Catherine's Comments

 Source: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

This reflection will highlight my evolution as a social networker through studying INF206 and exploring the implications of social networking in my development as an information professional.

I had an extremely simplistic view of this subject before we started, believing the focus of INF206 would include the best social media tools for marketing libraries and information agencies. I assumed it would also cover personal networking opportunities (which it did), current social media trends, and how libraries worldwide are harnessing new platforms to create visitor engagement.

INF206 did indeed provide this information, but I found the history of this socially networked world we live in particularly interesting. I was part of the evolution of social networking in the late 90s/early 2000s; from playing multiplayer games through Telnet at the public library to using ICQ at home (albeit slowly due to dial-up internet) and creating a social media account through Myspace. For my friends and I, we found it easy to learn these user-generated Web 2.0 technologies; as it progressed, so did our skills. In 2024, though, with Web 3.0 on the horizon, it is near impossible to know and understand every social networking tool available. INF206 has updated my knowledge in this area, especially around the modern issues of privacy and data safety. Since finishing this subject, I have made more informed decisions about my online presence and the security of my library clients.

As a social media user, I have become increasingly frustrated with the centralised platforms such as Facebook and Instagram due to the aforementioned privacy concerns and the algorithms that provide distressing content combined with a never-ending barrage of targeted advertising. In addition to personal social media accounts, completing this degree online, and being an administrator for my library’s Facebook page, I feel fatigued by the amount of time I spend connected to the Internet. Through the course content and discussions in the INF206 Facebook group, CSU Discord channels, and the reading of my classmates’ online learning journals, I am aware of the variety of new platforms that promise fewer advertisements, less targeted posts, and more authentic online connections, but in all honesty…

I am completely over social media.

That is not to say I am against all social networking sites. There has been a positive shift in online professional development and internal social media tools. I have found myself viewing platforms such as LinkedIn Learning that offer short skills-based courses. Although LinkedIn can be frustrating with the constant requests to become a financial member, it is the most valuable platform for networking within the library and information professional community in both Australia and overseas.  The other beneficial platform is Microsoft Teams, which provides easy communication across the eight branches in the library’s geographical area and the State-wide library network. Having a centralised platform for sharing important notices, storing documents such as rosters and policies and holding staff meetings despite where I am in the state is extremely helpful.

But let’s get back to social media…

Throughout the course, I explored the “old” platforms of Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter/X and the more recent WT Social, MeWe, Vero and Minds. To stay relevant, social networking professionals must analyse the functionality of available platforms (both new and old) and adapt to changing preferences. For instance, continuing to use Facebook to promote library services to the youth market despite data showing they are using other platforms indicates a lack of commitment to staying relevant (Target Internet, 2024). However, the challenge for libraries to change platforms would come down to a lack of time or money but in the case of TikTok, online security must also be considered.

TikTok

This hugely popular platform is the go-to for young people; libraries are creating funny, engaging videos worldwide to change the perception that libraries are boring, stuffy places. You must only look at the success of #BookTok for “making reading cool again” (The Conversation, 2022) to see how beneficial it could be for libraries to use a platform to connect with an interested group of readers. Unfortunately for TikTok, the platform has been identified as a threat to national security due to concerns around privacy and in 2023, TikTok was banned on all government devices (Al-Khouri et al., 2023). For us here in Tasmania, our library network is state government-funded, so we cannot access the platform on any device we use for work-related activities, including our email accounts and Microsoft Teams. Because of these restrictions, I did not engage with TikTok throughout this course even though I am aware of the fun and engaging content shared by libraries on the platform. Privacy and data safety must be taken seriously, and it was one of the areas my readings focused on throughout the course.

Issues in the online social environment, data and privacy in public libraries.

One of the topics most relevant to me as a public library employee was data privacy and whether the responsibility to keep personal data safe was the responsibility of the library or the client.

