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I think it's great to start socializing your baby early and to help her get used to other people. Seeing other people and interacting with other people is an important social skill!

Do you live in a friendly neighborhood? I know we can't go for a walk without meeting one of our neighbors for a quick chat, and I think it's really helped DD's shyness (DS doesn't need any help, lol. He's the most social kid I've ever met!).

I didn't take my LO on very many play dates, and she saw maybe a handful of different faces during her 1st year of life.She's naturally a very friendly and social baby though so we never had to deal with stranger anxiety and separation anxiety.
If you're noticing that your LO's personality changes when she's around strangers, i would definitely make an effort to take her out more!

Maybe you could just try taking her out on random errands during the day? Even if we don't have any baby classes/playdates scheduled during the day, I try to take L out daily to the mall, Target, etc so she'll see some different faces and get some fresh air.

@caffeinated: It's so hard to work library times/play group times with nap schedules We just missed our reading time today b/c it interfered w/her nap. It seems like they schedule most activities right smack in the middle of popular naptimes. We missed both of her mommy & me classes this week, too

Try the library, or any bookstore with a story hour. Meetup.com has parent's groups. The hospital where I delivered (and many) have new parent groups. At that age, you should just be able to go to coffee shops or restaurants for your own enjoyment and get her a little change of pace.

@caffeinated - Reading your words... it's like looking in a mirror. Your baby sounds just like mine... N has always been incredibly shy with people outside our immediate family.... and though sometimes I wish she would be more willing to go to others, or happy when she sees new faces... it just doesn't come as naturally for her. She is quite socialized too, but still not as warm to others as most babies seem to be! We have plenty of playdates, we go to a church with a great children's ministry, and she is even now attending preschool regularly. I think a lot of it has to do with nature, and I've learned to embrace that and just be patient with her. I find myself "justifying" her actions a lot to others too and feel like I have to explain that she is a totally different person at home, but I do think she will eventually grow more and more comfortable with others... it'll just take her a little longer than most. Hang in there - she's still so young and just continue to make an active effort to introduce her to new faces, but don't be too discouraged if she still tends to be a certain way!!