[Web4lib] Facebook

Fri Sep 11 12:29:32 EDT 2009

Facebook page administrators can also delete any comments or wall posts 
that they want to delete.

As I noted, at nearly 1000 fans, Green Library at Stanford 
<http://facebook.com/greenlibrary> is one of the most popular library 
sites on Facebook and we have never had a post or comment that was 
problematic.  We get 1-2 comments per post, and the occasional Wall 
Post.  I think we have gotten 2 posts in the last year that were 
psuedo-reference questions. I am a Fan of a number of other academic 
libraries on Facebook, and none of them get any more interaction than we 
do (most get nearly zero interaction). YMMV, but my experience with 
academic libraries on Facebook (and with blogs that allow comments) is 
that flame wars and inappropriate comments are not a very likely threat. 
We decided that the small chance of that happening was certainly not 
enough of a deterrent compared to the positives of hearing from folks 
who do decide to post meaningful comments and to let us know what they 
like.  If anyone is considering creating a Facebook page for their 
library, I encourage you to become a Fan of a library similar to your 
own, and watch for what "works" and doesn't work for them.

Honestly, I would be thrilled if we got so much interaction that we had 
to worry about monitoring it ....

Chris

Andrew Darby wrote:
> For what it's worth, you can very easily turn off the ability for
> users to post comments.  We decided when we were setting it up that it
> was going to be purely an awareness tool, and by turning off comments,
> we wouldn't have people asking reference questions through Facebook
> (that might not get answered in a timely fashion).  It limits the
> interaction, but also the staff time investment.  And I guess avoids
> potential flame wars . . . .
>
> Andrew
>
> On Thu, Sep 10, 2009 at 8:42 PM, Cloutman, David
> <DCloutman at co.marin.ca.us> wrote:
>   
>> I read about libraries trying Facebook all the time, and I've held off,
>> even though I use the site myself. Initially, I was hesitant because it
>> was another information silo to monitor, and I wasn't certain where the
>> platform was going. Of course it may change, but what I have seen since
>> the last revision of the site makes me want to steer clear of it.
>>
>> As pointed out below, you can publish new about your library (good)
>> which will show up in the feeds of your "fans" (good). What often
>> happens after that is some of your fans, who would not have communicated
>> through Facebook ordinarily start commenting, and possibly dialoging.
>> This can be good or bad, but consider this real life scenario.
>>
>> I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. We have several fine aquariums
>> here, but the best known is a little further south in Monterey. I saw
>> that other people I know had become fans of the Monterey Bay Aquarium
>> myself.
>>
>> The Aquarium folks were pretty good. They didn't over post, and usually
>> what they did put in my feed was mildly entertaining and occasionally
>> made the think, "Ooo... pretty fish." Then one day they posted about how
>> they had trained their sea otters to do tricks for the public, and a
>> major meltdown followed.
>>
>> One person posted a comment that they didn't believe training the otters
>> to do tricks was in keeping with the scientific and educational mission
>> of the Aquarium, which has a reputation of bring a fairly serious
>> institution that does hard science. Another person posted back that they
>> knew sea otters in captivity got bored, and this was a good way to
>> engage them. Someone else posted that it was cruel to keep sea otters at
>> all. Then the F-bomb started dropping, and pretty soon there were
>> hundreds of angry, opinionated, aquarium fans cussing each other out, a
>> pretty stark contrast to the high scale, family friendly experience one
>> gets making an actual experience.
>>
>> So now I'm not a fan of the Monterey Bay Aquarium because of how their
>> fans behaved.
>>
>> Basically, my point is this. If you're going to do Facebook for your
>> organization, you've got to think seriously about how you're going to
>> monitor comments and keep everything civil. Personally, I don't want my
>> patrons getting in swearing matches about some esoteric library policy
>> or spend time policing them. Perhaps I'm being too risk adverse, but I
>> don't want a negative online experience that I have minimal control over
>> damaging the reputation of my institution. Of course, others' mileage
>> may vary.
>>
>> - David
>>
>> ---
>> David Cloutman <dcloutman at co.marin.ca.us>
>> Electronic Services Librarian
>> Marin County Free Library
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org
>> [mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Bangert
>> Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2009 8:28 AM
>> To: web4lib at webjunction.org
>> Subject: Re: [Web4lib] Facebook
>>
>>
>> Michael,
>>
>> Aside from the potential for interaction (absent from most library web
>> sites),  it is about pushing information to students.
>>
>> To expand on what Chester said, regarding putting the library where
>> students will encounter it as part of their normal routines,
>> it isn't just about being at hand, but about not requiring them to come
>> to you at all, anywhere, in order to learn of something.
>>
>> If a student follows (becomes a "fan" of) the library FB page, updates
>> to the page will show up in the stream of updates that is the student's
>> FB homepage.
>> It is a way to reach into the stream of information that they are paying
>>
>> attention to, to drop information they aren't seeking out in their lap.
>>
>> As others have pointed out, you can use the FB page as a conduit for
>> existing RSS or Twitter feeds.  Doing so puts these feeds in a form that
>>
>> a student, rather than a 30 year old blogger, developer, etc., might
>> actually use and monitor.
>>
>> -Andrew
>>
>> Mitchell, Michael wrote:
>>     
>>> What are the advantages of Facebook over Web pages on the library Web
>>> site? I'm afraid I really don't understand. I just don't see anything
>>> special there. I'm really asking, not trolling.
>>>
>>>
>>> Michael Mitchell
>>> Technical Services Librarian
>>> Brazosport College
>>> Lake Jackson, TX
>>> michael.mitchell at brazosport.edu
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org
>>> [mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Leo Robert Klein
>>> Sent: Thursday, September 10, 2009 9:22 AM
>>> To: web4lib at webjunction.org
>>> Subject: Re: [Web4lib] Facebook
>>>
>>> John Fereira wrote:
>>>
>>>       
>>>> Christine Zeitler wrote:
>>>>
>>>>         
>>>>> One of the academic libraries at which I work is attempting to
>>>>>           
>> decide
>>     
>>> if
>>>
>>>       
>>>>> they want to use Facebook to interact with the students.
>>>>>
>>>>>           
>>>> I think that the more important question here is whether students
>>>>         
>> want
>>     
>>>       
>>>> to use Facebook to interact with libraries.
>>>>
>>>>         
>>> Good point but increasingly it seems as if Facebook is more an entry
>>> point for various types of communication, including friends of course,
>>>       
>>> but also professional and personal interests.
>>>
>>> I mean, just looking at my own list, I've got the Chicago Historical
>>> Society, a couple of my old schools and something called 'Static FBML'
>>>       
>>> whose meaning I honestly can't remember.
>>>
>>> Assuming a similar collection (adjusted for age) on the part of our
>>> users and I don't think it's too exotic if the library starts banging
>>>       
>> on
>>     
>>> their Facebook door as well.
>>>
>>> LEO
>>>
>>> -- -------------------
>>> www.leoklein.com (site)
>>> www.ChicagoLibrarian.com (blog)
>>>
>>> aim/msn/yhoo/goog: 'leorobertklein'
>>> -- -------------------------------
>>>
>>>
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-- 
Chris Bourg
Head, Information Center
Stanford University Libraries and Academic Information Resources
http://infocenter.stanford.edu