Social Networking: Adoption and Impact on Libraries and
Information Centers By Kristin Falls, Jonathan Gazdecki, Shannon
McDermitt, and Catherine Sossi TEAM 11
Slide 3
What is social media? The American Heritage Dictionary of the
English Language defines social media as:
Slide 4
Types of Social Media This illustration represents the most
popular social media communities and websites in use today.
Slide 5
Who is using social media? According to a survey from the Pew
Research Center Facebook is the most popular social media site with
LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter receiving less than
half the amount of engagement from 2012-2014.
Slide 6
Facebook in the Library Setting Allows libraries to: Promote
library services Create and publicize library events Display
pertinent information including contact information, address, and
hours Connect with patrons in the form of likes and comments Link
to useful web content including library webpage Create a
communication channel through message function
Slide 7
Pinterest is a visual social networking tool where a user can
pin images to a designated board which is then shared with the
users followers. Libraries use Pinterest to: Promote library
activities, events, and programming Provide readers advisory
through curated reading lists Create community book recommendation
boards where followers can submit their recent reads Pin crafts,
DIY projects, and recipes Pin interesting infographics about
reading, librarianship, and information science The US National
Archive utilizes Pinterest by creating boards themed with related
archival material one such board is FLOTUS Fashion and another is
Handsome, Hunky, and Historic. Pinterest in the Library
Setting
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Twitter in the Library Setting Twitter is a micro-blogging
platform where users can tweet messages of 140 characters or less
to followers and into the twitter-verse. On the next slide is a
screenshot of Wayne State University Library Systems twitter
account. WSU actively tweets content related to: Library events and
programming Changes and updates to the library website Links of
interests (in the form of retweets, RT), pictures, and quotes Tips
and guidelines for using library resources Questions posited
towards students Additional uses of Twitter by library and
information centers are explored on the Team 11 blog
Slide 9
WSU Library System on Twitter
Slide 10
Blogging in the Library Setting Blogging via Blogger,
Wordpress, and various other platforms is a viable way to engage
with the community. A rundown of why blogs are beneficial to
libraries in available in the post Benefits of Blogging. In short,
blogging allows libraries to:Benefits of Blogging Publish
information quickly Create a forum for in-depth communication
Connect with a wider audience Market library events and programming
Provide links to additional social media tools (Facebook, Twitter,
etc.)
Slide 11
tumblr in the Library Setting tumblr is another microblogging
platform that features written posts, pictures, gif images, audio
clips, quotes, and videos to generate content. A blog-twitter
hybrid, tumblr provides quick and useful content in the form of
mini-blog entries. Content is discovered by searching for tags a
tumblr- specific keyword search for specific information. Libraries
create tumblr accounts, many of which repost library-related
content. To find out more about these tumblarians please reference
Libraries and Tumblr.Libraries and Tumblr
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Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Blogging, and tumblr are just a
few of the social media networks libraries use to reach patrons.
Flickr (a photo sharing social network) and YouTube (a video
sharing social network) are also used by libraries, although less
frequently. As new social media technology emerges, libraries will
have to adopt and adapt to these technologies in order to remain
relevant, viable and accessible pillars of information.