Social Media and its use in the Library

So there are so many social media platforms out there in today's world! The issue is knowing which ones are beneficial in promoting your library, and also making sure to keep in mind the safety of the students. I feel that there are advantages and disadvantages to certain social platforms. I will be discussing 3 social media outlets, their advantages and disadvantages, and ideas on how to use them within your library.

1. Facebook

Facebook has been around for about 17 years. It is still pretty popular, but there has been a decrease in its interest. Many classes, school, and libraries do continue to use Facebook as a social media platform to spread information, upcoming events, current projects, inspiration, etc. Looking through library pages in particular, I have seen that librarians use FB as a means of advertisement and on-goings within their library. This is of great advantage. Libraries are always looking for ways to promote their library, and no better way to do it than a social media site where parents, students, and others within the community can explore and be able to participate in the events the library is presenting. I also noticed that many library pages used FB to showcase students that go above and beyond in their reading skills and capabilities. Of course this leads to disadvantages of privacy. We as teachers all know that we do have to have permission of parent/guardians to be able to post pictures and names of students on our social media platforms that we use within our classroom. The same would apply for school libraries. Librarians need to make sure that all policies and procedures are followed, including collecting signed agreements/disagreements on whether a child can be posted on the site. Another disadvantage is keeping up with the news feed. I saw that some school libraries post constantly, at least once a week, but then there have been schools that have not posted since August, even May of 2021. If a librarian is wanting to promote their library and share all of its on-goings and wealth of knowledge, news feed needs to be kept up to date so that interests is kept among its patrons. If kept up to date, FB can be a very insightful, informative attention keeper of the library and help to build the community of readers within the district. Comments are allowed to be made which can help with suggestions or allow patrons to ask questions. But then of course you may have those that like to "stir the pot" and cause trouble. Again, this is where is may be appropriate to have patrons sign off on an agreement to keep the feed and comments positive and productive. If one is needing to address something more negative, then they need to contact the librarian directly. Which bring me to the fact that FB is a good source for obtaining phone numbers, email addresses, hours of availability, and things of the like that are all important to the library's community and patrons. I feel that FB can be quite effective if manipulated appropriately and correctly. It can lead to a very positive atmosphere within the library.

2. Twitter

Twitter is a new one for me. I created an account long ago only because I had to for an assignment in one of my classes! I never really browsed or looked through anything, never followed anyone, no one has ever followed me, and I have never even made a tweet! After being "forced" to look through some popular education technology gurus, I have decided that this Twitter thing isn't so bad after all. Kathy Schrock was the first one to hit me because I recently completed a podcast about her and her extremely useful website that she has! She has a ton load of tweets about technology and education integration. She even did a survey on what term was preferred before the word technology, linked here from Kathy Schrock @kathyschrock...

https://twitter.com/kathyschrock/status/1420029778636201988?s=20
Schrock is wonderful about posting other events and tweets by other educators and professionals. Many of the people I began to follow do the same, like Linda Braun and Jim Lerman. Majority of the names presented tweet about their own experiences, new developments, upcoming workshops and events. They also tweet about podcasts that may be interesting or they are involved in, such as Alan November's retweet of "How a pandemic exposed the need for systematic change in education" linked here from Alan November @globalearner...

https://twitter.com/UNESCO_MGIEP/status/1360117882617696258?s=20

There is so much information here! I never would have though that Twitter was a place to share ideas, spread news, advertise workshops and podcasts, etc. I thought Twitter was all about people just making snotty, short quips at each other! Little did I know! This is why I have avoided it. I didn't want to get into drama and people just bickering with each other and sharing their opinions. I now know that Twitter is not JUST about the gossip and bickering! There is so much to find and absorb that I became dumb-founded by every bit of it. And let me tell ya, I am in love with Gwyneth Jones, the Daring Librarian! For example...this tweet to @airwick has nothing to do with education, technology, or libraries, but I found it so funny and sweet! Makes you realize that these are real people just like me! Link here from The Daring Librarian @GwynethJones...

https://twitter.com/GwynethJones/status/1438476315175366663?s=20

And the replies from Air Wick and her response were just as great! But then yet she can turn around and share her creativity with us with things such as how to collaborate with teachers...link here...

