Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

 While exploring Facebook, I found a few local school library pages. North Star Elementary School Library in El Paso, TX posted information about library events like the Scholastic Book Fair, School Library Month, the summer reading program, etc. There was also a YouTube video about a Little Library set up on campus for readers to access books this summer. I noticed that the site was not updated often and most posts did not receive many comments or likes. I scrolled back to January and noticed that the highest number of comments or likes on any post was 6. I then found Del Valle Middle School Library in the El Paso area. This school library page was not dedicated to library news at all. The most current post consisted of end-of-the-year information for the school. Prior to that, posts were from January, but still related to school information and not the library. This page was not updated consistently and only had 27 followers that did not comment or like the posts. The school library page that I was most impressed with was Pebble Hills Elementary School Library.  This page had over 100 followers and posted lots of pictures and information about the library. The only issue was that it also was not updated. The latest post was in 2018! After exploring Facebook for school libraries, I am convinced that Facebook's popularity is definitely going away and it is not the best conduit for information. 

I will be honest, I have had a Twitter account for a number of years, but struggle with using it. I created a new account for this class @MrsG_LuvsBooks and have started to follow the names suggested by Dr. Perry. I also follow my current school district and the El Paso school district where I am staying at the moment. I like being able to follow names and see their content easily on Twitter. I like the ease of retweeting content that I find interesting and want to share with others. I also like how following people leads you to related content. I feel like Twitter is a better tool for educators, librarians, and school districts to share information. I also searched the libraries I explored on Facebook and saw that they are more active on Twitter. I follow The Horn Book on Twitter and loved that they shared some suggestions for Pride Month readings. Click to check it out below!

Instagram has much potential when it comes to sharing library information. If the page is kept up to date, it is an easy way to get people excited about what is going on in your library. Using the stories feature could be a great way to get students involved in your library news. It is also a great tool to use in the classroom. Students could use it to do book talks, school news, and so many other projects! This tool would be the best way for school libraries to share news and information. Besides Tik Tok (which is by far the most popular social media site right now) Instagram allows creativity when sharing posts. Another feature I was not aware of is the Over app. It is an easy way to add text to pictures and videos. I added my first photo on Instagram using the Over app. You can follow my journey as I learn more about technology at MrsG_luvsBooks.