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Social Networking Sites and Digital Reference Services

LS22A lecture

October 26, 2009

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Presenter:

Mark-Shane Scale,

Librarian/Lecturer

Department of Library and Information Studies

University of the West Indies, Mona Campus

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Presented as

Guest lecture for LS22A class in

Department of Library & Information Studies

Monday, October 26, 2009

9:00 a.m. in DLIS Seminar room,

University of the West Indies,

Mona Campus.

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What are Social Networking Sites?

Otherwise known as social networking software

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According to boyd and Ellison Social network sites are:

“Web-based services that allow individuals to:1. construct a public or semi-public profile within

a bounded system,

2. articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and

3. view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system.

boyd, d. m., & Ellison, N. B. “Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship”. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. 13.1 (2007), Accessed 12 Oct. 2008. <http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html>.

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Impact of SNS

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Social Software

is profoundly impacting 'information and communication in the Information Age’

• The entire Chapter 4 of this report published by the ALA in September/October 2007, discusses MySpace and Facebook.

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New Addictions?“ MySpace and Facebook have become

addictions in our society. Similar to people who are dependent on drugs or alcohol, social networking junkies count the minutes to their next profile fix, checking their computers multiple times per day to see how many shout-outs, virtual drinks or new friends they've acquired. ”

– Bill Tancer (General Manager of Global Research at Hitwise)

“MySpace v. Facebook: Competing Addictions.” Time. 24 Oct. 2007. http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1675244,00.html

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The New Stage in the Web

“ The Web has moved to its next stage… We always knew that the Web would be significantly social....” [emphasis mine] - Eric Schmidt (Google CEO)

qtd. in Amanda Beck “Google lures MySpace for social network platform.” Reuters1 Nov 2007. <http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSWEN225320071101>

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Stone, Brad. “Microsoft Buys Stake in Facebook” New York Time. 25 Oct. 2007.

<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/technology/25facebook.html>.

Facebook boosters say social social networking represents the future of networking represents the future of online activity.online activity.

Advertisers are attracted to these sites

because they offer an opportunity to offer an opportunity to aim ads at particular users who are aim ads at particular users who are likely to be interested in their product likely to be interested in their product or serviceor service.

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Surveys of Facebook

• 2005 survey of college students:o approximately 85% with Facebook

accounto 60% of them logging in daily.

• Student Monitor surveyo the most “in” thing after iPod and tying

with beer, • comScore Media Metrix reveal that

users: o spend approximately 20 minutes everyday

on Facebook.

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Facebook offers users to• Use Facebook to…

–Keep up with friends and family–Share photos and videos–Control privacy online–Reconnect with old classmates

• Find Friends on Facebook

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Facebook primarily an On-line directory providing a Public profile

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Popular Facebook Applications:

• GROUPS: connect persons of similar interest and allow them to share information.

• NEWSFEED: helps each user receive news that is specific to his/her needs/ about his friends. A home page of personalised news available to each user per day

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Some Statistics and Quantitative data

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Facebook

Used to offer • NETWORK NEWS: news about recent

activities on one’s network.

Today • 1,764 people in the UWI Mona network.• Over 40,000 Jamaicans on Facebook and

counting (but can’t get Facebook’s stats on this).

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The following Statistics from May-June 2008

Presented at ACURIL 2008 conference

Taken from the Network feeds

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Cave Hill MonaSt. Augustine

1. Da Vinci CodeTo Kill A Mocking Bird Harry Potter

2. Boy Meets Girl Da Vinci Code The Bible

3.Stephen King books James Patterson

Angels and Demons

4. Harry Potter"And Many others…"

Pride and Prejudice

Top 4 Books across the 3 Campuses

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Cave Hill MonaSt. Augustine

1. Music Music Reading

2. Women Reading Music

3. Travelling Sleeping Travelling

4. Photography Movies Sleeping

Top 4 Interests across the 3 Campuses

Images from: http://www.animationplayhouse.com

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Social Networking Sites & Digital Reference

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Traditional reference

• Desk

• Telephone

• Email?

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Digital Reference

• Text messaging or SMS

• Chat reference

• Instant Messaging

• E-mail reference

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Disadvantages

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Caufield, James.“Tricky Devil: A Humorous Training Technique for the Chat Reference Environment.” The Electronic Library 23.4 (2005):

377 – 382.

