Facebook for the School Library

     Every now and then on Facebook, I just get board. Lucky for me, there is a search bar that allows me to look up people or words. As a soon to be new librarian, school library is on my mind! So, what happens when you type school library in that search bar for friends at the top?

That is right, more than 1,000 pages have School library in the name! So how are these Facebook pages being used? First off, not all are schools but publications, blogs, university programs for librarians and public libraries. There are schools in the K-12 setting both public and private. Librarians are using them for every thing from posting quotes, online posters to events, book talks and reminders. A trend I saw was not as many likes for the library page as the school they represent. I even saw one library, Luna Middle school state they were closing the page and going to Edmodo, a Facebook like page for education.
Is this part of the social media movement necessary? Yes, I believe it is. Any way we can spread the word about the library and all the fantastic programs and resources, we should take full advantage of and it does not hurt that it is free!  There are not many pages with comments to the actual school library posts or status updates so I do not see it as much of a thought provoking forum as much as a way to advertise and bring awareness. As librarians, we represent the whole school so professionalism is a must, there is no need for the personal biases, leave it for your personal page!

Want to learn how to set up a Facebook? Check out the screencast! How to set up Facebook Screencast