Social Media for the Library

By Trill Schroeder, Huffman Elementary School Librarian
 
One of the breakout sessions at AASL that was of great interest to me was Social Media for the Library.  It was on my list of must-attend breakout sessions for several reasons.  First, I’ve always wanted to understand Twitter.  Over the years I’ve dabbled in Twitter, mainly as a bystander, and I’ve wanted to take my Twitter presence to the next step.  (Yes, I admit, I’ve felt the urge to tweet.)  Secondly, as a classroom teacher I used social networking and apps like Homeroom to successfully connect with parents and families, but I was still trying to figure out the best social media fit for the library.  Lastly, I know social media is widely used to find information.  When I think about my own social media habits, I often peruse Facebook and Twitter to get in touch with what’s going on in the world, our state, our city, and our community.
 
Social Media for the Library’s moderator was Nancy Joe Lambert, a teacher librarian in Frisco Independent School District at Reedy High School.  Lambert has five years of teaching experience, and has been in a school library since 2010. She also holds committee appointments in ALA and AASL.  From the beginning of the hour-long session it was obvious Lambert is PASSIONATE about social media.  Even better, she knows her stuff and she’s willing to share with fellow librarians.
 
Librarians have to be advocates for their libraries. In this day and age, there are various social media tools available to help tell the story of the learning taking place in your library. 
 
Lambert’s key points before venturing into your social media of choice include:

• Know your district’s policies regarding social media. 
• Use social media to benefit the reading lives of students and their families.
• Before deciding on which social media platform to use, ask yourself: What platform do your stakeholders use? Remember, you’ll want to go where your stakeholders are. Otherwise you can have a really great Instagram page that no one ever sees! 
• Ensure that all social media content is library driven.  (It promotes your library, not politics!)
• When setting up social media for your library, use photos of your organization, not photos of you.  
• Use the pronoun “we” when posting.
• Tell your library’s story.  Your library’s story is NOT databases and catalogs…your library’s story is how your library is contributing to student achievement! 

 
And, here are some of my own tips when it comes to social media:

• When setting up social media accounts, use your functional email address, not your personal ASD email.  For example, I use librarians_huffman@asdk12.org. That way, if you transfer or change jobs the new hire can easily pick up where you left off and the account isn’t connected to your personal ASD email.
• Take it slowly.  Not sure where to start?  Find out where your stakeholders are, and begin there.  Focus only on that social networking platform until you feel comfortable. 
• Advertise!  Add your social media link to your email signature.  Include the link in your newsletters.  Display the link on library bulletin boards and bookmarks!
• Connect your library’s social networking channels where appropriate.  There are apps like If This, Then That which allow you to “push” your Instagram posts to your Facebook page and/or Twitter feed and vice versa.  Don’t do double the work!
• Remember, you’re the technology leader in your building.  You may not always feel like a technology leader, but chances are you’re the one your staff turns to for technology questions and inspiration. Be willing to learn, keep an open mind, and have fun!