Library 2.0: The effectiveness of social media as a marketing tool for libraries in educational institutions

Jones, Michael J. and Harvey, Morgan (2019) Library 2.0: The effectiveness of social media as a marketing tool for libraries in educational institutions. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 51 (1). pp. 3-19. ISSN 0961-0006

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000616668959

Abstract

In an attempt to market their services and connect with potential users, and particularly young people, many libraries are opening accounts on social media platforms. Research suggests a contradiction between the advice relating to marketing and that regarding the use of social media in libraries, with the former emphasising the importance of the user at the centre of all considerations and the latter placing library staff as central to decisions. In this work we attempt to re-address this imbalance by surveying the current state of library activity on Twitter and, by means of questionnaires, investigate the experiences and motivations of librarians (n=58) in using social media and whether students (n=498) are willing to engage with the library in this manner and why. Our findings confirm that libraries in the sector are indeed struggling to foster interest in their social media activities and go some way to understanding why this is so, leading to a number of conclusions and recommendations for practitioners.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: library 2.0, marketing, social media
Subjects: G400 Computer Science
G500 Information Systems
Department: Faculties > Engineering and Environment > Mathematics, Physics and Electrical Engineering
Depositing User: Morgan Harvey
Date Deposited: 26 Sep 2016 16:36
Last Modified: 01 Aug 2021 13:03
URI: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/27839

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