Library Use of the Mega Internet Sites, 2013 Edition

Primary Research Group, ISBN 978-157440-241-4

The study looks closely at how libraries are using Google, Pinterest, Yahoo, Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, Amazon, Bing, Instagram, Vimeo, Twitter, Ebay and many other major internet sites. Just a few of the findings from the study are that:

• 4.17% of the libraries have workshops which teach patrons to use Craigslist
• 25% of the libraries sampled give workshops on how to use Wikipedia
• 90% of college libraries sampled give workshops on how to use Google Scholar.
• A third of legal and corporate libraries sampled considered Google Translate to be “highly useful”.
• Nearly 43% of libraries with an annual budget of more than $1 million considered Bing to be “highly useful”.
• The mean number of subscribers to the Twitter accounts of the libraries in the sample was 323.
• Non-USA libraries were much more likely than US-libraries to consider MySpace useful.
• About 23% of the libraries sampled had a YouTube account.
• Public libraries in the sample spent a mean of $8,000 ordering books from Amazon in the past year.
• 12.5% of libraries sampled use FlickR in their professional work.

The 160+ page study is available from Primary Research Group for $72.00. A pdf version of the report is currently available and a print version will be ready to ship on June 5, 2013 and can be ordered now. Site licenses are also available. Our reports can also be ordered through major book and Ebook distributors, as well as through major research report distributors. For a table of contents, list of participants, and free excerpt, or to place an order, visit our website at www.PrimaryResearch.com

What can Twitter do for my library?

Links to all of the pages for a webinar Bill the Librarian did for the South Central Regional Library Council in Ithaca, NY.

Twitter librarians

In an attempt to help participants in a webinar about Twitter that he did last year, Bill Drew, a librarian at the Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3) Library, created a webpage of people, libraries, and organizations that may serve as a good place to start following on Twitter. It is described as very subjective and includes people and libraries that have told him they are willing to be followed and willing to help others learn to use Twitter. The page is HERE. The website he created for the webinar is HERE. It is open for the world to use and will be subject to change as he sees fit.

Are You Following APL on Twitter?

Here's the Albany Public Library Twitter link. Please share it with anyone you think would be interested in APL!

http://twitter.com/albanypublib

Public Library Technology Access Study 2009-10 findings released

The 2009-10 Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study is now available online.

ALA also will start tweeting about the release and findings at ala_ors, so, if you or your library “follows” Twitter, please add them to your list.

This year's Study, the fourth in a series, provides national and state-level data and benchmarks of technology resources. Authored by the ALA Office for Research and Statistics and the Center for Library & Information Innovation, the study draws on information provided by thousands of rural, suburban, and urban libraries in every state; by state library agencies; and from interviews with library staff in select states.

The study is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the American Library Association. This digital edition is co-published by American Libraries magazine.

Twitter tweet from the Census Bureau

Form lost/missing? 1) Wait until 4/12; you may get mailed another, 2) On 4/12, call 866-872-6868 and request replacement.

Follow APL on Twitter

From Stephanie Simon, APL:

If you're a fan of Twitter, make sure you sign up for the library's Twitter feed. We've been sending tweets for several months and have more than 150 followers. It's a fun way to keep up with library happenings on the go. You'll learn about great programs, new books coming out, updates on the renovated and new libraries, and other APL news.

If you don't have a Twitter account, it's easy, and free, to register for one.

Then check out APL's Twitter feed! http://twitter.com/albanypublib

Infomavens' Desktop

A blog described as "informing, never boring," Infomavens' Desktop "is a fun and insightful (hopefully) blog maintained by a lawyer and a librarian, with diverse interests and backgrounds!"

Recent posts include a list of librarians dancing to Michael Jackson’s Thriller video (1/31), Southern California schools banning Merriam Webster’s 10th edition dictionary (1/27), the (possible) effect of social media on democracy (1/27), and a piece called Stop Freaking Out and Head to the Library! (1/20).

I found it, BTW, when ID started following me on Twitter (infomavensblog).

Presenting Twitter

Wilfred Drew, Librarian at Tompkins Cortland Community College did a presentation recently at Southern Tier Library (Painted Post, NY) System’s “How Libraries Can Survive in the Digital Age.” His presentation was on "Why Twitter? What can Twitter do for my library & my community?" The material on the website he created he indicated is available to anyone that wants to use it. The URL is http://bit.ly/WhyTwitterPubLib.

Thanks, Bill!

Why Twitter?

Librarian Bill Drew explains what Twitter can do for one's library & community.

45% of Employers Use Social Networking Sites to Research Job Candidates

Source: MarketWatch

As social networking grows increasingly pervasive, more employers are utilizing these sites to screen potential employees. Forty-five percent of employers reported in a recent CareerBuilder survey that they use social networking sites to research job candidates, a big jump from 22 percent last year. Another 11 percent plan to start using social networking sites for screening. More than 2,600 hiring managers participated in the survey, which was completed in June 2009.

Of those who conduct online searches/background checks of job candidates, 29 percent use Facebook, 26 percent use LinkedIn and 21 percent use MySpace. One-in-ten (11 percent) search blogs while 7 percent follow candidates on Twitter.

The top industries most likely to screen job candidates via social networking sites or online search engines include those that specialize in technology and sensitive information: Information Technology (63 percent) and Professional & Business Services (53 percent).

More Twitter help

Here.

Video: Why Twitter is all the rage

A two minute video on how Twitter is the happening resource these days.

Library of Congress Now Has an Official Twitter Feed

You can find the official LC feed here. As of this writing nearly 1000 are following them; they are following no one yet.

Librarians All a Twitter

I'll admit that I didn't always understand Twitter, its appeal or particularly its functionality. After reading Want to try microblogging, but don’t know how to get started? Read on, I'm definitely seeing the applicability in library, business and news applications.