Exercise 5: If you are a Facebook member you might like to join the “Libraries are important” site.

Why Libraries Should choose another formation over social networking sites

I do not believe that engaging in social networking websites is of value to a library. Social networking sites are not a format that is more useful to libraries that a webpage of their own or an account on other websites such as youtube. Being involved on a social networking site does allow members with library cards to be involved with the library that way, but it also opens the doors for the more frivolous silly commends and 'who has the most friends' games that such sites can promote.

The various other formats however allow for equally efficient communication using email without any of the downside. Additionally their layout and content can be customised to a far greater degree that most social networking sites, allowing information to be more readily found and interlinked. While sites like youtube can be useful to helping the library interact with clients, social networking sites do not.

Therefore while involvement with social networking sites can allow libraries to reach clients, I do not view the use of social networking sites as useful strategy as the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Most library clients would not be interested in joining and the promotion of silliness outweighs the benefits of the small scale client-library discourse that may take place.