Instagram, Facebook Pages and Groups and Twitter

I am a Facebook user and enjoy it on a personal level.  Unfortunately, I get sucked in and lose precious minutes of my life by constantly scrolling.  For this reason, I have deleted the app and try very hard to stay off it!  Without social media, I am much more productive.  However, I do see much value in social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  Especially in advertising programs and events for your library.

I enjoy being part of groups on Facebook and often save posts to my own feed.  When I find myself idle, I will go to either the Learning Librarians or Future Ready Librarians Facebook group.  Both are recommended for a community of librarians that will help answer questions and give book recommendations and lesson ideas. 

When I typed in “school library,” I instantly recognized that the first libraries that popped up were either local public schools or pages that my friends already follow.  After clicking through a few, I noticed that most were used to show their displays, share local and state news, fundraisers, facts, and updates about the library.  I noticed that there was not very much interaction on shared posts, but on posts specific to the school or community, there were more likes and comments. 

Overall, I do see many advantages of having a Facebook page for your library.  It takes work and time to get the interaction up. Still, if there is consistency in maintaining the page, and students and families know that it is maintained, I find that it could be a handy tool for communication and information.  As far as a disadvantage goes, because pages do need to be regularly maintained, it can be discouraging to the page owner if posts are not getting any views. I think Facebook continues to change the algorithms in which posts are viewed, which are also viewed as a disadvantage.

It is evident in my district that Twitter is the preferred use of social media.  Every school, district leader, librarian, administrator, and most teachers utilize this form of social media. Again, when I have a few minutes throughout the day,  I love to read articles relevant to me through my feed. Considering I have both a personal account and a school library account, I follow mostly librarian-related accounts and find fantastic information that was either retweeted or shared directly from professional organizations.  One of the first SHSU accounts I started following was Dr. Laura Sheneman.  I found great value in her Library Influencer Podcast, and I love that she updates twitter when a new one is available. 

Outside of Sam Houston State University, I have recently learned about a few big names in educational technology that I have started following. First, Kathy Schrock @kathyschrock is an educational technologist and presents at several conferences throughout the year and posts links to the resources. I enjoy following her because she reviews different technology types that teachers and students can use in the classroom.

I also learned about The Daring Librarian, Gwyneth Jones.  Her Twitter page consists of articles that link to neat stores, cool finds and discoveries, new book releases, and technology tips and tricks. 

I also want to talk a little about Jim Lerman @jimlerman.  Mr. Lerman post tech tools, tips, and updates.  He also posts informative articles and links them to his Scoop. It! account.  When you click on a link from his feed, that is where it takes you.  You can see a snapshot of all of his posts in one place.  To me, it resembles a Pinterest board or even a blog, so everything is in one place. It does take a few clicks to get to the information posted, but some might like that it is all in one place.

Just like Facebook, Twitter has its advantages and disadvantages.  An advantage is that it is a quick and easy way to share articles, pictures, and updates.  I love that you can tag and retweet posts to give quick credit to those you may have gotten a great idea from.  I can not think of many disadvantages to Twitter other than for me, I can lose time just scrolling through and clicking on posts and articles.  There is a lot of information on Twitter, but it can sometimes be a little overwhelming!

After exploring Instagram, I found more library-related accounts than I ever thought possible.  I love the format of Instagram and that everything is based on pictures.  You cannot post to IG without pictures.  If someone wants to stop and read your caption, they can, but the photos on the post are often enough! I started an Instagram account for The Bended Corner!  Follow me HERE!  Here are a few accounts I discovered, along with links to access them! 

https://www.instagram.com/readaloudlibrarian/

https://www.instagram.com/nttbfest/

https://www.instagram.com/austinpubliclibrary/

Out of the three types of social media that I explored, Instagram is my favorite.  When it comes to Instagram, users tend to be more creative in their posts, and I love all the different ways they can express themselves and their creativity on IG.  Which I feel is an advantage to Instagram.  I can’t think of a disadvantage to Instagram, although some may say it can be cluttered!