the "kids will get into inappropriate situations if social media is in school" concern.  While these concerns are relevant, we must also consider that it is time to meet students where they are at, rather than expect them to come to us.  I believe one of the biggest mistakes made in the history of education, which continues today, is that teachers expect kids to live in their generation and learn according to their standards, rules, and way of life.  While this is not the case for all teachers, it is for some and can cause frustration in the current generation.  I even heard a high s...

There are so many excellent ways that social media can be used in education, as listed and described by many companies, institutions, researchers and publications across those realms. Because teachers and professors usually organize content and connect with students by using software used by their parent institution, such as UB’s use of Blackboard and Brightspace, it seems that what is most useful beyond those basic platforms is anything that enables and encourages active learning and connectivism. Live exchange for language education, such as that analyzed by Lambton-Howard & Kharrufa (2021), offers much-needed practicing opportunities that might not otherwise be accessible. It’s also noted by Chugh & Ruhi(2018) that “the majority of young people adopt the role of consumers rather than full participants”; working in smaller, online study groups may make students feel more comfortable and therefore facilitate better learning. In the “Social media in the classroom” section of Sp...

 I've been struggling with the concept of information overload and the next steps I should take in my life. In other words, I have too many options and they aren't all that great. There is so much for me to think about and consider when it comes to doing something as simple as deciding to stay in state after graduation or leave that its become a bear to think about. I've found myself trying to research things on the internet such as cost of living in NYS vs Mass and general apartment costs and job opportunities. Despite finding a wealth of information its only seemed to make things worse, now I have too many options and I'm picking over every little detail. When thinking about it,  I think that this may be a pretty big factor in many peoples lives now a days. are you making a big decision? Go research it! Go ask others about it! I think given the over abundance of data at our finger tips in the modern day that things that may have helped to collect a bit of information ...

  The readings for this week made me start thinking about online reviews, and if they really can be relied on.   I know that if I can’t see an item in person, I rely much more heavily on online reviews before I purchase it. If there is a photo attached to the review of the item, even better! Why yes, I would like to read actual reviews of what that dress looks like, if it needed to be hemmed, and if what you ordered was what actually arrived. Do I want to see how that ottoman looks in your living room? Absolutely! And I want to see how much stuff you can fit in it and still have the lid close! So how do we know that we can actually trust the reviews we read?   Penn State’s article delves into this topic . The next question, then, is how can we tell if a review is fake?   NPR explores this further in their article . So, what can we do? Can we trust that the online reviews we are reading are accurate and reliable? Or should we go with our gut feeling?   This a...