Page | 1
Performance Rubric: Research Paper
Criteria and Qualities
Unacceptable
Does Not Meet Standard
Acceptable
Meets Standard
Target
Beyond Standard
Point Value
Introducing the idea
Neither implicit nor explicit reference is made to the topic.
Reference is made to overall problem, challenge or topic.
The topic is introduced and groundwork is laid as to the direction of the paper.
Understanding of the issue
Disjointed reference to key concepts, or only some of the key concepts are referenced. Paper appears to have no direction and subtopics lack flow and/or clarity.
No reflection.
Key concepts are referenced and identified. There is a basic flow from one paragraph to the next but not all follow natural or logical order.
Reflection on significance to library discipline is evident.
Key concepts are referenced and identified. Concepts follow logical order. Transitions tie ideas and paragraphs together.
Reflection on significance to the library discipline is well supported.
Synthesis of ideas and application
There is no indication the author tried to synthesize the information or make a conclusion. No application to library discipline.
Author provided concluding remarks showing analysis and synthesis of ideas. Some conclusions not supported. Application to library discipline is stated.
Succinct and precise conclusions showing analysis and synthesis. Conclusions and application to the library discipline are strongly supported.
Clarity of Writing
It is hard to know what the writer is trying to express. Writing is convoluted.
Writing is generally clear, but unnecesary works are occasionally used. Meaning is sometimes obscure. Sentence structure too repetitive.
Writing is crisp, clear, and succinct. The writer supports ideas with examples. Meaning is clear.
References
Less than 3 References
More than 5 years old
3 References
Less than 5 years old
3+ References
Less than 5 years old
Grammar & mechanics
Remember this includes errors in the usage of common punctuation i.e., commas, periods, verb tense, misspelled words and other errors. PROOFREAD CAREFULLY!
4-6 errors
Misspelled words, incorrect grammar, and improper punctuation are evident.
1-3 errors
Few spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors are made.
0 errors
No spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors are made.
APA Style
Remember this includes citation errors within the paper and errors citing sources on the Reference page.
4-6 errors
Did not follow APA formating and missing essential information.
1-3 errors
A few errors in essential information and / or format were evident.
0 errors
Citations did follow APA format. Essential information was accurate and complete.
ACTIVATING LIBRARY 2.0
1
MEDA 5950
Renee Lyons
Activating Library 2.0: A Research Proposal
INTRODUCTION
The continually evolving role of the library in communities and schools calls for regular reevaluation of the the library's approach to fulfilling that role. One of the most .
1. Page | 1
Performance Rubric: Research Paper
Criteria and Qualities
Unacceptable
Does Not Meet Standard
Acceptable
Meets Standard
Target
Beyond Standard
Point Value
Introducing the idea
Neither implicit nor explicit reference is made to the topic.
Reference is made to overall problem, challenge or topic.
The topic is introduced and groundwork is laid as to the
direction of the paper.
Understanding of the issue
Disjointed reference to key concepts, or only some of the key
concepts are referenced. Paper appears to have no direction and
subtopics lack flow and/or clarity.
No reflection.
Key concepts are referenced and identified. There is a basic
flow from one paragraph to the next but not all follow natural or
logical order.
Reflection on significance to library discipline is evident.
Key concepts are referenced and identified. Concepts follow
logical order. Transitions tie ideas and paragraphs together.
Reflection on significance to the library discipline is well
supported.
Synthesis of ideas and application
There is no indication the author tried to synthesize the
2. information or make a conclusion. No application to library
discipline.
Author provided concluding remarks showing analysis and
synthesis of ideas. Some conclusions not supported.
Application to library discipline is stated.
Succinct and precise conclusions showing analysis and
synthesis. Conclusions and application to the library discipline
are strongly supported.
Clarity of Writing
It is hard to know what the writer is trying to express. Writing
is convoluted.
Writing is generally clear, but unnecesary works are
occasionally used. Meaning is sometimes obscure. Sentence
structure too repetitive.
