When I started my journey pursuing a career in librarianship, I didn't know anyone else with my shared interest (besides two mentors from my undergrad years). I craved those professional connections and wanted to learn more about what the broader community was discussing. I figured the internet would be the best way to find some of these people, especially while I was still trying to get that first library job and make in-person connections.
I started with the basics: switching gears on my already-established LinkedIn, Instagram, and... Twitter. Can you guess which platform opened up the most for me and ended up as a lifeline to the broader community of librarians and library workers? Yup, it's the platform just begging to be "deadnamed" because we all refuse to call it "X."
Don't get me wrong, I have always found the platform to be a bit snarky on good days and downright toxic on bad days, but some major shifts have happened (especially once Elon Musk took over) that made it to where it no longer feels ethical to continue to use the platform. I know I am far from the only librarian who feels this way as I saw post after post of people I followed announcing their leave.
So, where did the librarians go?
When I took my personal leave from the social media platform formerly known as "Twitter," I looked to the main platforms to try to recreate what once was (or at least something close enough): Discord, Email Listervs, Facebook, Threads, and BlueSky. Each one has it pros and cons, but one ended up being a clear winner in terms of facilitating the kind of connection I've been looking for.
Discord
When Musk first acquired Twitter, community rumblings began on whether or not it would continue to be safe to stay on the platform. We all knew what he was about at this point, and the talks of what changes he wanted to make -- who he wanted to bring back to the platform -- were not reassuring.
That being the case, some forward-thinking librarians came together to create a Discord for our community. No one was announcing their leave of the platform yet, but they could see the writing on the wall as the platform got worse with harassment, alt-right-wing rhetoric, and much more.
Excited for a chance to converse more directly with the people behind the Twitter profiles I admired, I immediately DM'ed the organizer to get a link. There was an initial buzz as the influx of new people like me came in and engaged with different channels like academic libraries, questions of the week, and displays.
Conversations are still happening all the time, but not to the same degree as when I first joined. Also, therein lies my first personal problem with this platform as a "Twitter Alternative." Yes, a key part of Twitter was the conversations had under posts. However, there isn't the same space to make that initial post with Discord in the same way you'd make a Tweet. You are adding your thoughts to continual (sometimes confusing) group chat.
I tend to mainly engage here when asking for advice (which may be part of my problem to begin with, I'll admit). There were times when I got some really helpful advice from library professionals across the country, and there were other times when I got completely ignored.
There is also the issue of discovering this community (or one like it) in the first place. I'm not at the position where I can share an invite code, and what are future library workers supposed to do if everyone else is already off Twitter and there is no place to DM someone for the Discord link?
I love it in concept, but this doesn't feel like the final solution.
Email Listservs
This is one platform of communication I would argue is making a comeback, especially in the world of libraries. Email listservs are unique, however, in that they highly benefit from niching down even further than just talking about library issues.
There are two main types of listservs, technically, because any mailing list (even the ones that are updates from your favorite bloggers) also count. In the context of this post, I'm talking about ones where the group as a whole interacts with each other via email, not just one sender.
Due to my job as a prison librarian, I am personally part of ALA's listserv "Library Services to the Justice Involved," otherwise called "prison-l." I have found it to be incredibly helpful for connecting with people in my field and learning about resources for our work. Unlike the Discord, I have noticed that people on this listserv are consistently willing to answer any questions that come up. One difference, I imagine, is that it's far easier to access something like this while at work compared to a Discord server or even social media (depending on how strict employers are).
Like any platform, really, the level of quality information and engagement is going to be dependent on the other members of the listserv. What I've personally seen to be successful through prison-l is a combination of resource sharing as well as members asking each other questions related to our field. The other thing I really love (though my schedule hasn't allowed me to attend much) is the fact this listserv also organizes regular Zoom meetings for everyone to come together and (virtually) interact face-to-face. To me, that adds personal context when you can start putting a face to the emails you see.
As someone in their 20's, some are surprised I'm still on Facebook at all. I'll admit it's something I originally joined back in middle school and just never deleted, but as an adult I've found it to be mildly entertaining and informative with the right combination of pages and groups filling the majority of my feed.
I'm part of a few library-related groups (one regional and a couple national). The regional one doesn't have a whole lot of engagement, mainly just job listings as they pop up in the different library systems. I find the national ones to be a bit more interesting because I get to hear about what other library workers are going through with their posts promoting wins, telling jokes, ranting, or seeking advice.
One trend I noticed is that a lot of these advice-seeking posts are submitted anonymously. I suppose the main reason why is because these people want to be able to speak freely (even if it comes across as complaining from time to time), and leaving their name and picture attached leaves them vulnerable to real-world consequences (up to losing the very job they are talking about if it is bad enough).
That said, I find the groups pretty helpful for seeking advice on difficult issues, but the level of anonymity used by posters makes it harder to network (though it's still possible through the ones who publicly comment advice).
Threads
I'll admit I was doubtful at first this platform was going to go anywhere. There is still a significant gap in the amount of daily users compared to Twitter / X, but it seems like Threads is slowly but surely growing its base. Threads also seems to have a unique advantage right now in higher than average engagement rates despite the smaller user base, and I have a theory as to why.
Since Threads is connected to Instagram (so much so you have to already have an Instagram account in order to set up a Threads account), there was already a bit of a built-in culture in the early days of the platform. Generally, Instagram is more known for content creation and sharing a lifestyle rather than discussion / debating. Those vibes were immediately apparent as there was more posts on hobbies, self-expression, and community early on (political talk has since started up more but I feel that is natural when the personal and the political are so intertwined).
It's hard to say if this is because the algorithm figured me out pretty quickly or this community got an early hold on Threads, but I quickly found myself within the posts of mainly "Bookstagram" gals (with your occasional dude thrown in). As a librarian, I do find this pretty helpful because it gives me insight into the discussions our most avid readers are having online. For example, this community highly values inclusion when it comes to who "counts" as a reader, and you can see this in discussions over whether or not listening to audiobooks should be considered part of this hobby (Hint: most aren't worried about having to bend semantics a little bit if it means including more people in their definitions of "readers.").
Bluesky
And finally, there is the platform I think has the most potential to replace Twitter / X. When I first joined Bluesky, it was invite-only, and I got a code from one of my fellow librarians on the Discord server I mentioned earlier. Thankfully, it is now developed enough to where anyone can create an account, not just friends of friends. With that, I can really see the platform coming into itself. Bluesky is still fairly small compared to other social media platforms, but I feel like that is part of its current charm. Despite the small community, I have found hundreds of accounts to follow (vast majority of which are by librarians!).
I'm especially seeing a lot of academic librarians in my feeds, but there are also public, school, and special library workers I enjoy seeing content from. More importantly (at least in my book), there seems to be a nice balance of industry-specific discussions and people just being themselves on the platform. The site itself has a decentralized approach to it that makes me hopeful things will be more stable over here. Not to mention, there are some great tools when it comes to controlling what you do and don't want to see in your feed!
The main downside is how new this social media site is compared to our cultural staples of Facebook, Twitter / X, Instagram, etc. This means things are still very much in development and changes are bound to occur rapidly. However, if growing up with the Internet has taught me anything, it's that the Web is always in a constant state of change and expansion. We're just here for the ride and hopefully to contribute our own little piece of it.
Till Next Time,
Sam
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