Well, I've had a browse of various libraries on Facebook. I'm torn as to whether I think Facebook is relevant to libraries or not. In some senses, I'm not sure it makes any difference at all. I think that there is a way of communicating with students through Facebook, but as not all users will be on Facebook, let alone a fan of your page, you will always need to send messages out through official channels as well. And then what is the point of repeating the message on Facebook, when one or two students may happen to see it among all the posts from their friends?
That being said, I think Facebook does offer an opportunity to offer a non-intimidating way for people to interact with libraries and librarians. I was very interested to see the British Library's page, where people are posting on the wall to ask questions. And these questions are being answered by a human at the Library. I'm very impressed that someone at the BL is taking the time to respond - and I think that is the key. If you have someone who is going to put the time and effort into making it work, I think Facebook could have benefits for a library.
But, you need the users to engage and interact in order for that to work. I'm tempted to change my mind again - the Warwick Library page is full of notes from library staff, but has no interaction at all from students. So is it worth it? Are the students reading the notes?
I think I'm going to sit safely on the fence on this one!
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