Thing 20 - Facebook and My Space

Libraries, such as our own Hennepin County Library, are using My Space as a portal to their website. With almost 1400 friends, they have seen some success. Clearly the site is directed at teens, with links to teen CD's, DVD's and new books. Teens have the ability to comment, as with the Top 10 Books of 2007, however, that appears to receive limited use. Their embedded search window takes them directly to the catalog. In her article, Libraries in Social Networking Software, Meredith Farkas describes a few libraries that have truly developed their websites to receive feedback, encourage recommendations and respond to requests. Since that article was written, one must wonder if more libraries are finding a social networking site as a communication link with teens. I liked the use of Shelfari at the Denver Public Library's My Space page.