As government agencies and businesses move their administrative tasks online, the onus to complete these tasks shifts to the person accessing the service over those providing it. Personally, I am unsure whether service providers fully understand the challenges that many people in the community face in having the access and skills to complete these tasks or if they do not care in order to save money on staffing. Whatever the reason, it means that public libraries often become where people conduct these activities. All libraries have policies and guidelines around Internet use that warn people against using public PCs for tasks involving confidential information. Still, the reality is that some people have no other choice. In Tasmania, accessibility is a huge problem, both logistically and financially, with communities living as close as ten minutes away from a major town or city and unable to access adequate bandwidth to complete the required tasks. Combine this with the cost of mobile data or a Wi-Fi connection, outdated devices, and a lack of general literacy in regional communities. Internet access in the library is vital for participation in day-to-day society.

As librarians, we uphold ethical values around a client’s right to privacy, yet the nature of public computers does not allow us to respect those values. Through the course readings, I have learnt there are ways we could minimise the risk for clients using our spaces to conduct confidential tasks.

For example, a client arrives at the library to use a public computer to access Netbank as they need to print a statement to apply for a rental property. The problem is that the client has forgotten their password and, hard of hearing, has put their phone on speaker while talking to the bank, verbally answering their security questions while other library users listen. As library staff, we could tell the visitor not to use their phone in the library, that it is risky for them to log into their bank on a public PC, or we could implement ways to make our online networks safer. The library could move a PC to a secluded area or room for clients needing additional privacy. Public computers can install plugins to limit third-party tracking, enable private browsing modes, and make settings that purge a user’s browser history between uses. While it may seem that a large-scale cyber-attack or data breach is unlikely for a regional public library, we must take precautions to prevent this rather than wait until it happens. The potential for these problems and possible solutions is one of the most interesting aspects of this subject, and I look forward to discussing what I have learned with my colleagues at the library.

Social media strategies and plans.

As a social media administrator for the Burnie Library Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BurnieLibrary/), I feel as though our page is a hindrance to library staff rather than a dynamic marketing tool used to engage and promote our library’s wonderful services. At a local level, there are between six and eight staff members with varying roles with permissions to post content. Yet, we have no social media plan, schedule, or consistency in tone and too often, there are grammatical errors in posts; not a great look for a library!

The readings, in particular ‘The 2024 Guide to Facebook for Libraries: Updated Tips To Get the Most Organic Reach’ and ‘The Library Marketing Tookit’s ‘Seven Concepts for Marketing Libraries’ (Potter, 2012) has given me the confidence to approach my own leadership team with a proposal to create a Burnie Library Facebook strategy with a two-week in-advance content calendar, a plan for data capture and a reporting process to measure progress and success.

The OLJ

Creating this blog in Thinkspace was a refreshing experience compared to writing traditional assessments in Microsoft Word, despite challenges with the formatting. I continuously improved my blog over the weeks, changing from classic mode to block text, improving the style and fonts, and adding categories and tags for easier searchability. It was through reading my classmate’s blog on accessibility (https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/moth/2024/01/05/inclusiveness-accessibility-and-diversity-in-social-media/) that I went back through my entries and added alt text captions to allow screen reading software to describe the images to people who may be reading my blog who have a print disability. In Thinkspace, there were two issues I found problematic compared to writing and assignments in Word: the lack of a working spell checker and the ability to conduct a word count. In the case of the spell checker, words were highlighted as being spelt incorrectly, but when hovering the mouse over them, there were no suggestions of correct spelling. I did try to solve this issue through the Thinkspace help pages and forums. Still, due to time constraints, I created a workaround by writing the blog posts in Word, correcting all spelling and grammatical errors, conducting the word count, and then copying/pasting them back into the blog template. It was inefficient, but it did the job, and I am happy with my blog’s overall style and content.

Research for Assessment 1

The last point I want to reflect on is how my PLN assisted me with the research for Assessment 1. As part of the assessment, I compared the Facebook posts of nine libraries in the Libraries Tasmania network across the month of November 2023 to discover which content had the most likes or shares (comments are deactivated as per Australian defamation laws). There was a clear pattern: any generic posts advertising upcoming programs or events had almost no interaction yet posts that received the most attention was those that connected the user to the community. Photos of prize winners, attendees participating in a library event, and even a family of ducks living near the Rosny Library were popular (well as popular as they can be on a Facebook page with a small following). I then needed to compare Libraries Tasmania posts against a similar regional library, and it was here my PLN came in handy! As a recent attendee of the Public Libraries of NSW SWITCH Conference, I had met the new librarian for Wentworth Shire Public Libraries and knew they were having similar issues with social media engagement, therefore it would be a good comparison. It was, and the data I received from viewing both their Facebook and Instagram pages correlated with what I had gained from our own Facebook pages, that people still prefer to engage with social media that promotes human or emotional connection.

