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Discuss how social media impacts the delivery of information services in a type of library or information center of your choice. Give examples of current library initiatives that illustrate how these technologies have been implemented. Social Media: The Tools to Connect a Middle School Library Social media connects users across the world by interest. It allows educators to discuss, debate, and share information with other educators across the world (Ishizuka 2010). Social media is transforming the way people receive, deliver, interact, and share information. Though the continual use of social media, school library patrons anticipate digital content to be easily accessible in the library, class, and the world. As students information seeking behavior evolves, it is the responsibility of the schools library media specialist to meet users on their level. Moreover, the specialist should provide users with convenient reliable access to information using the tools in which users are comfortable receiving information. Social media is transforming the way school libraries transmit, receive, and deliver information (Eisenberg, 2008). Different types of libraries, institutions, and schools have implemented new programs for information dissemination in response to patron social media use and changes in patron information seeking behavior. New initiatives and programs in other institutions serve as templates or roadmaps for middle school libraries to meet their users in the social media arenas. When school media professionals introduce students and staff to social media through quality programming and initiatives, schools can create a culture of professional learning environments (PLEs) and information literate students.

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Initiatives Library of Congress The Library of Congress is an institution that sets a leading example in social media and information services with several different ventures in delivering and receiving information. The Library of Congresss Flickr Commons is a social media photo-sharing tool that the library is using to engage current users as well as engage unknown audiences. Furthermore, students use Flickr in school libraries for assistance on research projects, homework, and web page creation. Flickr serves many different purposes for users across the board with their interactive pages. By delivering information (photos) through social media and providing users with an interactive experience, the Library of Congress is attracting more users who are able to comment, share, and interact with the information (photos). This initiative allows institutions to post historical pictures with no known copyright issues and encourages the public to comment, discuss, and describe these pictures with tags. The initiative of the Flickr Commons began with a small team at the Library of Congress discussing how to increase visibility of their historical photo collections (Kroski, 2009). After several lengthy discussions, the library decided that an in-house solution would be too cumbersome and expensive. To control cost, the committee began reviewing open source alternative solutions. After more deliberations, the 2007 Computers in Libraries conference highlighted the success of the National Library of Australia with Flickr, a social media photosharing site. The committee began exploring the possibilities of using Flickr for the needs of the

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Library of Congresss photo archives; taking the time to examine security concerns, user interfaces federal regulations and copyright issues. Flickr appeared to meet all their needs except an issue that dealt with images where the owner was not the holder of the copyright, and the copyright was unknown. Flickr Commons After deliberations, an agreement was made which birthed the. This endeavor into social media information delivery has proven very fruitful with over 10.4 million views of the photos in the Flickr Commons as of October 23, 2008 (Kroski, 2009). Through providing information through Flickr, a social media outlet, the library has reached new audiences and engaged previous ones. Flat Classroom The concept of a 'flat classroom' an ideal based on the constructivist principle of a multimodal learning environment that is student-centered and a level playing field for teacher to student and student to teacher interaction. The Flat Classroom initiative is a global collaborative project that joins together middle and senior high school students through social media (Flat Classroom Project 2010). This project initially began with Julie Lindsay a teacher from Beijing and teacher Vicki Davis from the United States. Using various forms of social media to interact and share information with classrooms and other students across the globe creating PLEs in both schools. The classrooms that participated in the Flat Classroom Project team with other schools across the globe to build a compressive website took advantage of a wide-ranging social media information delivery services. Blogs, twitter, RSS feeds, social video sharing, and wikis are some of the information delivering tools recommended to build a website that engages and inspires

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users to be active and revisit the site. Moreover, competition using social media classrooms adds level of ownership in the quality of information delivered. 107 Voices Created by Mellisa Wantz (2009) 107 Voices, a teacher created social media site used for interactions with her English students. Students are regularly engaged to blog about classwork issues and class related discussions. Students are able create their own page and allowed to customize their page with school appropriate dcor. This site has a mobile feature allowing students to read teacher posts, reply to homework, post pictures, and view assignments from their mobile phones. Allowing students to use tools they are familiar with and are already at their disposal generates interest and allows for information delivery in a means where students frequent for regular amounts of information. Social Media Information Delivery Tools Social Networking Social networks are online connections between people or who share interests and activities. Social networks allow connections for instant and constant information to send to users. Through user news feeds, photo and video sharing, and micro blogging status updates, users have become accustomed to receiving a continually and instantaneous stream of information. An advantage of social networking is the ability to create groups for users. Creating groups allow librarians, grade levels, subject areas, teams, or any special interest groups to disseminate information to a specific group. Some school national groups such as the National

