Thanks Karen! While I wait for my hard copy to arrive, I really appreciated this post:
http://freerangelibrarian.com/2007/10/24/oclcs-report-on-privacy-and-trust-the-nut-graf/
The general public respondents are more likely to have used a social networking or social media site (28%) than to have searched for or borrowed items from a library Web site (20%). [What! Is this report suggesting social networks might be more visible, available, and engaging than library catalogs?]
The percentage of Internet users that have used a library Web site has decreased. Library Web site use declined from 30% of respondents in Canada, the U.K. and the U.S. in 2005 to 20% of the general public in these same countries in 2007, a 33% decrease.
My friends use the same site (66%) is the top criteria in using a social networking site. [This statistic feels almost over-obvious. You’d be lonely if your friends weren’t there, right?]
The bit about the library Web site intrigues me. OCLC’s Perceptions showed us that 1% of information seekers start at the library Web site. Put those two findings together and we really can make the case for exploring other ways to put library resources out there in the social fray.
I cannot wait to get my hands on the report!
http://www.oclc.org/reports/sharing/default.htm
Jenny also shares some interesting background here:
http://theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2007/10/22/new-oclc-report-about-sharing-online.html
Helene too: http://www.librarybytes.com/2007/10/on-privacy-trust-social-networks.html