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SOU's Hannon Library gains Web networking savvy By Heather Black Jun 03, 2007 12:00 AM A A ASHLAND — There are a lot of things people don't know about Southern Oregon University's Hannon Library. For starters, the library is single, a Taurus and loves music. At least, that's according to it's MySpace page. The recent launches of Hannon Library's MySpace, Facebook, Bebo and Flickr.com accounts are an effort to connect students, faculty and the community with the library's resources and coming events. MySpace, Facebook, and Bebo are social networking Web sites that allow anyone to start their own personal Web page, connect with friends, meet new people and share information. Flickr is specifically designed for sharing photos. Dale Vidmar is the library's information literacy coordinator, creator of the library's MySpace account and a member of Library 2.0, a team focused on networking the library. "These sites are not a traditional spot you would see the library in," Vidmar said. "Many people say it's just for teenagers. I say 'No, its time for the big people to take over.' It's a really unique tool." The Library 2.0 team began after Vidmar heard of the idea at an Internet Librarian Conference in 2005. "It's incredible, there is so much stuff we could take about the library's services and put on these sites," said Vidmar. In March of 2007, several librarians launched the Hannon Library's networking Web pages. A more formalized plan of action for the team was completed last week. "At first we had no official plan in mind, we were just learning what we could do," said Vidmar. "Suddenly we realized how much we didn't know and how much we needed to learn. We are still infants in this, and we are learning a lot." Vidmar would like to see the library head in the direction of video podcasts, where short instructional videos of how to use the library's services are readily available. "If a student participates in that video they will tell their family and friends, and their friends will tell their friends," said Vidmar. "Now the video is networking for the library as well as the university. You cannot get better advertising any other way." Another possibility on the horizon is a Second Life style program, a virtual world where people are represented by avatars, or computer representations of themselves. According to Vidmar, the Hannon Library's virtual world would be a space to learn, but students would need training to adequately operate the program. Right now, the library's MySpace site includes information on the month's library events and lectures, as well as blog entries like "What is an Annotated Bibliography?" and "Dale Vidmar's 25 Tips: A Guide to the Hannon Library." "I have tried to post things about how to use the library more effectively," Vidmar said. "I'm trying to give the library a personality." So far, more than 900 people have visited the site, and the library has acquired 177 MySpace friends. According to Vidmar, one of the library's most valued friends is the American Library Association, which recently named the Hannon Library one of its "Top Friends." "It shows that the American Library Association recognizes that this is not a bad thing to be doing," Vidmar said. Hannon Library has attracted some unusual friends, including "Salvador Dali," Wallace and Gromit and Polar Bear Knut. "We've only been MySpace friends since yesterday, but we've been real friends for three years," said Cole Hafner, 22, a computer science major. Annie Tyner, a Spanish major at SOU, said that she enjoyed the unique way of learning about all that the Hannon Library had to offer. "It surprised me that the library staff would think of the idea," Tyner said. "I think it's great they are trying to reach students in a nontraditional way." Vidmar said he was pleased with the amount of feedback he has received about the new networking techniques. "I think people appreciate that the library is not this formal imposing place," said Vidmar. "It has personality." Heather Black is a Mail Tribune news intern.