For immediate release:
August 19, 2008

For more information, contact:
Lee Anne George
Association of Research Libraries
202-296-2296
leeanne@arl.org

Social Software in Libraries: SPEC Kit 304 Published by ARL

Washington DC—The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has published Social Software in Libraries, SPEC Kit 304, which provides an overview of ARL libraries’ implementation of software that people use to connect with one another online.

In the last few years, the use of social software has grown enormously. MySpace.com attracted more than 114 million visitors in June 2007, a 72% increase from June 2006, while Facebook grew 270%, to 52.2 million visitors, according to comScore. The Pew Internet & American Life Project reports 48% of adults have visited video-sharing sites such as YouTube. Many authors who write about online social software emphasize the community of such sites, where users mingle for social, political, or research purposes, creating and sharing information or just having fun. These sites “allow individuals to present themselves, articulate their social networks, and establish or maintain connections with others.”

While a growing number of libraries have adopted social software as a way to further interact with library patrons and library staff, many things are unclear about the use of social software in ARL member libraries. This SPEC survey was designed to discover how many libraries and library staff are using social software and for what purposes, how those activities are organized and managed, and the benefits and challenges of using social software, among other questions.

For this study, social software was broadly defined as software that enables people to connect with one another online. The survey asked about 10 types of applications: (1) social-networking sites; (2) media-sharing sites; (3) social-bookmarking or tagging sites; (4) wikis; (5) blogs; (6) sites that use RSS to syndicate and broadcast content; (7) chat or instant messaging services; (8) VoIP (Voice-over-Internet Protocol) services; (9) virtual worlds; and (10) widgets.

This survey was distributed to the 123 ARL member libraries in February 2008. Sixty-four libraries completed the survey by the March 14 deadline for a response rate of 52%. All but three of the responding libraries report that their library staff uses social software (95%) and one of those three plans to begin using social software in the future.

Survey results indicate that the most broadly adopted social software--chat or instant messaging--was also the earliest implemented social software. While one respondent was using instant messaging for reference and another was using chat for internal communication as early as 1998, the earliest use of this type of social software dates back to 1993.

While chat and instant messaging have been in use for several years, use of other types of social software in libraries is very recent. Beyond isolated cases, a steadily increasing number of ARL member libraries began implementing social software in 2005, with the largest rate of adoption being in 2007.

This SPEC Kit includes documentation from respondents of examples of Web sites that show how each of the 10 types of social software is used.

The table of contents and executive summary from this SPEC Kit are available online at http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/spec304web.pdf.

Ordering Information

SPEC Kit 304, Social Software in Libraries
Matthew Bejune and Jana Ronan
July 2008 • ISBN 1-59407-803-3 • 196 pp. • $45 ($35 ARL members)

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SPEC Kits Exchange Information

Designed to examine current research library practices and policies and serve as resource guides for libraries as they face ever-changing management problems, each SPEC Kit contains a summary analysis, survey questions with tallies, pertinent documentation from participating libraries, and a reading list and Web site references for further information on the topic.

Subscribe to SPEC!

2008 SPEC Kit subscription (ISSN 0160-3582): $220 ARL member/$290 nonmember, six issues per year, shipping included (additional postage may apply outside North America).

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 123 research libraries in North America. Its mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the Web at http://www.arl.org/.