After continuing to follow several libraries and library-related Twitter feeds, I still feel that many libraries may not yet be using Twitter at its full potential. In many cases, libraries are using Twitter to post announcements and news, but I'm not seeing a great deal of evidence of sustained interactions with patrons via Twitter. Of course, this doesn't entirely mean that Twitter isn't "working" for libraries, but it certainly makes it hard to gauge the results of Twitter as an outreach effort.
I think the most active (as judged by frequency of tweets) public library I'm following is the Homewood Public Library in Homewood, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. Judging from their website, they also seem to have a strong online presence in other ways: blogs, YouTube, and so on. It seems that in some cases, a particular web-savvy librarian or group of librarians will latch on to tools like Twitter and really try to make the most of them.
Some of the other Twitter feeds I'm following, those that are not directly affiliated with a single library, are also very interesting. I suspect that as it is currently being used, Twitter may be more effective as a professional development tool for librarians than as an outreach or public service tool for libraries. For instance, several different library publications, as well as several branches of the ALA, tweet links to library-related news stories. This can certainly be a very convenient way for librarians and other interested parties to keep up with news in the field, and I've noticed surprisingly little overlap among the stories posted by different sources. The greatest number of tweets coming across my Twitter page are from two library job listing feeds, GetLibraryJobs and Libgig_Jobs. For the librarian or library student who is an active Twitter user, these represent a wonderful way to stay informed about the job market without having to set aside time to visit job-posting websites.
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