Writing is crisp, clear, and succinct. The writer supports ideas
with examples. Meaning is clear.
References
Less than 3 References
More than 5 years old
3 References
Less than 5 years old
3+ References
Less than 5 years old
Grammar & mechanics
Remember this includes errors in the usage of common
punctuation i.e., commas, periods, verb tense, misspelled words
and other errors. PROOFREAD CAREFULLY!
4-6 errors
Misspelled words, incorrect grammar, and improper punctuation
are evident.
1-3 errors
Few spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors are made.
0 errors
No spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors are made.
APA Style
Remember this includes citation errors within the paper and
3. errors citing sources on the Reference page.
4-6 errors
Did not follow APA formating and missing essential
information.
1-3 errors
A few errors in essential information and / or format were
evident.
0 errors
Citations did follow APA format. Essential information was
accurate and complete.
ACTIVATING LIBRARY 2.0
1
MEDA 5950
Renee Lyons
Activating Library 2.0: A Research Proposal
INTRODUCTION
The continually evolving role of the library in communities and
schools calls for regular reevaluation of the the library's
approach to fulfilling that role. One of the most significant
shifts in community interaction in recent years has been the
explosion of interactive, collaborative, socially-focused, web-
based media, commonly referred to as Web 2.0 or social
networking applications. Preliminary research indicates that
4. these new, user-focused internet applications offer a variety of
excellent tools that libraries and librarians are beginning to take
advantage of in order to network with, market to, and engage
users on new levels (Carscaddon, 2009; Fiehn, 2008; Mon,
2009; Shamel, 2009). Thus, the intent of this research is to
evaluate the potential for popular social networking sites to be
used by young adult librarians to increase teen patrons' interest
in and awareness of library resources.
Social networking media are by their very nature flexible,
changing constantly in response to the manner in which they are
used (e.g., the evolution of microblogging in response to the
popularity of blogs). Libraries are finding it ever more
necessary to develop a similar adaptability. By adopting
preexisting and publicly available social networking
technology, young adult librarians have the opportunity to
experiment with a broad range of possible tools at no cost to
them. Since many teenagers are already avid users of this
technology, it provides the perfect forum in which to seek their
attention. In return, teenagers are given the opportunity to give
feedback directly to the library via such tools as Twitter
conversations, Facebook wall posts, blog comments, and
student-created booktalk podcasts. A new feeling of
involvement in the creation and adaptation of library resources
and content can help to instill in young adults a sense of
community, responsibility, ownership and pride in their
libraries.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Why Does Web 2.0 Matter to Libraries?
Overall internet use has increased dramatically in the last few
years, and physical use of libraries has also increased; however,
5. from 2004-2007, use of individual library websites showed a
marked decline (Hill, 2009). With the library and the internet
both thriving, this decline indicates a failure to integrate the
two in ways that appeal to and attract information seekers. In
order to keep pace with current societal and information trends,
the library must develop and maintain an active and engaging
online presence that utilizes the tools and technologies that
appeal to contemporary patrons. The increasing popularity of
Web 2.0 tools, particularly among teenagers and young adults,
suggests a need for libraries to explore and utilize these tools.
Web 2.0 technologies have been growing more and more
prevalent throughout the Internet over the past several years,
resulting in the proliferation of social networking sites and
web-based communities such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace,
and LibraryThing, among many others. Web 2.0 applications are
designed to be interactive and collaborative tools that enable
users to create, share, alter and enhance content on the Web.
These applications are a significant shift from older "Web 1.0"
sites, with which users were simply passive recipientss of
information. (Fiehn 2008; Mon 2009).
In recent years, the annual Internet Librarian conference has
focused on determining the potential of newly emerging Web
2.0 technology. With the theme "Beyond 2.0: User-Focused
Tools and Practices," the October, 2008 conference shifted
away from emerging technologies to focus on possible uses for
existing tools. Speaker Danah Boyd noted that web-based
networks have shifted their hubs from topical or interest-based
axes to social ones (Shamel, 2009). These networks frequently
include large social groups: for instance, a student's network
may include their entire class, public figures, and celebrities as
well as close friends.
