“The Use of Facebook in Academic Health Science Libraries” by Hendrix, Chiarella, Hasman, Murphy and Zafron
This was a straightforward piece of research writing, a fact I appreciate as I struggle with LSC557! I raised an eyebrow at the possible ethical no-no mentioned in the literature review section (“Creatively, the authors scanned student group conversations on Facebook” Is this unethical, merely a bit of lurking, or am I being too picky?) The findings were no surprise, especially looking at the date data was collected: Facebook doesn’t play a big role in Health Science libraries.
There were a few surprises in the results, like two respondents not knowing if their library had a Facebook presence. Unless the participating library directors and department heads were in enormous, compartmentalized organizations, I can’t imagine how they could be unaware, considering their positions!
While I imagine Facebook probably would never be perceived as the optimal platform for serious forums and professional information in the medical field, it surprised me that nobody seemed to be using their library’s Facebook to post library tutorials as slideshare/.ppt, video or podcast. Perhaps, as the authors say, “As the comfort level and facility with this product increases, applications become more robust, and actual maintenance time is understood, it may be likely that more libraries will establish a Facebook presence” (p.49). Of course, it is no surprise that Facebook use wanes among medical students as they progress through their degree. The same would doubtless be true for law students, veterinarians and any of the programs that require extraordinary volumes of reading and memorizing. Maybe Facebook doesn’t stand a chance in medical or law libraries for this reason, no matter how digitally versatile the librarians become, but using the FB page to preempt typical student search needs with short, informative tutorials might be an effective use!