comparing libraries with social media is a misnomer

There is a phenomenon (rather it should be called a fashion statement) among

library and information professionals that we are trying to equate libraries

with Facebook, Twitter and other social media tools. This phenomenon was more

visible in recently concluded two day conference in Shivamogga on “Collection

Management in Changing Context: Problems and Prospects” organized by the Kuvempu

University College Librarians’ Association, Shivamogga on August 19th and 20th

of 2011.





But the question is, can libraries be equated with Facebook and Twitter? This

comparison itself seems to be a complete misnomer. Here it has been tried to

look at how social media cannot be a replacement for libraries and the

misconception of this grand rhetoric.





Social media cannot be a replacement for cultural institutions like libraries.

Social media tools can best be used for providing library services (alerts, news

& events, chat references, post tutorials, etc.,) rather looking it as a

replacement for libraries. The argument of “Libraries without walls” and

“Paperless society” which emerged in the early 80s and 90s have not replaced

libraries. But technological developments have helped libraries to collect,

organize, and disseminate information in varied formats with multiple options to

access information. It is worth noting that library professionals were the

first to use technology for information processing. The Cranfield Indexing

experiment is a case in point. Thus as mentioned above, social media tools can

be best used as a supplement for providing library services.





Another important aspect is engaging digital natives in a critical study or

thinking. The nature of non-linearity of text available on the Internet has

contributing in cognitive decline of the Internet users. The recent works

mainly of Nicholas Carr’s “The Shallows: How the Internet is Changing the way

we Think, Read and Remember”, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” and another

interesting article which has been appeared in EDUCAUSE Review entitled

“Individual Knowledge in the Internet” by Larry Sanger, the co-founder of

Wikipedia have critical of how the non-linearity of text available on the

Internet changing the way we read books either in analog or digital format and

turning us as a “skimming machine” instead of engaging in deep reading or

critical study.  Libraries for time immemorial have helped scholars to study

and engage in critical thinking. Does same ambience exist in a virtual world?





The longevity and the sustainability of social media tools are another important

issue to deliberate. The Interne savvy users prepare digital technologies which

are easy to use and allow collective participation. It has been pointed that

social network sites are famous just because these tools allow for connecting

with friends. The social media tools which are famous few years back have

become near-extinct. The tools such as Orkut, and MySpace have become less

famous day by day. The recent survey reports of Pew Internet and American Life

Project have found that there is a considerable decline of interest among

American Teenagers in blogging. The decline of using blogs in recent time raises

the question of sustainability of social media tools. Google Plus which has

been released very recently regarded as a potential threat for Facebook. Thus

the development in social media technologies keeps us always guessing what next?





In terms of Internet users mainly from third world countries like Sub-Saharan

African countries and some of the Asian countries like India are very few. In

India only 7 out of every 100 Indians are able to access Internet, if this is

the case how social media can be equated with libraries. Libraries have

remained as cultural legacy for centuries and it will continue with

technological developments mainly how we collect organize and disseminate

information. In this context comparing libraries with social media is a

misnomer. Library is not social media; social media is not library.
Vasantha Raju N

GFGC-Periyapatna

Mysore