6. The ubiquity and expansion of the Web has led to information
overload, in which users are faced with constant, instantaneous
access to vast quantities of unfiltered, unverified, often
irrelevant, and possibly inaccurate information. Online social
networks help users to filter out less personally relevant content
in order to discover what is most useful and interesting to their
friends and associates, and, by extension, what the users
themselves are likely to find useful and interesting. Twitter,
Facebook, FriendFeed and related applications "turn
information dissemination on its head, using friends and
subscribers as a filter for the best, most credible, and most
engaging information out there" (Carscaddon, 2009).
Because students are already using social networking sites and
software, establishing a library presence in these same spheres
offers the opportunity to be regularly " 'sprinkling library
content into the library user's workflow' [in order to] facilitate
access to library resources without requiring the user to
navigate to the library's homepage" (Shamel, 2009). Utilization
of social networking tools and sites like blogs, Twitter and
Facebook enable the library to extend its presence and its
influence into a number of environments at one time.
In school libraries, Web 2.0 technology can be used to
supplement and enhance established educational tools and
practices in a way that conforms the system to the learner,
rather than the learner to the system. Social networking
platforms can facilitate peer-to-peer learning, customization,
collaboration, personalization and "informal learning
opportunities that... can better suit young people who have
struggled with the industrial one-size-fits-all style of teaching
that still characterizes the mainstream school systems in most
developed nations" (Notley, 2008).
7. Educational technology advocates argue that it's not enough for
educators to maintain a passing familiarity with new
technologies, but that schools now need social media experts,
due to the fact that "social media platforms such as Facebook,
and, of course, Twitter are critical to 21st-century learning"
(Carscaddon, 2009). Valenza and Johnson (2009) suggest that,
as librarians and educators, "We need to stop fighting against
Wikipedia and Twitter... Demonizing any particular information
source that the world values makes us look clueless." As digital
technologies continue to evolve, libraries and librarians must be
willing to evolve along with them if they are to have any hope
of remaining relevant.
Research has suggested that young people can gain significant
social and educational benefits through online networking.
These benefits are not inherent, however, but context-based,
stemming not from technology itself but from the manner in
which technology is used. Rather than unilaterally banning
social networks, "we need to start by asking which networks
different young people inhabit, how they make use of these
networks, and then consider how this use interacts with and
impacts upon their lives" (Notley, 2008). A 2007 study
indicated that Australian teenagers aged 15-17 spent, on
average, two and a half hours online each day, and that the
majority of this time was spent interacting with social networks
that they have joined voluntarily. In another study, "young
people aged 11-19 years rated the Internet as the fourth most
important source of advice and support after friends, parents
and relatives/family friends" (Notley, 2008).
Facebook and Twitter: Use Patterns and Possible Applications
8. Facebook, which grew by 149 percent between February, 2008
and February, 2009, continues to gain attention as a potential
library marketing tool. As of August, 2009, Facebook ranks as
the fourth most-trafficked website in the world. A free and
imminently customizable website, Facebook is already heavily
visited by students with Internet access. As such, it is ideally
positioned for use by school libraries as a marketing and
communication tool. Extending the library's presence to
Facebook -- going where the students are -- increases visibility
and awareness of the library's available resources and services.
One of the site's unique features is its applications, which are
small, free programs developed specifically for Facebook,
usually by third-party developers. Individuals can choose to use
and embed applications in their personal profiles, where they
are readily accessible at any time. A recently developed
application called Book Clubs shows clear potential for
fostering book-centered conversation among teens. In the first
half of 2009 the application was heavily trafficked by readers
wanting to discuss Stephanie Meyers' popular Twilight series
(Whelan, 2009; Rethlefsen, 2009; Sekyere, 2009).
Twitter is a free social networking site that originated the
concept of "micro-blogging." Users register for an account and
begin posting messages, called tweets, of up to 140 characters.