I think that will be the key for libraries moving forward, as the social networking landscape continues to become saturated with new platforms, at the end of the day people will gravitate towards a human connection and if a library can get that balance right, they will be unstoppable!

(1962 words)

References

Agarwal, S. (2023, October 3). Great news: social media is falling apart. https://www.businessinsider.com/social-media-splintering-new-less-toxic-era-meta-bluesky-twitter-2023-10?op=1

Al-Khouri, C., Lowrey, T., & Long, C. (2023, April 3). TikTok to be banned from Australian government devices. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-04/tiktok-ban-australian-government-devices/102183478

Conversation. (2022, May 10). What is BookTok, and how is it influencing what Australian teenagers read? https://theconversation.com/what-is-booktok-and-how-is-it-influencing-what-australian-teenagers-read-182290

CSU Thinkspace. (2024). Using Categories and Tags. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/using-categories-and-tags/

Humphreys, S. (2019). Tweeting into the void?: Creating a UK library twitter list and analyzing best practice – successes and myths. Insights, 32, 1-23. 

Hurst, A. (2023). The 2024 guide to Facebook for libraries: Updated tips to get the most organic reach. Super Library Marketing. https://superlibrarymarketing.com/2023/11/13/facebook2024/ 

Libraries Tasmania. (n.d.). Internet conditions of use. https://libraries.tas.gov.au/public-libraries/computers-internet-access/internet-conditions-of-use/

Potter, N. (2012). The Library Marketing Toolkit. Facet Publishing. 

Statista. (2023). Most popular social networks worldwide as of October 2023, ranked by number of monthly active users. https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/

Target Internet. (2024). How different age groups are using social media 2023. https://targetinternet.com/resources/how-different-age-groups-are-using-social-media-2023/

Warren, T. (2023). Inclusiveness, accessibility, and diversity in social media. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/moth/2024/01/05/inclusiveness-accessibility-and-diversity-in-social-media/

Yorio, K. (2022, December 5). Leaving Twitter? Where will librarians and the kid lit community go? https://www.slj.com/story/Leaving-Twitter-Where-Will-Librarians-and-the-Kid-Lit-Community-Go

“Choose one of the resources above and write a 400 word analysis that addresses the following issues: What is the potential for the future of an organisation you are familiar with? What impact might the future have on us as information professionals?”

Source: University of Lincoln, UK

In my chosen article, Saloi (2021) details the best practice for implementing and using drones to deliver library materials followed by examples of how libraries are currently using this technology.

Delivering library books to a member’s house is not a new concept, bookmobiles, volunteer couriers, and even horseback have been used over the years and libraries including Edmonton Public Library, Dubai Public Library and New York Public Library are all early adopters.

When looking at Libraries Tasmania, drones would be helpful in delivering items to remote communities, yet it seems unlikely in the near future as there are only two drone courier companies approved by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) in Australia, Wing (https://wing.com/) and Swoop Aero (https://swoop.aero/) neither of which operate in Tasmania.

An alternative to partnering with a courier is for libraries themselves to purchase the equipment and become a Remote Pilot Operator. This is the stuff of Sci-Fi books; librarians turned drone pilots, delivering books to isolated landscapes! There would be benefits delivering items this way, they are much faster and more environmentally friendly than a road-based, petrol fueled vehicle service (Wing, n.d.), not to mention the image upgrade librarians would receive.

As for the impact on library professionals, the topic of using drones to deliver books brings up the question of library access and equity; How do we get information into the hands of our community members within our budget and staffing restraints? I have some questions…

Would it be more beneficial for a library to fund a mobile book van, allowing for the transportation or a larger number of items and also providing recipients with the human connection?

