Week 5 Social Media, is it worth it?

I do agree that Social Media is a great tool for Libraries. This course was very interesting and it did offer some idea's I hadn't thought of before. I do feel with my library that Facebook and Twitter are the way to go.  I am still trying to build up our followers on Facebook but it seems in this small town not too many of our patrons are into Social Media. I feel like I am forcing it on them at times and there is very little interest shown by them.

For us I think it would be a waste of time to use Instagram, or Youtube. In bigger areas or libraries with a younger patron following it would be a great tool for their libraries.

I use our Facebook page to keep patrons up to date on new book arrivals, magazine, and special events at the library or in our town. One of our top posts was the picture I shared of the new sitting area furniture that we added recently. Facebook is a great way to reach your community and to let them see that there are some exciting and fun things going on at their library.

I am trying to link our Facebook page to our Twitter account. When you link the two, everything you post on your Facebook page goes automatically to your Twitter.

Week 4 Instagram

Okay I used my good friend Google because searching through Instagram was fruitless. I found UOREGONLIBRARIES which is a University of Oregon Library. instagram.com/uoregonlibraries. 
They seem to be using Instagram to show what the Library h as to offer it's students. They mostly have 
pictures of the aisles, and sections of their library.

The other one I looked at was http://instagram.com/utklibraries/ which is for the University of Tennessee.  This page showed pictures of some of the things they are doing at their library. They even take pictures of different events such as National Writing Day. I also saw pictures of different events like massage demonstrations. This was a pretty fun and upbeat page that I think is very well directed towards their students.

Hey Wow look at me I am taking to blogging.

Huh you can make some pretty awesome layouts too. okay there is something to this blogging Miranda :)

Week 3 Youtube

I picked a video that showed it's patrons how to use the Overdrive program. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx7kFLGKwx8

I liked how the presenter talked patrons through signing up/logging in and how to check out the books. A really good feature that was used is a pen to draw circles around what she was talking about so it was easier to understand what she was trying to convey.  The presenter also showed how to check out different versions of the Ebooks they offer. Walking patrons through step by step is a great way to teach them how to use Overdrive.

I watched Diane's youtube video choice-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j32h-h27lgA which showed some activities a library does for it's young patrons. It was interesting to see some different things the library did with it's story time. It wasn't a traditional story time, they did some singing and stretching first to get the kids involved.

Week 2 Pinetrest

1. I visited https://www.pinterest.com/occclibrary/ This page shows you a lot of good information such as books that are banned, recommended books, and also gives research tips. Since they cover a lot of different area's if I were to have a Pinterest page I would like to set it up similar to theirs. They have a lot of helpful information.

I also visited https://www.pinterest.com/famulibraries/This is for a college in Florida and they share new book arrivals as well as give information about their facility. You can even reserve books through their page. I really like this idea since a lot of people use social media it would be a great asset to allow patrons to reserve books online so they can just stop by quickly and pick up their book.

2 .I read Doris Anne's blog and she discussed how she has been searching for a good book review blog but hasn't had much luck in finding any that reviewed the books and authors she wanted. Maybe this is lacking on Pinterest and some SDSL members could fill the void.

Week 1 Social Media

Question of the week:
What are four kinds of things libraries are doing with Facebook?
Start a new post on your blog to complete this assignment.  
1.  Look at some library Facebook pages and give examples.  
2.  Read and comment on one of your classmate's posts on this question.

1. Yankton Library post pictures of new book arrivals, which is a great idea to get patrons in to check out the latest book releases.

2.Custer Library posts pictures of events that take place at their library. A great way to get patrons involved in their library

3.Lead Library posted about a fund raising event for their library. A great way to get the community involved with making sure their library has funds to keep providing them with current resources.

4.Potter Country posts their hours and location to help patrons know when they can come into the library.


I read Miranda's blog. I like her comments on what she likes about what each library does with their social media.