A user's tweets are visible to anyone who elects to "follow" that
user. Since the site was founded in 2006, a spectrum of online
communities have developed within the "Twitterverse," often
focused around common personal or professional interests.
Twitter is currently being used by librarians in order to connect
with other library professionals, educators, and even authors; to
keep current on news, products, and trends in the field; to share
9. ideas, brainstorm and collaborate; and to seek and share
recommendations of all kinds (Carscaddon, 2009; Cole, 2009;
Valenza, 2009). Librarians can use Twitter to consult colleagues
on policy issues or to get opinions on products and services
before buying them. Because tweets can be sent and received
via cell phone text message, the service provides
unprecedented portability that many librarians are presently
using to keep updated, make or change plans, and network
during conferences and at other times when it is not feasible to
remain connected to a computer.
Sonja Cole (2009) suggests "20 ways for librarians to use
Twitter," including tips on professional networking, marketing
library programs and services, and asking for and offering help
and advice. Librarians can recommend books or ask for
recommendations, share book lists, start Twitter-based book
clubs, and share links to web-based library resources such as
book talks, podcasts and blog posts. Such measures are designed
to quickly and easily distribute library content and information
to the widest possible audience.
Hashtags, a word or phrase attached to the # symbol (e.g.
#Web2.0, #AASL, or #Twilight), create searchable topics
allowing Twitter users to track and participate in topically
specific discussions. Hashtags are already heavily used during
library conference times (Carscaddon, 2009), but their potential
is broad. Since users can search for, initiate and participate in
conversations relating to any topic of choice, the medium could
easily be utilized to create short-form book clubs across the
entire Twitterverse.
Current thought trends amongst library professionals indicate
that employment of Twitter and other social networking
10. applications has become a necessity in the field -- at least, that
is the indication amongst those library professionals who are
already making use, personally, professionally or both, of Web
2.0 tools. Karl Fisch, director of technology at Arapahoe High
School in Centennial, CO., asks via his Twitter feed
(http://twitter.com/karlfisch), "What's the point of having a
media specialist if they aren't specialists in the media forms of
the day?" (Valenza, 2009).
Embedding Web 2.0 Tools in Library OPACS
Developers of library software have for several years been
exploring the possibilities of integrating Web 2.0 and social
networking technologies into the school library OPAC. Follett
Software Company's aptly named Destiny Quest, released in
July of 2008, is specifically designed to appeal to students who
are accustomed to the colorful, interactive and social nature of
the internet. Destiny Quest allows students and teachers to rate
and review books, upload audio and video, offer
recommendations, and request items for purchase. Many other
OPAC developers have released or are working on similar
products. A far cry from the traditional OPAC, which is
generally little more than a computerized card catalog, this sort
of collaborative tool invites users to create and share content
rather than passively absorbing it (Feihn, 2008).
Studies indicate that digitally knowledgeable patrons have
different expectations of the library catalog than do librarians.
These patrons want the OPAC to function much like other web-
based tools, with graphics, summaries, reviews and interactive
content (Feihn, 2009). One-dimensional library websites
designed according to outdated information standards are no
longer viable options.
11. There is evidence that collaborative features such as those
utilized by booksellers, allowing website users to rate and
review books, may help to increase circulation. These features
may be particularly valuable in schools, where peer-to-peer
recommendations are one of the primary sources students cite in
book selection. Language arts instructors can collaborate with
librarians to produce high-quality student-written book reviews
for OPACs, thus allowing students not only to search for books
but to contribute to the catalog's content (Fiehn, 2009). Still,
even in school libraries which enjoy access to these tools, there
is often minimal use of these additions due to "hesitation based
on lack of knowledge of how this will really work" in schools
(Feihn, 2008). Though the use of Web 2.0 in library OPACs is
outside the scope of this study, it is worth noting that there is a
need for more research in order to determine whether
interactive, multimedia features in OPACS are worth the time
investment they require for utilization.
