Follow a Library or Follow a Librarian?

: Best Practices for Connecting to Users through Social Media

THEA EVENSTAD, MLS CANDIDATE EMPORIA STATE UNIVERSITY VIRTUAL REFERENCE SUMMIT 2012

Online social media tools are ubiquitous

Images from www.freedigitalphotos.net

Our communities use these tools

Yes, those

numbers are millions

Libraries 2.0
ODell (2010) states, Libraries have adapted many of the tools to improve service delivery with great success. Blogs to inform our users of new resources, really simple syndication feeds notifying patrons of new acquisitions, using Delicious bookmarks in research guides, Twitter to publicize news and events, Facebook to create online communities, and other social media have all expanded and improved outreach to and support of our patrons. Librarians are modeling the successful adaptation of collaborative tools for the communities we serve.

Online social media presence

Libraries

are using these tools more than ever before

Image from Social media, libraries, and web 2.0: How American libraries are using new tools for public relations and to attract new usersFourth annual survey, November 2011 (PDF). Columbia, S.C., South Carolina State Library, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/news/mediapresscenter/americaslibraries/soal2012/social-networking

Social media use should be about conversation

Whether tweeting from your personal account or your librarys, the most important factor in creating a meaningful and useful experience is to realize that the service provides the means for conversation not just broadcasting (Forestall, 2011). However, having a conversation with an institution feels a little like socializing with someone with a bag on her head.
Image from www.freedigitalphotos.net

Professional vs. Personal, Individual vs. Institutional

Best Practices
Libraries must move beyond the traditional

broadcaster-consumer model (Hall, 2011). Can social media policies play a role? Case Western Universitys Marketing and Communications (2010) For the Social Thinker :

Transparency is the best policy:

Step out from the curtain Be reachable No hidden agendas Mind your self-representation

The Future
Will students of the future tweet: @mylibrary Im writing a #research paper and need some #reference help finding #census statistics? Will librarians of the future respond: @student Check out our #libguide link on #govdocs and watch our #tutorial link on #census data on youtube. Bob, @govdocslibrarian What would it mean for reference services to be

social? -> More personal connection to librarians?

References

American Library Association (2012). Social networking. In State of Americas Libraries Report 2012 (Chapter 7). Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/news/mediapresscenter/americaslibraries/soal2012/social-networking. Case Western Reserve University Marketing and Communications. (2010). For the social thinker: Best practices for social media strategists, administrators, and geniuses at Case Western Reserve University (PDF). Retrieved from http://www.case.edu/umc/marketing/socialmedia.html eMarketer. (2012, March 5). Facebooks US user growth slows but Twitter sees double-digit gains. Retrieved from http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1008879&id=1008879 Facebook. (2011, April 26). Statement of rights and responsibilities. Retrieved from http://www.facebook.com/legal/terms Forrestal, V. (2011). Making Twitter work: A guide for the uninitiated, the skeptical, and the pragmatic. The Reference Librarian 52(1), 146-151. Hall, H. (2011). Relationship and role transformations in social media environments. The Electronic Library 29(4): 421-428. ODell, S. (2010). Opportunities and obligations for libraries in a social networking age: A survey of web 2.0 and networking sites. Journal of Library Administration 50(3): 237-251. Rogers, J. P. (2009). IOLUG speakers notes on online identity. Retrieved from http://www.attemptingelegance.com/?p=652