Thing #48: A Facebook Page for Your Library

Facebook Pages. You've seen them, you've "Liked" them. Does your library have one? Are your patrons on Facebook when they use the library's computers? Then maybe your library should be on Facebook, too. Facebook Pages are a great way to connect with your patrons, to promote your library's programs and services, and to share interesting stories or events. And they're easy to set up!

For this month's Thing, we're going to have you set up a Facebook Page for your library. If your library already has a Facebook Page, that's great! You can still participate this month - you can share how the library's page was set up and how it's being used now.

Before you make a page for your library, you must decide what you are going to use it for. Have a plan! Decide why your library needs it, what kinds of information you will have on it, who will be in charge of maintaining and updating the page. If you currently have a library website or newsletter, you can post the same types of items that you put there on your Facebook Page, too. And you already have people in charge of your website or newsletter - can those people keep up your library's Facebook page? Or maybe there is a volunteer or board member who is a big Facebook user themselves - can you recruit them to promote your library on Facebook?

To see how libraries and library organizations are using Facebook, here are a few Pages to look at:

Bellevue University Library
Gibbon Public Library
Lincoln City Libraries
O'Neill Public Library
South Sioux City Public Library
Union College Library
Nebraska Library Commission
Nebraska Library Association
American Library Association

This is a very short list of library-related Facebook Pages. See if you can find more!

We've also created a Facebook Page for this Nebraska Learns 2.0 program. We plan on using our page as a gathering place for Nebraska Learns 2.0 participants - for you to share ideas with each other, and for us to share information about the program with you.

Now that you've seen how others are doing it, it's time to go make a page for your own library. First, watch this video on the basics of setting up a Facebook Page for a library:



Remember, if you already have a Facebook Page for your library, you don't need to make a new one. Simply use the one you currently have to explore Facebook Pages for libraries.

To learn more about the whys and hows of Facebook Pages, here are some interesting articles:

What can you do with a Facebook Page? - David Lee King
What's Your Library's Facebook Policy? - Library Journal
Our Library Facebook Page - Stanford University, CA
Facebook as a Library Tool: Perceived vs. Actual Use - College & Research Libraries

Assignment:

1. Create a Facebook Page for your library. If your library already has a Facebook Page, then you've done Step 1.
2. "Like" the Nebraska Learns 2.0 Facebook Page. 
3. Spend a week or two posting updates to your library's Facebook Page. Don't forget to promote that you have this new resource to your community - link to it from your website, put it in your newsletter, post flyers in the library, etc.
4. Write a blog post about your experience with Facebook Pages. Some ideas to blog about:
• Did you find it hard or easy to create the page?
• What types of things have you been sharing on your library's Facebook Page?
• What has the response been to your library's Facebook Page?
• Do you have any ideas on how libraries can use Facebook to promote themselves?