I chose Twitter to write about in relation to libraries because, historically, I have been very anti-Twitter. My entire attitude toward Twitter can be summed up in the following words: no one cares what you had for lunch.
However, people do (or, okay, they SHOULD) care about libraries. Most library users are interested in knowing the news, events, and various goings-on of their local library. When a library is on Twitter, it can dispense little bits of information that wouldn't really suit in a blog-post format. A library could tweet that there is an unscheduled storytime on a certain day, or that the library will be closed for an hour because of a toilet leak.
Another good reason libraries should use Twitter is that it is by nature a time-saver. They're mini-notes that can be read in an instant. Most people are unlikely to continually check their library's newsletter or blog page, but if they "follow" their library on Twitter, they see tidbits from the library along with their regular tweet stream.
OMG! I feel the same way about teitter. . . or at least I did until reading your post. Now I feel twitter is actually useful in a few ways. It sounds like a great way to quickly communicate whats new and exciting at a Library near you!
ReplyDelete