As I thought about libraries incorporating social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook, I couldn't help but think of the old adage "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." There is no doubt that a library MySpace page might seem cool to some kids, but the fact is, they would still have to be interested enough in the library itself in order to even visit the page. The fact is, kids/people participate in these networks in order to communicate with friends. Even if the school I worked for allowed me to set up a MySpace page and allowed students to visit it, I am not sure it would be worth the risk of time that would be wasted on "other" endeavors.
That is not to say that there are NO positives in libraries using such technologies. In browsing through some of the library-based sites I found on Myspace, probably one of the coolest things I saw was how many authors have their own MySpace pages and link up and interact on some of the library sites. This is a cool connectivity aspect that would be great for a library and its patrons. MySpace obviously also would allow for simple and up-to-the-minute announcements and such - but those things can be just as easily accomplished on other tools such as blogs and wikis.
In the end, social networking sites such as these carry a lot of baggage with them and until those issues are safely addressed (if that is possible), I don't see them playing a huge role in public schools. But, hey, I never thought this Internet thing would catch on either! :)
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