Social Software in Libraries

Hmmm...for this post, assessing the final "big" questions:

Does social software have a place in library service provision?
What social software applications can be harnessed by information organizations?

SS absolutely has a place within library service provision. Each SS application offers another way to get information to patrons - this is, after all, what the library is all about, non? I would argue that the questioning of SS as a valid method of service provision might be more about a resistance to change than about its inappropriateness as within the realm of library service provision. The questioning of the value of online gaming or online social networks seems to echo, to a certain degree, the value questions surrounding other new formats or methods (like the arguments against Graphic Novels as 'quality' reading).

I would not even begin to suggest that the every SS application has a place in every library, nor that the SS applications are without flaws. I do think that they need to be added to every librarian's arsenal of potential tools for information provision, so that they can be considered along with more traditional methods. In fact, I don't understand what the fuss is about. If it you think it might be effective in your library, try it - especially the free applications.

I think that all social software has the potential to be harnessed by information organizations. Certainly, different applications work better within different situations, it will be the job of the librarian to assess their own user groups.

Academic libraries seem like an ideal place to be leaders for much of this as their user group are often very computer-literate and exist within a structured community that may be better able to provide training and instruction on these resources. Public libraries serving rural populations, institutions offering distance education, or groups attempting to work together from different locations, while I think they might come up against some specific challenges (i.e. no high speed access in rural locations, remote instruction on the systems that are needed for the instruction), seem ideally suited to reap the benefits of SS.

I think that the "low-hanging fruit" of the SS applications are blogs, RSS, and wikis because:

• there are so many free options
• they are relatively easy to create, use, and participate in
• their purpose and uses seem more obviously "informational" and so seem less foreign to traditional library service provision than virtual worlds and online social networks perhaps do.