As part of the Transforming Life After 50 (TLA50) initiative, we have developed some social networking sites to serve as a resource for librarians and midlife adults alike.  The purpose of these networks is to help connect and engage library staff, and midlife adults, in conversations and discoveries about the changing nature of aging and how libraries might respond.

TLA50 has a presence on Twitter (@TLA50), YouTube, Facebook, and Ning. The Ning community is a customized site with functional uses for visitors such as forums, blogs, video and photo sharing, and event planning.  We see great potential for properly utilizing social networking to connect TLA50 participating libraries with other interested libraries and midlife adults, not just in California, but across the country and even around the world. We also hope to encourage both library professionals and midlife adults in the use of new technologies as a means of communicating, problem solving, learning, and growing. Here are a few of the ways we anticipate social media helping us reach our goals, by:

• Providing a place to connect with colleagues and peers who share an interest in the changing nature of aging;
• Inviting discussion on topics related to aging and extended midlife;
• Encouraging library professionals to share examples of successful midlife adult programs that they've implemented in their communities;
• Inviting midlife adults to share their ideas about what innovative library approaches would be intriguing to them;
• Encouraging the open exchange of ideas and questions to benefit the continued learning and evolution of TLA50 community and library thinking; and
• Enhancing knowledge of emerging technologies, especially advances in Internet communication.

YOU can help us to populate these sites with your voices, thoughts, suggestions, and questions. Please visit us – we'd love to hear from you!