Information Technology and Credibility
It is necessary for librarians to demonstrate an active presence
on social networking sites if they wish to to establish authority
and credibility in those venues. Studies show that, in general,
college undergraduate and graduate students do not feel that
librarians possess the skills necessary to assist patrons in using
Web 2.0 tools. When asked about their preferred sources of help
with Web 2.0 applications, the most frequently cited were "the
Internet" and "friends." One undergraduate specifically stated "I
would ask Google, the best librarian" (Mon & Randeree, 2009).
College and graduate students often cited younger people --
namely "teens," "kids" and "high school students" -- as a good
source of information regarding Web 2.0. Studies show that, as
12. of 2007, 55% of all connected U.S. teenagers had Facebook or
MySpace pages, and that social networking sites were among
the sites most frequently accessed from library computers. Mon
and Randeree's findings (2009) indicate the possible emergence
of a new digital divide based not on access but on a
participation gap between those who understand and utilize new
information technologies, and those who do not.
As the nature of technology, information, and education evolve,
so do the students themselves. In order to maintain its relevance
and usefulness, the school library must strive to keep pace not
solely with the changing information landscape, but also with
changing student behaviors. "If we are truly information
professionals, we need not only to keep up, but also to be on the
cutting edge of changes in the search and information
landscapes" (Valenza, 2009). If librarians wait to adopt new
tools and process until they become so ubiquitous that they have
no choice, they lose credibility for expertise, and thus their
relevance, within that particular sphere.
Conclusions
With information more available and accessible than ever,
"Libraries need to change from places just to get stuff to places
to make stuff, do stuff, and share stuff" (Valenza, 2009).
Multimedia web-based tools offer libraries the opportunity to be
ubiquitous: to be and to teach everywhere, any time through
blog posts, tweets, interactive OPACs, podcasts and more.
Though some academic libraries are already using Web 2.0
applications such as Facebook and Twitter to market to and
interact with students, there is at present minimal data
indicating how this presence is perceived and received by
13. students, and whether it has had any marked impact on students'
library use. Mon and Randeree (2009) note the need for
continuing research and observation in order to determine the
usefulness and possible necessity of integrating Web 2.0
training into standard LIS curriculum: "The advent of Web 2.0
information resources and services brings with it the need for
research to understand its impact on libraries, librarians, and
library and information science (LIS) education -- an area
increasingly being referred to as Library 2.0."
METHODOLOGY
This study is intended to evaluate the potential for popular
social networking applications to be employed in the promotion
of library media and services to teens. The study will focus on
teenagers, age 14-18, currently attending high school in the
U.S., who are able to access the internet and who voluntarily
make use of social networking sites. The study will not attempt
to influence student use of social networking sites; nor will it
examine the use or implications of internet filters on library or
school media center computers. There will be no attempt to
control the geographical distribution of participants within the
parameters of the United States, though geographical data will
be collected and analyzed for relevance at the end of the study.
The hypothesis is that social networking applications such as
Facebook and Twitter, when used by librarians as a motivational
tool, increase teen patrons' interest in and awareness of library
resources. The assumptions are that the popularity of these
social networking applications will continue; that teens will
continue to make use of these applications; and that the teens
who respond to the initial survey, and those who attend the
schools that participate in the study, are representative of the
collective body of American high school students currently
14. making use of social networking applications.
A pilot study will be completed in order to determine which
social networking applications teens are currently using, and
which features of these applications they particularly enjoy. The
pilot study will take the form of a questionnaire (see prototype,
Attachment A), which will be distributed digitally in order to
reach a large number of possible respondents.
The questionnaire will be distributed and promoted through the
social networking utilities being studied. On the social
networking website Facebook (http://www.facebook.com), for
example, survey applications are tremendously popular and tend
to be extremely viral, spreading quickly through interconnected
networks of friends. On the microblogging site Twitter
(http://twitter.com), which allows users to share thoughts, ideas
and links in posts up to 140 typed characters long, a link to a
survey may be shared, or “retweeted,” countless times, thus
appearing in a large number of users' feeds. In addition to
exposing the survey, at zero cost, to the largest possible number
of potential respondents, a digital approach has the additional
value of directing the survey specifically at the exact market we
wish to study: those who already make use of these social
networking sites.
