Facebook

Facebook

I taught seventh grade last year and the kids reassured me that only old people did Facebook.  Who was I to argue because seventh graders know E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.  Well, call me an old person, but I do like Facebook, and I think this piece of social media should not be avoided by the young or old.  The biggest advantage is that it is an instant form of communication with the world.  And the fact that we can communicate with the whole wide world brings up the only disadvantage I can find.  The scary part.  The not-so-nice-people in the world part.  I would be somewhat concerned about posting pictures of kids just because of the fact that there are some not-so-nice people living in our world.

The advantage of being able to communicate instantly and frequently would help build a reading culture that I am desperately trying to grow with my patrons.  I think to spark that growth, kids and parents and teachers could see the newest books, what others are reading, other services the library has to offer, and that the library is just a cool place in general. 

I wanted to be able to communicate with my patrons throughout the summer.  Of course I automatically thought of creating a Facebook page.  In addition to having so many new books to share, I wanted to create a buzz building excitement for back to school.  My principal was all on board, but she said to check with our tech guy.  His response stomped my dream and almost derailed my literacy program.  Ok… not really anything that drastic but almost.  He said at this time our district is not allowing a bunch of different pages, but I am welcome to submit posts to him, and he will then post to our district page.  So for now, that is what I will have to do.  https://www.facebook.com/ElCampoIsd?fref=ts

As I searched through Facebook for school libraries, I came across some great pages.  One in particular that I liked was the Meadows Elementary School Library page.  This library posted something at least once a week for the entire year.  The posts ranged from author visits at local bookstores to book suggestions to inspiring quotes.  Occasionally comments were made about events that where taking place in the library.  Of course, all were very positive.  https://www.facebook.com/MeadowsSchoolLibrary

I think the key to a successful Facebook page is to post things frequently.  Some libraries posted maybe once a month.  To build the reading culture that I talked about earlier, you have to keep the momentum going with frequent posts.  I follow Dr. Teri Lesesne.  I know she is not a library, but she is the next best thing.   Talk about frequent posts.  This lady posts multiple times DAILY with new books she has read or links to her blog. 

One last note before I sign off… One really cool thing that I found while stalking, creeping, researching was that the children’s author Jan Brett was actually following a school library.  I would be so giddy if a famous author followed my page.

 All aboard the Facebook train.