If a physical delivery service is impossible due to lack of road infrastructure, natural disasters or another pandemic, would drones delivering physical items be the next best solution?

Or would it be a better to spend the money digitising more of the collection and renegotiating e-book licenses to allow more copies to be available? If this was the case the library would also need to consider that not everyone has access to the technology or skills to access e-resources, should libraries then be loaning laptops, e-readers and portable internet access to allow equity of services?

In the end, it all comes back to access and how do we, as information professionals, facilitate our community members of all locations and skills, to access the information they require. (400 words).

References

Saloi, A. (2021). Drone in Libraries for Document Delivery:” Flying Documents”. Library Philosophy and Practice, 1-14.

Elassar, A. (2024). Google’s Wing drones are dropping off books to students in Virginia who can’t go to the library because of the coronavirus. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/15/us/google-wing-library-books-drone-virginia-christiansburg-trnd/index.html?utm_source=twCNNi&utm_content=2020-06-15T19%3A50%3A08&utm_term=link&utm_medium=social

McGraw, E. (2017, June 21). Horse-riding librarians were the great depression’s bookmobiles. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/horse-riding-librarians-were-great-depression-bookmobiles-180963786/

“After reading the articles above, write a post of 400 words that considers one advantage of the use of either virtual or augmented reality, and one disadvantage. Discuss in relation to a library or information organisation that you are familiar with.”

Source: Campus Technology

Libraries worldwide use virtual reality (VR) in programming for children, adults, and seniors, with the games ranging from fun and excitement to a way to try new technology that they otherwise could not afford or my favourite one, as a social tool.

With the right programs, VR can encourage empathy and social cohesion by simulating lived experiences in the hope that if through the game, an emotional connection is made, that person may stop seeing someone as “other” and relate to a group of people they consider “other” and potentially change their perception of them in the future. Meta even has a category for these types of games in their VR game store titled VR for Good which explains “Narratives that examine the treatment of people belonging to any race, religion, gender, and sexual identity, and aims to use these stories to promote connection, empathy and equality” (Meta, 2024).

Award-winning VR game The Key, uses metaphorical storytelling and magical realism to demonstrate the plight of refugees, We Live Here lets users interact with objects that serve as animated memories to understand the reality of homelessness. The Anne Frank House museum offers a 25-minute virtual tour of what the annex in which Anne Frank and seven others hid from the Nazis would have looked like during World War 2. VR makes these experiences feel immersive and real, something less likely to happen than by reading a book or watching a news article.

Anne Frank House VR Tour: Graphic by Seeflection.

The disadvantage is that VR comes at a cost. Aside from the initial purchase, there are staff costs to consider for facilitating each session: setup, demonstration, supervision (to avoid participants running into walls or throwing the controllers through the TV screen) and troubleshooting. Where I work, we use a Sony VR headset attached to a PlayStation; to buy these new the costs are approximately $799 for a PlayStation 5 and $879 for the Song VR 2 headset. For the aforementioned Meta headsets, the costs can vary between $439 to $ 1729, depending on the model. In addition, games will need to be purchased as your library visitors will only play the demo version for so long; if you want the good stuff, you’ll need to pay anywhere up to $60 a game (VR Space, 2022). The other factor to consider is cost-effectiveness, as only one person can use the VR headset at a time, is it worth the time and money if only a few people get to test it out?

(412 words).

References

Anne Frank House. (n.d.). The Anne Frank house in virtual reality: the secret annex VR app. https://www.annefrank.org/en/about-us/what-we-do/publications/anne-frank-house-virtual-reality/

Dahya, N., King, W. E., Lee, K. J., & Lee, J. H. (2021). Perceptions and experiences of virtual reality in public libraries. Journal of Documentation, 77(3), 617–637. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-04-2020-0051

Electronics Boutique Australia. (2024). PlayStation 5 (slim) disc console. https://www.ebgames.com.au/product/ps5/302139-playstation-5-slim-disc-console

Electronics Boutique Australia. (2024). Sony PlayStation VR2. https://www.ebgames.com.au/product/ps5/290554-sony-playstationvr2

