Library Services and Collections

What Is "Social Media"?

Social media describes a category of websites and appilcations that are based on user participation. Users create networks of friends and family and share interests, creations, and news online, with easy-to-use publishing methods. Social media allows for users to build relationships, through many forms of online interaction, with people, businesses, information, and ideas.

For a quick and fun introduction to the way social media works, watch Social Media in Plain English on YouTube.

MPL Online

Blogs: A weblog, or blog, is a type of website in the form of an online journal, with the most recent entry, or post, appearing first. Madison Public Library has four blogs: Check It Out, with news, resources, and updates; MADreads, with book reviews from librarians; Teen Topix, with book reviews and event information for teens; and MPL Gov Info, a resource for recently published federal government publications.

Delicious: Bookmark websites, annotate them with tags for easy searching and categorization, and share them with friends in your network. See Madison Public Library's bookmarks.

Flickr: Share photos and videos online. Join networks and groups that share your interests, and comment on pictures that you like. Connect with photographers, from hobbyists to professionals, around the world. View Madison Public Library's or Sequoya Branch Library's photostreams for pictures of events, gallery exhibits, library features, and more.

Facebook: Facebook is a social networking site that allows users to create a personalized profile and a network of friends and family. Become a fan of Madison Public Library on Facebook to interact with the Library and other fans, and to receive updates in your Facebook News Feed.

Twitter: Write short, "microblogs" of 140 characters or less to share with your followers, and read updates from those you follow. Follow username "madisonlibrary" or "sequoyalibrary" on Twitter, where we share information on library programs, resources, and news, and information that our patrons may find interesting.