For public libraries, they are much less proactive in using social networking tools than academic libraries. Little literature can be found especially on public libraries using social networking tools. OCLC’s report in 2007 attributed this phenomenon partly to the histories of tools: Facebook, which began as a social networking site for college students, was used significantly more by academic library directors (58%) than by public library directors (10%) (De Rosa et al., 2007).
As shown in tables 2 & 3, Reaching the no. above 2000 doesn’t seem difficult for libraries’ Facebook pages.
As shown in tables 2 & 3, Reaching the no. above 2000 doesn’t seem difficult for libraries’ Facebook pages.
The reasons may be that for academic libraries they can perceive the need to use Facebook to communicate with students clearly, since their main users are university students; for public libraries, their users are more diverse. They can be kids, primary-school students; middle school students; the olds and so on who are unlikely to log on Facebook or use Facebook frequently. This may blurs the vision of public libraries using Facebook to enhance their services for communities. As we observe from the trend of public libraries using Facebook in English- speaking countries, different from academic ones, public libraries seem to need more evidences to justify them using Facebook for libraries’ successfulness.
The advantages of Facebook were not explored and underused. Some libraries even used Facebook for real-time updating on the status of facilities which were out of order and had affected students. These usages distinguish the communicative functions of Facebook from that of other media, like blogs, wiki or RSS. As a result, libraries’ Facebook pages attract more users’ attentions. Clicks of “like” for posts happened more frequently.