Lee, K. J., King, W. E., Dahya, N., & Lee, J. H. (2020). Librarian perspectives on the role of virtual reality in public libraries. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 57(1). https://doi.org/10.1002/pra2.254

Meta. (2024). Compare your Meta quest. https://www.meta.com/au/quest/compare/

Meta. (2024). VR for good. https://about.meta.com/community/vr-for-good/

Meta. (2020, April 17). Unlock a mysterious journey with ‘the key’ on Oculus Quest and the Rift platform. https://www.meta.com/en-gb/blog/quest/unlock-a-mysterious-journey-with-the-key-on-oculus-quest-and-the-rift-platform/?intern_source=blog&intern_content=vr-for-good-we-live-here-puts-a-face-on-homelessness&utm_source=www.meta.com&utm_medium=oculusredirect

Meta. (2020, December 20). VR for good: ‘we live here’ puts a face on homelessness. https://www.meta.com/en-gb/blog/quest/vr-for-good-we-live-here-puts-a-face-on-homelessness/

Sony Interactive Entertainment. (2024). PlayStation VR. https://www.playstation.com/en-au/ps-vr/

VR Space. (2022). How much are VR games? https://vr.space/news/games/how-much-do-vr-games-cost/

“Based on Utecht’s 5 stages of PLN adoption, identify which stage you currently see yourself experiencing and how this impacts on your personal and working lives. Also identify any ‘gaps’ in your existing PLN (ie. areas which you feel you would like to develop further/in the future). Write around 400 words.”

Source: Utecht, 2008

Of the five stages in Utecht’s Personal Learning Network (PLN), I feel I’ve encountered the whole spectrum!

1. Immersion,
2. Evaluation,
3. Know-it-all,
4. Perspective and
5. Balance.

In 2019, I decided to change careers and do what I had always wanted: work in a library! There was one problem – Tasmania is quite small and opportunities, especially in a regional town, were limited. To give myself the best chance to secure one of these sought-after jobs, I immersed myself in the Library and Information Sector (LIS). I wanted to know everything. I wanted to gain as much knowledge as possible, to prove I was a worthy candidate despite the lack of prior experience.

Once I secured a permanent role, the urgency to learn continued. I completed an online Diploma of Library and Information Services and then enrolled in this Bachelor of Information. However, combining full-time work with part-time study took its toll, and I had to evaluate my PLN activities and achieve some balance. To minimise the time spent outside work hours completing coursework, I decided to forgo any internal professional development (PD) opportunities and focus on my studies (with permission from my manager).

This manager encouraged me to apply for a grant (which I did receive) from the State Library and Archives Trust to attend the NSWPLA SWITCH Conference in Sydney to increase my PLN opportunities. As mentioned by Utecht in his article, I believe that focusing on opportunities that directly assist with career goals or subjects I am interested in will be more sustainable in the long run over obsessively trying to know everything in the LIS. Attending a public library conference outside of Tasmania with industry speakers, trade talks, and networking opportunities, I found the most beneficial use of my time. I will prioritise conference attendance in the future.

As well as conference attendance and finishing my degree, I wish to focus my PLN opportunities on school or museum libraries, both areas of interest. To gain more knowledge in these areas I have three ideas for my PLN:

1. Become part of the ALIA mentoring scheme,
2. Subscribe to librarian blogs that have a focus on school libraries and children’s literature,
3. In my Libraries Tasmania PD plan, request work experience in a school or museum library in Tasmania.

To conclude, I have created the infographic below that I can update as needed, track my PLN opportunities and, most importantly, keep my work/life balance!

(408 words).

Cat Douglas – PLN

References

ALIA. (2024). ALIA mentoring scheme. https://www.alia.org.au/Web/Web/Careers/ALIA-Mentoring-Scheme.aspx

Nielson, L. (2008, October 12). 5 things you can do to begin developing your personal learning network. https://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2008/04/5-things-you-can-do-to-begin-developing.html

Utecht, J. (2008, April 3). Stages of PLN adoption. https://www.thethinkingstick.com/stages-of-pln-adoption/