Facebook has evolved into so much more than just a place to socialize. Businesses both small and large are embracing Facebook for marketing purposes. It makes sense then, that many school libraries are jumping on the bandwagon and have started using it to promote everything about the library. Martin High School, a local school where I live uses Facebook for their book club. Students keep up with upcoming events, meetings and discuss books! Austin ISD also has a Facebook that posts news, videos, state wide library initiatives, displays of books, upcoming events such exhibits in the community. I enjoyed seeing all the pictures and reading some of the book reviews and articles that some of these libraries posted. After seeing all this, I realize that Facebook is in invaluable source of information if used appropriately. Keeping it current and interesting plus not having control of how students might comment on certain posts by others would be the only disadvantages. However, the benefits out weight the negatives. Our students know and like Facebook; it is a great tool/medium to use to connect with our digital natives and promote literacy by giving them a space where they can share ideas, communicate, collaborate and learn from one another.
Twitter has also become a very popular medium of communication and a good source of information that can be used to promote the library. I enjoyed following the tweets of many of the ed. tech. leaders. I found Jim Lermans' tweets about emerging technology applications and trends to be very informative. I think his tweet on "What Education Technology Could Look Like Over the Next Five Years" is something that is already taking shape in education. The article reaffirms the notion that technology is becoming a fundamental element in educational practices. I can see the importance of also following some of the professional organizations such as AASL because it provides the public and professionals in the field of education with pertinent information such as dates for seminars, peer reviewed articles, and upcoming webinars. YALSA, The Book Horn and School Library Journal promote books by tweeting book reviews and including illustrations and fun pictures.
As future librarians we want the library to be thought of as the place with the most up-to-date, the most relevant, and most cutting edge resources and for that to happen, we must stay informed and then share with others. Facebook and Twitter are two popular mediums of communication that facilitates this.
