[Web4lib] Social Networking Policies and your Library

[cecily walker]

Hello all - happy Friday!

I am looking for information about library warnings or policies around
social networking services. Specifically, how does your library define
appropriate use?  For example, when you publish content to Facebook,
MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, a library-sponsored discussion board,
etc. (ad nauseam), and a site visitor leaves an inappropriate comment, how
does your library deal with it?

I'm particularly interested in Canadian public libraries as our privacy
rules and regulations differ from those in the United States, but if your
library has these policies in place, I'd love to hear them.

I've been looking into this for the past couple of days and was surprised
to find that of the Canadian libraries that use social networking services,
I've only encountered one with concrete appropriate use policies. It seems
that most libraries are relying on their "we are not responsible for links
to third-party sites" statements and the terms and conditions for those
third party sites to protect themselves.

Thanks,
Cecily Walker
Auxiliary Librarian
Vancouver Public Library
cecilwal at vpl.ca