Abstract
Do you know that the library issues you regularly face cannot possibly be exclusive to your library? Would you like to find better solutions without “re‐inventing the wheel”? Have you tried participating in an online library community? This lively discussion based session focuses on participating in online communities and networking through social media as free resources for theoretical and practical solutions to common library issues. Common community offerings, including continuing education and far‐reaching collaboration opportunities, are discussed as tools for addressing any range of library issues. Furthermore, tweeting, e‐mail digesting and other best practices for making the most of community participation will be discussed as beneficial acts of membership rather than time-consuming distractions from your real library work. This paper will summarize the experiences and concerns about online communities shared during the Charleston Conference session. It will offer ways to get the most out of online community participation and how online community participation has benefited librarians who have used it as a solution to their everyday work‐related issues.
Tired of Reinventing the Wheel? Then Stop! How to Use Online Communities for Solutions to Common Library Issues
Do you know that the library issues you regularly face cannot possibly be exclusive to your library? Would you like to find better solutions without “re‐inventing the wheel”? Have you tried participating in an online library community? This lively discussion based session focuses on participating in online communities and networking through social media as free resources for theoretical and practical solutions to common library issues. Common community offerings, including continuing education and far‐reaching collaboration opportunities, are discussed as tools for addressing any range of library issues. Furthermore, tweeting, e‐mail digesting and other best practices for making the most of community participation will be discussed as beneficial acts of membership rather than time-consuming distractions from your real library work. This paper will summarize the experiences and concerns about online communities shared during the Charleston Conference session. It will offer ways to get the most out of online community participation and how online community participation has benefited librarians who have used it as a solution to their everyday work‐related issues.