Social Networking and Libraries
By Lori Schafer
Online social networking through Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube,
Pinterest, Tumblr, Blogs, and e-newsletters are just another avenue for libraries
to expand their services beyond their physical space and reach many people on
the online communities. According to the
article How Libraries Are Using Social
Media the New York Public Library has an extensive social networking
campaign and “last year 150 bloggers published 810
blog posts encompassing 180 different subject areas, with visits to these blog
channels increasing 56% between 2011 and 2012. The blogs are an invaluable part
of NYPL’s social content marketing, with librarians acting as internal
advocates and most of the traffic coming from Google searches” (Dankowski,
2013). I am always amazed with how many
people at my work spend hours per day on Facebook during work hours. To an outsider who is never on any social
media, it seems like there is this vast network of people on a “daily basis”
interacting and reacting to one another in a steady stream all day long. Social media is definitely becoming a
constant part of everyone’s lives. This
vibrant online community carries a very strong voice and it would be
advantageous for libraries to network through these various channels and
platforms.
http://google.com/ • https://www.facebook.com/ • https://www.youtube.com/ • https://twitter.com/ • https://www.pinterest.com/
There was research carried out
globally with over 600 librarians contributing their thoughts and opinions on
social media and the online survey particularly, mentioned in the article 5 Ways Libraries are Using Social Media by
The Library and Information Association, had the following insightful results
(Bell, 2014):
- 61% of libraries have been using social media for 3 years or more
- 30% post to social media daily
- 25% of libraries have more than 5 individuals updating their social media pages
- Facebook is the most popular social media channel
- 72% of libraries have no social media policy or plan in place
This survey was taken 3 years ago
in 2014 so I would imagine that these percentages have changed
dramatically. My guess is that most
libraries are now using social media and that they have a plan in place. It doesn’t surprise me at all that Facebook
is the most popular social media channel with 58% of librarians stating they
use it daily and everyone I know has a Facebook page. I also found it interesting that 25% of
libraries have more then 5 individuals updating their social media pages, which
makes me think that most libraries are probably looking for this experience on
resumes. Social media, now and in the
future, seems to be an integral part of the library system and will be one of
the primary ways to communicate and connect with patrons.
Many libraries face challenges on “how” to connect and build communities through social media. With so many budget restraints on libraries and the recent recession it would seem more cost-effective to come up with updated social media plans to connect to patrons. Most of the literature out there gives guidance to libraries on how to use social media as a marketing tool, but in the paper Building Library Community Through Social Media, the research “reframes that conversation to explore the role of social media as it relates to building community” through Twitter (Young & Rossmann, 2015, p. 20). In this study, the university library created a social media group and a social media guide to follow and the “quantitative analysis reveal a significant shift and increase in Twitter follower population and interactions, and suggest promising opportunities for social media to strengthen the library’s ties with academic communities (2015, p. 20). This research is built on the premise that online communities are not a separate digital space but takes the approach that it’s an aspect of “holistic connectedness”. The plan was comprised of three librarians and one staff member and the purpose was to build a student community around the Twitter platform. After doing the research there was a fundamental shift in patron’s interest in social media and their “student user community grew by 366 percent and the rate of interaction with our community grew by 275 percent. Our research demonstrates the value of social media as a community-building tool, and our model can guide social media in libraries toward this purpose” (2015, p. 32).
Social networking is the way people communicate in the 21st century so it’s becoming increasingly important for libraries to reach out, socially connect and extend their programs to this online community. There are various purposes that a library can use to reach out to patrons online: provide library information to patrons, book reviews or information on new books, provide research tips, provide information on upcoming programs or work shops, etc. The technology is constantly changing and the social media platforms keep evolving as well and it would benefit libraries to keep themselves familiar with the technological changes so they can continue to remain connected digitally to the community.
Many libraries face challenges on “how” to connect and build communities through social media. With so many budget restraints on libraries and the recent recession it would seem more cost-effective to come up with updated social media plans to connect to patrons. Most of the literature out there gives guidance to libraries on how to use social media as a marketing tool, but in the paper Building Library Community Through Social Media, the research “reframes that conversation to explore the role of social media as it relates to building community” through Twitter (Young & Rossmann, 2015, p. 20). In this study, the university library created a social media group and a social media guide to follow and the “quantitative analysis reveal a significant shift and increase in Twitter follower population and interactions, and suggest promising opportunities for social media to strengthen the library’s ties with academic communities (2015, p. 20). This research is built on the premise that online communities are not a separate digital space but takes the approach that it’s an aspect of “holistic connectedness”. The plan was comprised of three librarians and one staff member and the purpose was to build a student community around the Twitter platform. After doing the research there was a fundamental shift in patron’s interest in social media and their “student user community grew by 366 percent and the rate of interaction with our community grew by 275 percent. Our research demonstrates the value of social media as a community-building tool, and our model can guide social media in libraries toward this purpose” (2015, p. 32).
Social networking is the way people communicate in the 21st century so it’s becoming increasingly important for libraries to reach out, socially connect and extend their programs to this online community. There are various purposes that a library can use to reach out to patrons online: provide library information to patrons, book reviews or information on new books, provide research tips, provide information on upcoming programs or work shops, etc. The technology is constantly changing and the social media platforms keep evolving as well and it would benefit libraries to keep themselves familiar with the technological changes so they can continue to remain connected digitally to the community.
References:
Bell, J. (2014, December 16). 5 ways
libraries are using social media. Retrieved April 14, 2017, from
https://wwhttps://www.cilip.org.uk/blog/5-ways-libraries-are-using-social- mediaw.bing.com/cr?IG=973D1FFAC1AF4848B5BD3F2253CE76E4&CID=08400A992CD5665B2FC300FF2D456702&rd=1&h=UP0tRS9fGkE3F2R1U41__KBKjXyVTDK9ZJ3jQ1Wu_NI&v=1&r=https%3a%2f%2fwww.cilip.org.uk%2fblog%2f5-ways-libraries-are-using-social-media&p=DevEx,5061.1
https://wwhttps://www.cilip.org.uk/blog/5-ways-libraries-are-using-social- mediaw.bing.com/cr?IG=973D1FFAC1AF4848B5BD3F2253CE76E4&CID=08400A992CD5665B2FC300FF2D456702&rd=1&h=UP0tRS9fGkE3F2R1U41__KBKjXyVTDK9ZJ3jQ1Wu_NI&v=1&r=https%3a%2f%2fwww.cilip.org.uk%2fblog%2f5-ways-libraries-are-using-social-media&p=DevEx,5061.1
Dankowski, T. (2013, July 16). How
Libraries are using social media. Retrieved April 16, 2017, from https://www.bing.com/cr?IG=C50F07DEBC0D49CCB882F316913536F7&CID=3B2F7BA4DDCE6792369C71C2DC5E667D&rd=1&h=HkCGn64sUIQWFuuBmv5FdXL8FZs_Jf8M4dnZelHRnVo&v=1&r=https%3a%2f%2famericanlibrariesmagazine.org%2f2013%2f07%2f16%2fhow-libraries-are-using-social-media%2f&p=DevEx,5063.1
Young, S. H., & Rossmann, D. (2015). Building Library
Community Through Social Media. Information
Technology & Libraries, 34(1), 20-37.
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