https://twitter.com/TCEA/status/1438290270714478598?s=20

Now looking closer, this link is from TCEA, but she had responded with the fact she would love to do this, but doing all the other leg work of a librarian such as managing Chromebooks and placing work orders takes a lot of her time right now! We seem to wear so many hats as a librarian and I had no idea. I also love he idea that on Twitter you can connect with your everyday people, but also those famous ones you wish you could just get more scoop from, or ones that focus on our profession, such as Gwyneth, Linda, Jim, and Kathy. Twitter makes it easy access to upcoming events and new developments right at our fingertips of our favorite people. I learned quite a bit digging through Twitter! What an experience. I will definitely be using it a LOT more!

3. Instagram

Well we all know you can't go wrong with Instagram, right?! This was fun to learn! HA! My daughters are on Instagram all the time and I thought it was just another Facebook type thing that could get them into trouble, especially with the pictures that some post! YIKES! But yet again, I can see where this would be a worthwhile tool to use within the classroom with students. First, as always, make sure to gain the appropriate permission of parents, and then make sure that there is a contract signed by the student stating they will follow appropriate behavior. Once these things are set in place, teaching can begin. First of all, since most kids use Instagram and are constantly engaged and have their nose in their phone anyway, why not make it educational?! Two birds, one stone type deal! Instagram can be used to feature particular students and their over the top work. It is a great app to be able to capture those special moments throughout the year such as field trips, programs at school, projects, random everyday happenings, for parents that may not be able to make these events. And for those random every moments, the parents can't be here all the time in the classroom when the sparks and light bulbs go off, so what better app to use to capture those moments and be able to share them with parents. Which brings up another safety issue...make sure that only parents of those that are within your library, class, etc. are the ones who are allowed activation to the specific account you post to. Instagram can also be the perfect place for parents, the students, and the teachers to share ideas, events, or even good books! It's about being a community. And if appropriate rules and safety precautions have been taken, this can be a great avenue to pursue. It will build a fantastic class/library community. Instagram can also be used for yearbook purposes, writing prompts, and/or posting evidence of findings for students' projects. It is a great app to document a wide variety of things. Again, just be careful and follow all rules and regulations when it comes to posting pictures and information. Check with not only state and national laws, but school rules as well. Better safe than sorry! Always error on the side of caution! Things can get messy if we are not careful and keep a watchful eye on ourselves, as well as out students! Check out the beginning of my newly found Instagram profile at the link here, Sabrina Richardson @sabrina.62577...

https://www.instagram.com/sabrina.62577/

To wrap up this blog, I just have to say that we all know sure and well that social media plays a huge part in students lives, and it is not going anywhere any time soon. With that in mind, we must find ways to incorporate appropriate and reliable uses and activities with particular social media apps. We must use them to our advantage, while remembering to be very cautious of the dangers of social media.

BE AWARE...TAKE PRECAUTION...GO FOR THE GUSTO! 

Feed Readers and a Good Blog Never Hurt!

 When it comes to being a librarian, one needs to keep up with the latest trends and information that's out there. A good resource for us librarians are other librarians blogs! Once these blogs are discovered, it is wise to store them in a Feed Reader so that we can easily access them and be notified instantly of new postings.

The Feed Reader of choice for me was Inoreader. I am a novice when it comes to blogging and feed readers. I will be the first to admit I did not even know what a feed reader was until just recently when it was given to me as an assignment! There are several free ones out there, however, that are very user friendly, which is just exactly what I needed! I browsed through several, such as Flowreader and Freereader Online, but the one that worked the best (and I'll admit easiest) for me was Inoreader. It allows you the ability to look through blogs, articles, news feeds, and even other social media platforms, such as Facebook. This makes it a bit convenient since I AM a Facebook person! It's how I keep up on the gossip of my friends and neighbor...and admittedly people that aren't my besties! Inoreader also allows access to podcasts. Facebook and the podcasts can only be looked through with an upgrade of Inoreader, but it's well worth it. To have everything in one place is essential in these times we live in! Another reason for choosing Inoreader, is that one can create folders to place their found items in to keep things organized and sorted out. One can also be notified when certain tags are identified. The world is always updating, so we need to be updated as well! 