“ The challenges of the virtual reference environment are many: – the lack of non-verbal cues, – the reduced verbal communication, – the perceived pressure to respond quickly,

and – the time delay

All contribute to a premature diagnosis of the information need.

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Advantages

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Francoeur, Stephen. “Social Networking Sites and Reference Services.” <http://www.slideshare.net/stephenfrancoeur/social-networking-sites-and-reference-services>.

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Using SNS

• Libraries can provide Reference Services– Outside of the wall of the library– Where younger patrons hang out or

congregate(Farkas 109)

Farkas, Meredith G. Social Software in Libraries: Building Collaboration, Communication and Community Online. Medford, New Jersey: Information Today, 2007.

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Hammond, Jason. “Facing Off with Facebook: Email for the 21st Century.”

Feliciter 53.3 (2007): 154.

  Facebook is the ‘Email for

the 21st century”.  

Like one's phone or email and instant messaging, Facebook allows one to stay in contact with colleagues, friends and even allows for the opportunity to meet new persons.

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Digital Reference Guidelines

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Networked reference“ We will know we’ve succeeded when we

stop using the phrase digital reference. …What’s really going on, though, is just what reference librarians have been doing since the beginning, developing services that make good sense for their communities in the environment of the day ” (Janes 199).

Janes, Joseph. Introduction to Reference Work in the Digital Age. Neal-Schuman, 2003.

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Bailey-Hainer, Brenda. "Virtual Reference: Alive and Well: Reports of the Early Demise of Chat are

Unfounded" Library Journal 15 Jan. 2005. Accessed 12 Oct. 2008. <http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA491140.html>.

• Don't eliminate virtual reference on the grounds that usage is low and it's not cost-effective.

• Virtual reference can be affordable and, through collaboration, will grow only more so.

• Usage can be high and grow higher. • Libraries can continue to fulfill their

missions but in new ways.

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Sen-Roy, Mita. "The Social Life of Digital Reference: What the Technology Affords." The Reference Librarian 85 (2004): 127-37.

Digital reference service (also known as virtual reference) has become a contentious topic in the library literature, as some critics feel that it threatens reference service more than it enhances it.

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… after a careful assessment of what exactly digital reference technology can afford and what social impact such affordances could bring…suggestion will be made that digital reference digital reference should be employed as a means to provide should be employed as a means to provide reference service reference service as long as the service is designed to play to the strengths of the to play to the strengths of the technologytechnology. As such, it is recommended that libraries pursue digital reference service that is local, professional, and with privacy constraints.

Sen-Roy, Mita. "The Social Life of Digital Reference: What the Technology

Affords." The Reference Librarian 85 (2004): 127-37.

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IFLA Digital Reference Guidelines

“ The online environment is uniquely suited to consortial models of work and to the development of shared resources. Libraries in different countries may have different traditions of public service, which both affect their current reference practices and their patrons' expectations. ”

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IFLA Digital Reference Guidelines

“ But it is also important to recognize that new technologies will enable librarians to

redefine the scope of their public services. ”

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Defining a user base:

“ Before establishing a digital reference service, it is important to clarify one's target clientele. Consider how the use of the technology may effect and/or expand an institution's user base. ”

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Defining a user base:

“Physical location is of less importance when an institution has an online presence. In addition to the Library's traditional users, new and different types of users may choose to take advantage of online services.”

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Examples of Libraries using SNS

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• Chapter 7:

Librarians at the Nebraska Library Commission used Twitter to get answers for their reference questions

"Messaging in a 2.0 World." Library Technology Reports 43.5 (Sep. 2007): 62-66. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Univ. of West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica. 12 Oct. 2008 <http://search.ebscohost.com.rproxy.uwimona.edu.jm/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=26824921&site=ehost-live>.

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Sample of NLC Reference questions on Twitter

1. Need names of staff members of Governor Kerrey.

2. Need the address to the Better Business Bureau in Marietta. Ga

3. Was there ever an International Wildlife Park in Grand Prairie Neb.?

4. WHAT YEAR WERE DRIVER LICENSES FIRST REQUIRED IN NE?

5. There is a Gdowski Dam in Nebraska. Who it is named for and a little history?

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British Library using Social Networking