Library wins award for Facebook

The Connecticut Library Association (CLA) recently awarded the DiMenna-Nyselius Library a 2009 Publicity Award for their Facebook page. Jackie Kremer, senior reference and outreach librarian, and Brittany Martin, a sophomore and library work study, created the page, which won in the non-print category of CLA’s annual competition.

A survey conducted by Information Services division of Fairfield U in 2007 gave them great reason to create the Facebook page. That year, the incoming Fairfield University freshmen class were surveyed about Facebook, and 88% responded that they had a Facebook account, with 53% noting that they checked it daily, and 31 % responding that they checked it every few days. The remaining 16% responded that they checked Facebook weekly.

The goal was to enable students to use library tools through an online platform they prefer, one that allows them to gain the help they need through easier access to librarians and search engines. Martin said a Facebook presence is important. “Through our Facebook page, the library is able to get information to students in a format that they are familiar with and regularly use.”

Like the library’s web site on the Internet, the Facebook page is a portal for advertising library events and resources. It serves as a way for students to access library information, and makes research assistance available to them. Students are able to contact a librarian directly from the Facebook page, and events are now better known to them via notifications over Facebook.

Become a fan of the library Facebook page!