Sample
Based on the information gathered by the survey, a small
sample of librarians will be asked to establish a presence for
their libraries on select social networking sites. Five to ten
school librarians currently working in U.S. high schools will be
solicited for voluntary participation via the existing Facebook
page for the Young Adult Library Services Association, or
15. YALSA (http://www.facebook.com/yalsa), and the existing
Twitter page for the American Association of School Librarians,
or AASL (http://twitter.com/aasl). The researcher will attempt
to select participants representing varied geographic regions and
student body size and composition. A minimum of five
participating libraries allows for a diverse sample, while a
maximum of ten limits the scope of the study to a manageable
size.
Instrumentation
Participants will be asked to actively maintain their newly
established social media presence over the course of ninety days
by using social networking utilities in ways similar to the
student use patterns reflected by the pilot surveys. For example,
if students express a strong interest in Twitter, the librarians
will be asked to establish Twitter accounts, “follow” as many
Twitter users from their student body as can be readily found,
and maintain a regular feed of posts, or "tweets," intended to
interest students in books, reading, and available library media
and programs.
Librarians will be issued guidelines outlining basic expectations
for participation. Again using Twitter as an example, librarians
will be asked to tweet at least once per weekday, but not more
than five times (direct responses to individuals excepted from
the maximum). Tweets should vary in subject matter, and
include such information as new book information, library event
details, links to interesting articles and blogs, and book
recommendations. Communication between participating
librarians will be encouraged in order to foster as much balance
and creativity as possible. (In fact, simply following one
another's tweets would likely foster a degree of collaboration
amongst participants.)
16. Librarians will need to monitor teen responses for
appropriateness. Where possible, such as on a Facebook wall,
inappropriate responses will be deleted. Students who post
inappropriately on library sites will be contacted privately (an
option on most social networking sites), informed that their post
has been removed, and asked not to post inappropriate
comments or materials in future. If the same student posts
inappropriate material a second time, the library will sever his
or her contact with the library page.
The researcher will be an active participant throughout the
duration of the study, interacting directly with the students on a
regular basis through the research tools. In this respect, the
consistency and validity of results will be dependent on the
effectiveness of the researcher's involvement. The researcher's
commitment to the project, enthusiasm, and ability to engage
the students' interest is a variable which can only be recorded
and analyzed, not controlled.
Correspondingly, the tools utilized in the study (e.g. initial
surveys distributed via social networking sites) will necessarily
be adapted to the specific social media being examined. Given
this, the tools cannot be defined in advance, but only loosely
outlined. Their final form will be dictated by the exact nature
and course of the study itself.
Data Collection
Over the course of the study period, the researcher will visit
each of the participating libraries' pages on a weekly basis in
order to record statistical data such as number of friends or
17. "followers"; number of library-generated posts or tweets; and
number of responding posts or tweets. At the end of the
proscribed time frame, a new survey will be administered
directly to students at the participating schools soliciting
feedback on their impressions of the library's use of social
networking media. Were they aware of the library's presence on
various social networks? If so, did they have positive, neutral or
negative feelings about this presence? In what ways, if any, did
it affect their perception of the library and/or books and
reading? Did library posts featuring or reviewing books
influence their reading selections? Did they use the library
more as a result of this online presence? Did they make new or
additional use of library technology as a result? Do they better
understand ways in which the library may help with homework
or projects? Would they welcome the library's continued
participation in these forums? In what ways would they like to
see the library involved?
Additionally, at the end of this time frame, the participating
librarians will be interviewed in order to gather their
impressions regarding the experiment. This interview will
attempt to discern whether the librarians feel that the
experiment was successful in raising students' awareness of and
interest in library resources, and whether there was any
apparent increase in student usage of these resources during the
trial period. It will also seek to determine whether the librarians
were able to maintain regular and enthusiastic participation in
the experiment.
