A Guide to Twitter in Libraries

What is it

Twitter is a free communication and social networking tool which allows you to convey short messages of up to 140 characters to your circle of friends via the Twitter website, SMS, email, IM, or other Twitter client. Messages appear not only within your profile on Twitter, but are sent to your community of followers who have signed up to receive your updates.

Often referred to as microblogging, this new phenomenon has caught on with over 300,000 users on Twitter alone including Barack Obama and John Edwards. Twitter recently made the cut as one of Time’s Best 50 Websites of 2007. Librarians are using it to communicate at conferences and events and to keep up with developments in the field, and libraries have begun using it to promote their services.

How to Use it

Check out some of these great how-to guides which will have you twittering in no time:

Screencasts:

How Libraries are Using it

Libraries are just starting to test the waters with microblogging applications, but there are already examples of libraries using Twitter.

Case Studies:

Library Twitter Accounts:

Twitter Tools & Mashups

Twitter Alternatives

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

This entry was posted on Friday, August 17th, 2007 at 10:46 am and is filed under Library 2.0, Library Services, Social Software, Web 2.0, Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

11 Responses to “A Guide to Twitter in Libraries”

  1. Ratcatcher Says:
    August 17th, 2007 at 10:58 am

    You might also want to look at a recent Library Journal article on Twitter.

  2. Darrell Shandrow Says:
    August 18th, 2007 at 2:25 pm

    The unfortunate thing about Twitter is that its CAPTCHA does not provide audio playback or any other reasonable accomodations for blind or visually impaired users. This makes signing up for Twitter an inaccessible brick wall for blind people! Use of this in libraries and other government sponsored situations may be an issue with respect to accessibility regulations.

  3. R U A Twit? Yes, Some of Us R Now! Says:
    August 21st, 2007 at 2:37 pm

    […] iLibrarian: a Guide to Twitter in Libraries. Thompson, Clive. “Clive Thompson on How Twitter Creates a Social Sixth Sense” Wired vol 15 no 7 June 26, 2007. http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/magazine/15-07/st_thompson. Accessed August 20, 2007. […]

  4. Ellyssa Says:
    August 23rd, 2007 at 9:44 pm

    Great resource, thanks Ratcatcher!

  5. iLibrarian » 18 Different Kinds of Blog Posts Says:
    September 28th, 2007 at 11:53 am

    […] Aggregate List/Guide […]

  6. Librarians Matter » Blog Archive » Blog fodder - what do I put in? Says:
    October 27th, 2007 at 5:35 am

    […] Aggregate List/Guide […]

  7. facebook » A Guide to Twitter in Libraries Says:
    October 27th, 2007 at 11:40 pm

    […] Read the rest of this great post here […]

  8. CNBloggerCon und Konferenztwitter « Bibliotan Says:
    November 3rd, 2007 at 9:49 am

    […] und Microblogging wird bestimmt ein interessantes Thema für Bibliothek, ich werde das Thema weiter verfolgen und bei […]

  9. Rescatando enlaces de Twitter » eCuaderno Says:
    December 19th, 2007 at 5:32 am

    […] Twitter Fiction A Guide to Twitter in Libraries Terraminds Twitter Search The Next Email. Why Twitter will change the way business communicates […]

  10. A Few Things I’m Noticing While I Twitter « The Other Librarian Says:
    January 16th, 2008 at 12:29 pm

    […] does not mean people do not have interesting ideas about how it could be used.   And certainly, some libraries are using it.   Still, as I’ve said about the Facebook […]

  11. Talking Tech Friday - Twitter « MCLC Library Tech Talk Says:
    February 22nd, 2008 at 5:50 pm

    […] iLibrarian- A Guide to Twitter in Libraries  […]

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