Most commentaries to date on library use of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter have focused on a handful of well-funded public libraries with high-profile employees. Now Crawford's Successful Social Networking in Public Libraries fills in the rest of the picture, offering for the first time an in-depth look at how a large variety of public libraries are using social networks. Examining more than 6,000 libraries across the US, Crawford Analyses social network usage by libraries of many different sizes and funding levels, showing how many of them are active and effective in quite different ways Offers many examples that will help other libraries establish or refine their own social networking activities Presents several key questions that libraries should ask themselves, such as "Who do we want to reach?" and "What's the best way to interact with communities?" Gives libraries guidelines to set social networking goals and conduct ongoing evaluation Includes illuminating comments from numerous librarians on the front lines of communication Based on broad research, Crawford draws a vivid portrait that shows how a wide range of public libraries is conducting digital outreach and marketing through social networking.

Liblogs--blogs written by library people, as opposed to official library blogs--provide some of today's most interesting and useful library literature. This book offers a broad look at English-language liblogs as they are and as they've changed between 2007 and 2008. The book includes more than 600 blogs with detailed analysis of 27 metrics for 2007 and 2008 and changes from 2007 to 2008--and, for 143 of them, 2006 as well. Through tables, charts and text, we explore the liblog landscape.