Crushing any notion that libraries are simply peddlers of free books, some local libraries are using the popular social network Twitter to connect with patrons.

Take, for example, a recent Friday evening, when Thomas Ford made a short announcement to about 60 people.

“Curtis and Loretta are setting up for Friday at Ford. Concert 7:30 p.m. Steve Justman on April 10,” the announcement read, regarding what was going on at that moment at the Thomas Ford Memorial Library.

The short burst of information, however, was not really spoken by Thomas Ford, for whom the Western Springs library is named. It was actually reference librarian Heather Booth, who operates under the name @thommyford on Twitter, a social networking and micro-blogging site.

The site asks users, whose username is always preceded by an “@” symbol, one simple question: “What are you doing right now?” Booth, and several other area libraries, respond to this inquiry several times a day in short, 140 character statements, or “Tweets.”

“We’re always looking for new ways to connect with our patrons,” Booth said. “More often than not, we are using it to inform people of our programs and services.”

In order to listen to what “@thommyford,” or any of the other millions of Twitter users have to say, a user must choose to “follow” him. In doing so, all of that particular user’s updates will appear on a personalized list, along with all other followers. Anytime anyone a user is following “tweets,” it appears on the list.

“We’re just starting to get the word out to our patrons,” Clarendon Hills Library Public Relations Coordinator Lucy Tarabor, or @CHLibrary, said.

Tarabor, along with several other area libraries, learned about the site at a February conference at the Indian Prairie Library in Darien. There, Michael Stephens, Dominican University assistant professor of graduate library and information sciences, gave a presentation on how libraries could benefit from using the service.

“One of the things I evangelize is there are tools that we can use to make things easier,” Stephens, or @mstephens7, said. He says Twitter’s short, simple bits of communication make the service ideal for libraries to connect with patrons and each other. He said Twitter is just one of the ways libraries are using social networking, and their adoption of the service takes another step in shattering any notion that libraries are a thing of the past.
 
The first step, however, is simply signing up and trying it out.

“I guess I was surprised anybody followed me,” Tarabor said of her first experience. She now has a small group of followers, including other local libraries, that she communicates with and updates on what is going on at the library. She credited a strong turnout at a recent book drive to the site.

“The library doesn’t have a Web site yet, and [Twitter] is a good stop gap,” she said.

Some area libraries don’t stop at just one username. The Downers Grove Library operates two accounts, one main account for the library, @DGLibrary, and another to communicate specifically about youth events, @juniorroom.

“People were actually waiting for the library to get on Twitter,” Downers Grove Library Director Christopher Bowen said. “It was a really pleasant surprise.”

Want to check out other local libraries on Twitter? Here’s a list:

@LPLIbrary – La Grange Park Library
@HinsdaleLibrary – Hinsdale Library