Question: What do you think are some of the things that typically cause libraries to fail in implementing social software?
It seems to me that if a library truly desires for its library to successfully implement and continue use of a social software tool, such as twitter, a blog, or a wiki, the staffing and workload need to be reorganized to some extent. To expect librarians or library paraprofessionals to add the responsibility of maintaining a blog to his or her already overwhelming list of work responsibilities is naive at best. The blog might get off the ground but is not likely to continue; for a blog to be successful at engaging users and developing a following, it must be updated at least once a week and preferably more often. Shifting work responsibilities about the library work staff is not an easy task, but it is essential in keeping a social software tool going and thriving.
Restructuring will take time, and it will likely throw many people into a bit of stress as they adjust to the changes, so a library must decide where its priorities are. The best way I can see for libraries to allow for social software to be successfully carried forth is to create a person or a team devoted entirely to that purpose. This is not possible with many small libraries (nor would it necessarily be a priority for small libraries), but for those who might be able to take on the new role, the responsibilities are similar to the idea of maintaining the public image of the library or sometimes even public relations. To have a person on staff to handle public relations and to update a blog based on the events of the library would relieve the staff of individual branches of the library to keep doing what they do while also giving libraries the opportunity to connect with users via the Web.