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Junior Honor Society produce pages on social media sites linked and information shared with local members of the group. Twitter Questions Twitter (2010) is a real-time information network that connects users to the latest information people find interesting. Twitter uses micro blogging to allow users to post short statements that are searchable through index tags. The New York Public library twitters daily about the libraries resources, events, and happenings around the city. The library also offers a question and answers via twitter. Todays students in secondary school digital natives growing up receiving short feeds of information about topics they would like to explore. Twitter is an excellent way to keep students engaged and allows students to ask questions as they have them. Twittering about books is also a way authors have found to deliver information and attract audiences. School media specialists have found this is an excellent way to get students excited about books (Ishizuka 2010). Students tweet quotes from and about books to share information with the world and others. Twitter post responses in real time and allows users to use hash tags simplifying the task of finding posts or tweets related to a subject. Best Buy (Twitter 2011) uses the technique to answer multiple customers questions in real time. Middle school teachers are using this tool as a method of extra credit to inspire students. Short research questions or open-ended questions allow for question and answer via twitter. The hash marks and the at symbol make indexing and finding answers easy for teachers and fellow students. Other methods of quick response

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questions on twitter include sentence corrections, math word problems, and allegory question and answer. Video Social media networks are vehicles to embed video streams that provide information for users. Students in classrooms are able to view video and debate on issues other students have (Wantz, 2009). Videos also give students the chance to introduce themselves to other students across the country. School libraries provide more than books providing equipment for video conferencing and video editing along with training. Implementation, care, and training for social media projects services provided by library media specialist. Skype With the change in delivery of information and services due to social media, social media changes human interactions also. Skype allows authors to meet and interact with groups of students instantly at a fraction of the cost (Chima, 2009). Schools are implementing short author visits via skype to have question and answer sessions delivering information instantly and virtually face-to-face (Messner 2010). Social media has shrunk the world virtually making it an expectation to interact online with people across the country and world. Website Integration

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Schools and school districts integrate twitter, Facebook, and Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds to their webpages to continually stream information to stakeholders (Houston ISD. 2011). By adding social media, tools to schools and librarys website students, parents, and teachers are able to interact with each other in many new ways. RSS feeds provide continual news about topic administrators. Libraries use RSS feeds to including announcements, extended services, ejournals and table of contents services, reference service, library blogs, web resource announcements, search resource, books, newsgroups, search results, and RSS-based search engines (Bansode, Dahibhate, & Ingale, K. 2009). Media Plan Public schools have much to learn from other organizations when it comes to the implementation of information delivery about social media aspects. To accommodate for the current needs of users of plan social media information plans are implemented The LOC Flickr Commons can be adapted to a middle school by allowing students to upload pictures of places they visit, and allowing other students to comment and tag the picture. History teachers could also utilize this function by placing pictures of upcoming lessons and allowing students to tag, comment, or guess relevant information about the images. Similar approaches and methods occur in science classrooms. The Flat Classroom projects extend the classroom beyond the physical walls of the school. Middle school libraries could adapt this information delivery system to coordinate book talks with other libraries across the city or world. Skype and iChat are video conferencing tools that would allow instant access and interactions with audiences, authors, and experts across the world. Micro-blogging social media tools allow the delivery of information to

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a wide group of users. This information can include announcements, new arrivals, events, and random tidbits of knowledge delivered to students preferred method of delivery. Twitter also provides the tools to support question and answer with students outside of library hours or facilities. Social media networks like Melisa Wantzs (2010) allow students to be creative and expressive in an outlet they are comfortable with and enjoy using. Students can use their librarys social network to share information on books, post comments while the library can use the site to share information on collections, post information videos, foster question and answer question on message boards, and allow students to provide peer support in forums. Social Media has altered the worlds methods of information delivery. In order to meet students where they are, libraries must use the tools of social media to provide quality services in an evolving world.

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References

Bansode, S., Dahibhate, N. B., & Ingale, K. (2009). Rss applications in libraries and information centres. Library Philosophy & Practice, 11(1), 1-4. Retrieved from http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/lpp.htm Chima, C. W. (2009, June 11). Skype author chat at discovery middle school [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://cindachima.blogspot.com/2009/06/skype-author-chat-at-discoverymiddle.html Eisenberg, M. (2008). The parallel information universe. Library Journal, 133(8), 22-25. Retrieved from http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6551184.html. Flat Classroom. (2010, July). The flat classroom project. Retrieved from http://www.flatclassroomproject.org/file/view/Flat_Classroom_Brochure_July2010.pdf Houston ISD,. (2011). About hisd rss feeds. Retrieved from http://www.houstonisd.org/HISDConnectDS/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=ce972eec5d02d110 VgnVCM10000028147fa6RCRD&vgnextchannel=3e5608ae6b8fc010VgnVCM1000005 2147fa6RCRD Ishizuka, K. (2010). People Who Need People: How 11 intrepid users get the most out of social media. School Library Journal, 56(2), 32-36. Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/reviewsprofessionalreading/856513320/people_who_need_people_how.html.csp.

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Kroski, E. (2009). Stacking the tech: the library of congress talks digital initiative. Library Journal, 133(8), 22-25. Retrieved from http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6551184.html Messner, K. (2010). An Author in Every Classroom. School Library Journal, 56(9), 42-44. Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com Twitter. (2010). About twitter. Retrieved from http://twitter.com/about Twitter. (2011). Case study: best buy twitter for business. Retrieved from http://business.twitter.com/optimize/case-studies/best-buy Wantz, M. (2009). About twitter. Retrieved from http://107voices.ning.com/