Tweens All a Twitter

Those information specialists looking to better engage their teen patrons should consider the recommendations coming out of Library Camp NYC. The “unconference”—which involved participant-driven discussion both in person and online—was held at Baruch College in August, though input is ongoing in a wiki.

Attendees of the event, sponsored by the William and Anita Newman Library at Baruch, urged librarians to create personal and library pages on Facebook and MySpace to engage students. To this point, one participant wrote on the wiki: “When you order a pizza by phone, don’t you always want to talk to the same person who knows your preference for toppings?”

Librarians shared other cutting-edge ideas for connecting virtually with young patrons, who may not necessarily visit the bricks-and-mortar institution. As anyone who interacts regularly with teens knows, email is no longer the preferred way of communicating. Too old school for them. The hip way to chat now? Tweeting—basically, posting text messages online. The Cleveland Public Library (twitter.com/Cleveland_PL) is using Twitter (www.twitter.com), a free, Web-based texting service, to communicate with patrons, who get little teaser messages about library events, available resources, and more, including appropriate links to the library. Want to appear even cooler? Consider using Twitterlit.com with teens—this site provides the first line from selected books, then links to the titles on Amazon.

Another favorite with the hip crowd? Pownce (www.pownce.com), a Web-based application that allows users to send messages, links, and files to a particular network, such as a library’s reference group. Currently in beta, this tool is invite-only for now. All the more reason for media specialists and librarians to get on the waiting list. Now how cool is that?