Positive Uses of Social Media

Positive Uses of Social Media in Public Schools: School Librarians Using the Resources of the World Wide Web

In today's virtual age, every now and then people will say with a sneer: 'Who uses the library anymore? Who reads books?' Librarians may feel at times that their profession is under attack, given the availability of the Internet as a source of ready information at their student's fingertips. Social media is often thought of as a distraction rather than a source of enrichment for students. Librarians may have an initial resistance to Facebook or to starting a blog because they associate these activities as a source of competition with hands-on library research. But used correctly social media can be a powerful tool for librarians to excite students about the right way to approach searching for information. Librarians must also act as guides so students learn to critically review online sources, and use the information at their disposal correctly.

The Internet is really a gigantic library and can provide students with a portal to books and new ways of presenting and organizing information. Showing an awareness of social media can also improve the 'relatable' nature of librarians: using the socially interactive components of Web 2.0 and web applications that enable students to share information with one another, with teachers, and with the world, demonstrates to students that libraries and librarians are the pioneers of the information age, not dusty relics.

As a librarian, having a frequently updated Facebook page makes books and the library (as well as librarians) part of student's daily lives. Announcing on Facebook that a particular new book is going to be appearing on the library's shelves (even if it is the latest novel in the Twilight series) or having a helpful reminder that research papers are due and the librarian is there to provide advice shows students that librarians understand the place of Facebook in student's lives. When librarians are willing to play in the world of social media, students are more willing to have an open attitude to using the library, and to log onto user services in the comfort of their bedroom, rather than chatting with friends. Even having fun Twitter updates, as well as more serious reminders can keep students connected to the library. Encouraging students to individually or collectively blog about the books they enjoy and to create short YouTube videos about books they like are exciting ways to get students enthusiastic about reading.

More sophisticated uses of the Internet include TeacherTube, "a YouTube for teachers" which "presents an excellent opportunity for instructor-librarian collaboration. Instructors can guide students to helpful library resources and vice versa" ("25 Useful," College Degree, 2008). Both students and teachers can use these videos for assistance with their research -- or even become inspired to make their own videos! Encouraging students to become virtual teachers as well as learners, by contributing to Wikipedia (provided they understand that it is not a peer-reviewed resource), sharing slideshows or other educational presentations they have made on the web through applications such as SlideShare, enable students to feel as if they are making a real educational contribution to the worldwide Internet community.

Instead of being intimidated by research (as was often the case in the days of note cards) students should be encouraged to see research on the web as easier and more user-friendly, provided it is done right. Students can even do research 'for fun' online, during spare and convenient moments -- they do not need to always go physically go to the library, or even to transport heavy reference books, when they can search online for articles, and multimedia sources of information. Primary source documents, pictures, and photographs are available on the web. Librarians can help students distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate sources, as well as know the difference between primary and secondary sources of information.

Particularly for students who are visual or kinesthetic learners, using the multimedia nature of the web can become one of the first times they actually become excited about creating their own project. For history classes, Footnote, provides "access to original historical documents," including newspaper pictures and advertisements and students "can update them with your own content and insights" ("25 Useful," College Degree, 2008). Library resources on the web also make it easier for busy students to search and store information. With the social bookmarking tool, del.icio.us, students or librarians can create a custom directory for themselves. "Teach them to search by your tags, and it will be easy to find useful Internet research links" ("25 Useful," College Degree, 2008). Students engaged on a collaborative project can also setup a joint account to collect resources together in one del.icio.us area. "Wherever the teens are, if they find a resource that fits their del.icio.us focus they can quickly and easily login to their joint account, add the link, annotate the link, and off they go. del.icio.us even has RSS feeds so that others who are collecting resources on the same topic in the same del.icio.us space will know something new has been added' ("Positive uses," ALA, 2010). Not only is this useful, it is also exciting for the students to be updated about new information, and integrates the research process into their usual use of social media to connect with friends.