Participants will be given the opportunity to express any
conclusions they may have drawn from their involvement, and
any thoughts or ideas they may have developed during the
course of the experiment. They will be asked whether they
intend to continue to maintain their library's social media pages
18. after the conclusion of the experiment, and given the
opportunity to explain why or why not.
Data Analysis
Data analysis for this study will be both quantitative and
qualitative. Quantitative analysis will focus on the numerical
statistics collected by the researcher, such as the number of
friends or followers for each participating page and the number
of outgoing and incoming posts for each page. Some student
responses gathered from the concluding surveys may also be
studied qualitatively, such as how many new resources students
became aware of, or how many new books they read, as a result
of social networking interaction with the library. These data
will be graphed and analyzed in order to determine patterns in
student involvement over the course of the study period. The
data will be compared both independently, on a school-by-
school basis, and as a whole.
Data collected from the student surveys and the participant
interviews given at the end of the study, as well as participant
feedback gathered from tweets, wall posts, etc., will be
analyzed qualitatively. Positive, neutral and negative responses
from both students and librarians will be examined and
compared in order to determine what impact, if any, the
libraries' presence had on students' awareness and utilization of
library resources, and on their opinion of the library and its
resources. This analysis will necessarily be somewhat
subjective.
Importance of the Study
19. As information becomes more and more digitized, access to that
information is becoming more and more socially centralized
online (e.g. on the user-controlled Wikipedia). As we move
toward a post-literate society, defined as a society in which
multimedia electronic culture supplants written culture (Valenza
and Johnson, 2009), libraries must strive to maintain a distinct,
active and valuable presence wherever people are seeking
information. If libraries fail to maintain this presence and
utility, they cease to have a viable role in contemporary society.
Libraries must keep pace with technology and its changing
applications, or risk being supplanted by them.
The emphasis in library development needs to shift away from
the concept of industry-wide best practice ideals, and toward
more locally focused customer service ideals. The concept of
"best practice," once focused on asking what libraries should be
and do and offer, must now ask what this specific library should
be and do and offer, in accordance with the particular wants,
needs, and behavior patterns of its users.
Many libraries are, on the whole, beginning to move away from
a content-focused model and toward a user-focused one, in
which content and information flow back and forth between the
media center and its users, rather than in a traditionally
unidirectional pattern. Existing research indicates that this shift
offers great potential for exploitation by libraries (Carscaddon
2009, Shamel 2009), and that potential is perhaps most
significant and exploitable where children and teenagers are
involved. Social media applications such as Facebook, Twitter,
and blogs have valuable potential to seek out teens where they
live, in a manner of speaking, rather than waiting for teens to
seek out library resources.
CONCLUSION
20. Preliminary research indicates promising possibilities for the
application of social networking utilities in the promotion of
library resources to young adults. However, existing knowledge
in this field is extremely limited due to a variety of factors.
Among these are the novelty of this technology, limitations on
young adults' ability to access these utilities in a library setting,
and librarians' hesitation to devote their limited time and energy
to exploring unproven approaches. With this study, the
researcher hopes to prove the validity of these new technologies
as they may be applied to the field of young adult librarianship,
and to encourage the creative use of social networking
applications in the library setting.
References
Barack, L. (2009). Social media specialists? School Library
Journal, 55(6), 16-17. Retrieved
October 10, 2009, from General OneFile via Gale:
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Attachment A
Preliminary Survey: Sample Questions
Age:___________
Grade:____________
Which of the following Web sites/applications do you use?
___Facebook
___blogs
___(other)
___Twitter
___News feed/reader
___(other)
How often do you use these sites/applications?
___Daily
25. ___Weekly
___Never/not applicable
___A few times a week
___Less than once a week
Do you ever use the internet to look up information about
books? ____Yes
____No
Site-specific questions:
Facebook: What features/applications do you enjoy using?
Would you be interested in a library Facebook page? How might
such a page be useful or informative?
Twitter: Would you be interested in following library- and
book-related tweets, such as announcements about events, new
books and popular authors?