Librarys using Myspace: an opinion

I think that, in many cases, diving into the troubled waters of Myspace is a difficult decision to make. Myspace is rife with lewd pictures, pyramid schemes, and sites that create nothing but troublesome advertisements. Still and all, it's possible to do some good work there. I can attest to the fact that there are, indeed, some good people on Myspace still. I have found a few opportunities for my own ventures (in the writing field) there.

If a library is to make a valuable impression on its patrons with a Myspace page, there are a few rules, as I see it:

1) The responsibility for updating the site and posting blog entries should fall on a few motivated employees. Without timely updates and interesting information, a Myspace page serves little purpose. In general, the people who will do the best job creating a Myspace page for a library will be young, tech-savvy, and creative. Handing the job over to an already-overworked and possibly tech-averse staffer of high rank will only serve to annoy that staff member and yeild a Myspace that seems, well, forced.

2) Comments on the blog ABSOLUTELY MUST be moderated. If you let people comment and "friend" you without caution, you'll end up with a lot of questionable, of not outright grotesque comments on the library-sponsored page. This is to be avoided.

3) The Myspace must be targeted at the people who will actually use it. A Seniors-only Myspace page will avail you nothing. You'll want to target the youth audience. Both children's service departments and teen service departments are the best people to use these pages. In addition to catering to the right audience, these departments are the most likely to have people who actually WANT to keep a Myspace page up.

That's my two cents. Peace.