There are 5 blogs that I searched, researched, and chose to add to my Inoreader for just the beginning of a beautiful friendship! I admit I did get a couple of pointers from my mentor librarian at my school who told me about a few that she likes to read, when she has the time that is. There are more added to my Inoreader which can be found at my Inoreader link here https://www.inoreader.com/dashboard

1. The AASL Blog https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/ When my librarian gave me the idea of looking through this blog, I knew it would definitely be one that I would link to my Inoreader for the mere fact that it's the American Association of School Librarians Blog! I mean, who of us would NOT want this blog linked for quick access?! The blog shares everything from ideas to use within your library to reviews of books. They keep one up to date on the latest information in librarianship. There is much knowledge within the blogs that is quite beneficial.

2. The Library of Congress Blog https://blogs.loc.gov/ So I figured if I had the AASL Blog, that it would be beneficial to have the LOC blog as well! These two sites, as well as their blogs, are becoming of upmost importance as I move through my MLS. Like the AASL blog, the LOC blog keeps one up to date on the newest and latest, or even the oldest, findings within the librarian community. The blog also lists other blogs that may be of interest to librarians as well. It is like blogs within a blog...almost as though it were a feed reader in itself!

3. The Mighty Little Librarian http://www.mightylittlelibrarian.com/ This was another suggestion from my mentor librarian in my district. Upon browsing through it, she nailed it with this suggestion! The blog is by Tiffany Whitehead, who is just your everyday school librarian that has a love and passion for what she does and wants to share that information with others. The majority of her blogs talk about how to organize ones library, creating an inviting environment within ones library, even tips on developing your library's website. She also throws in basic everyday life blogs. I love this because it shows that her passion is within the library, but she also enjoys many fun exciting adventures outside of the library, such as this past summer her and her husband remodeled a camper van! She even included pics! This made me feel really connected to her because she gets on a personal level, while maintaining that librarian professionalism. 

4. NPR https://www.npr.org/ Now with NPR, I am not sure if it is necessarily a blog or not, but I came across it as a suggestion on my Inoreader, so I checked it out. It is a very informative place with many different ways of communication, from podcasts to news articles. The site is very up to date with the latest local, state, and national goings-on. There is also a section for book reviews! How convenient! Just what a librarian needs...another book reviewer! The more info we can get, the better! These reviews can be found on this link https://www.npr.org/sections/book-reviews/ The more I dug through the site, the more information I found. It has a wealth of knowledge. 

5. Awful Library Books https://awfullibrarybooks.net/ I have to admit when I saw this blog, I just had to link it! It fits my "negative Nancy/Karen" side! This blog was created by two public librarians and they keep one informed of the importance of weeding our library. So these two ladies go over books that other librarians have submitted in wonder if they need to weed that particular book. Anyone and everyone can submit a book they are in question about whether they should weed or not. The ladies give their opinion and then leave it up to the librarian that submitted the book to make their final decision. The keep names of the libraries and librarians private and confidential so no feelings are hurt. These ladies not only help with weeding, but also help with creating a policies and procedures manual. There are several that one can download and tweak to their particular library. I found this wonderful as well! Wish I had found it earlier in my MLS, though! The title is a bit misleading by saying AWFUL because it's more than sharing awful books. The ladies help any librarian find the good, the bad, and the ugly, but also how to keep their library and collection relevant and inviting. Definitely a blog worth keeping up with. 

**6. Tumblr--The Reading Sunflower!  https://www.tumblr.com/blog/thereadingsunflower Here is my little introduction I posted when I created my blog on Tumblr. 👩🏼‍🏫🌻📚💛I would just like to introduce myself! No I am not a sunflower! LOL! My name is Sabrina Richardson, and I have been a reading teacher in Texas for 20 years now. I am in the middle of earning my Masters in Library Science, so soon I will be able to continue my love for sharing the love for reading within the library. This blog is just to inspire and help one capture the joy of reading! Hope y’all enjoy! Happy Reading!👩🏼‍🏫🌻📚💛