[Web4lib] MySpace and Public Libraries

[Matt Mallard]

Hello,

This is my first post... I wanted to chime in. I set up a MySpace page for
CSU Fullerton (http://www.myspace.com/pollaklibrary) because a colleague and
I started noticing how many students were visiting MySpace (not because we
were spying, you can spot a "Friends" page pretty easily from a distance).
We thought, "If many of our students are using the site on a regular basis,
probably more often than our library's homepage, why not create a presence
there." For me, the idea of people adding our library to their list of
friends is an exciting prospect.

The way that we began was to write up a proposal and submit it to the
University Librarian. We outlined the benefits, discussed the technology,
and gave a timeline. Once that was approved, we went ahead and simply made
the site. It took an afternoon to create the site and maintenance so far has
been minimal. I have been posting blogs, updating the calendar, discussing
next steps with other librarians, and approving friends/comments when they
come in. I decided to keep it rather low key until we hit some sort of
critical mass. Our friends have been growing slowly but surely.

One difficulty that I have encountered is the level of control that I
exercise. I know that if I impose too much control on the MySpace page, it
might not grow. But if I let it run wild and allow absolutely everything,
things might get out of hand. I have only run into 2 situations where I
decided to not approve a comment/friend, but they do happen.

Regards,

Matt Mallard
Reference & Instruction
CSUF Pollak Library


On 1/25/07, Jami Haskell <jamihaskell at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi folks,
> We are looking into implementing a MySpace presence at my public library
> system for outreach and programming. I am wondering if any of you have
> implemented these profiles for your libraries could send me information
> about the implementation process and the maintenance requirements.
>
> Specifically, how you went about getting started, how much time/staff
> resources go into maintaining the presence, and what (if any) issues have
> arisen from public response (both positive and negative). Also, do you
> link
> to your MySpace presence from your library web site? Any other advice or
> experience you have to offer would be much appreciated as well.
> You can email me off list at jhaskell at washoecounty.us
> Thanks!
>
> All the best,
> Jami Haskell
> Internet Services Librarian
> Washoe County Library System
> jhaskell at washoecounty.us
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