I perused the Facebook pages of three school libraries: West Brook High School in Texas, Vilonia Middle School in Arkansas, and Cordova Elementary School in Alabama.
I chose West Brook because it's in my town, just down the road from my middle school. West Brook's High School Library page, https://www.facebook.com/pages/West-Brook-High-School-Library/150517588294492, has an attractive layout. The cover photo is changed frequently, mostly to reflect the changing months. They joined Facebook at the beginning of the school year in 2010. They are LIKED by 418. There were 9 photos for 2013 which were mostly cover photo changes. The page also includes the school logo/mascot. In 2012 they posted 24 photos, which included photos of students, the library, book covers, fine forgiveness, and banned book week posters. However, there do not seem to be many posts or comments, at least not this school year. The library staff posted at the beginning of the school year: library hours/rules, book club meeting, Facebook contest, Hispanic Heritage Month, Book Swap Week, and Officer Voting for Manga Club. There was nothing after October 3rd. Only a few people posted comments. The main page has a link to Community & Government pages. West Brook seems to use its Facebook page to post library information, but does not especially invite interaction. One person did post a question about Manga shirts to which the library responded. The only invitation was for students to LIKE their page and have their name entered into a drawing for a $30 iTunes card.
Vilonia's Middle Schools Library page, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vilonia-Middle-School-Library/78374312486, has many photos of students, many taken with The Grinch. They joined Facebook in May 2009 and are LIKED by 615. They share posts with information about happenings in the school, not just the library, such as awards ceremonies, chili cook-off, pink-out day, See You at the Pole, sports, etc. Their very active site shares a smorgasbord of information. Everything happening at the school is shared here, so students and parents alike will want this to be their go-to site. The library itself has Literacy Night, book fair bucks awarded for homecoming spirit week best dressed, and book fair buddy pictures. They also include posts about books and free e-books. There were not a lot of outside comments, but there was a lot of good information.
Cordova Elementary's School Library page, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cordova-Elementary-School-Library/168055128780, has a lovely library photo as its cover. The information provided is for parents, mostly about school happenings. They joined Facebook in October 2009 and are LIKED by 399. There are not many outside comments, but this site is meant more for parents' than for students' use. It would probably be better if they included information for kids to enjoy, such as descriptions of good books and fun questions for them to respond to. This would be a good way for elementary students to practice using the computer and social media.
Overall, Vilonia Middle School's Facebook page was the best of those I examined. (I wonder if it's okay to show pictures of students on their page. They probably have to get parental consent.) All of the libraries used their Facebook page to share library information, but the middle school and elementary school also shared school-wide information. I think that sharing school happenings along with library happenings is a great way to promote the library because more people will visit your page. Book blogs and trailers would also be an excellent enhancement. None of the sites had a lot of comments. If the librarian posted a book question or clue and invited responses, this would pique interest in the site. I would add photos of students/teachers caught reading, along with photos of celebrities reading. Having a Library Facebook page that is well used and visited would be a definite plus for middle and high schools, but could also benefit elementary schools.
A disadvantage might be that some students don't have access to Facebook or the parents of younger children might not like them being on Facebook. Another disadvantage might be that students would post inappropriate comments. The librarian would have to check it out regularly.
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