Networked Library

In his May 6 presentation on libraries as social networks, Lee Rainie made several good observations about librarians and their role in the current social media environment. While he included the classic "librarians are well suited for the job" comments that are somewhat common at conferences and webinars these days, he also went beyond this basic level to provide some very helpful thinking points for librarians. A few of these points that really stuck out for me are listed below:

• Libraries should try to balance the types of space available to their patrons within the physical library. People want and need quiet space where they can concentrate and contemplate in peace and solitude. At the same time, other patrons (or the same patrons at a different time) will need a space where they can collaborate and talk a little louder without disturbing others. Many libraries already have a variety of spaces available, including group study rooms, easy chairs, large study tables in the open part of the library, and individual study carrels. With so much information available to us now, this variety of space might be more important than ever to be able to process all of that data/information.
• Libraries should look at forming alliances with other institutions. In the Public Library Service course I took last fall, we were already required to think along these lines in the final project. We needed to create a certain number of programs for a public library, but a minimum number of those programs needed to include collaboration with another institution or organization in the community.
• Social networking provides a great opportunity for patrons to directly tell librarians what their thoughts, wants, and needs are regarding the library's services. With this emphasis on content creation, librarians do not need to bear the entire burden of determining what their patrons are looking for. Many patrons are probably willing to share their ideas and thoughts with the librarians -- they may just need to be asked!