Social Networking and Libraries

Social media has been a staple of our every day lives for a while now. Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are more popular than ever. They are simple ways to stay connected with family and friends and now businesses are beginning to amass followers to their account and have created a whole other advertising empire. With the majority of people, especially the younger generations being on some sort of social media, it makes sense for a library to use social media platforms to their benefit.
For libraries, social media is a great way to get news our to patrons. Landscape of Social Media For Libraries offers insight into the many platforms that are used in libraries and what each one can specifically provide. Events, offers, new releases and more, can all be shared with social media followers with the click of a button. Social media platforms like Facebook have a calendar feature which enables users to add events directly from the site.

Instagram is a great way to share photos of things in the library. This can be anything from renovations, new releases, past event photos, children's club photos and many more. A photo can draw a lot more attention and capture the scene of the library much easier than a worded post on Facebook or Twitter. Instagram can also be interactive with the library patrons. Some libraries have used Instagram to promote competitions within the library for patrons. One example is a scavenger hunt within the library. The patron is instructed to find items throughout the library and post pictures of them. This can encourage exploration within the library and help the research skills of its patrons.

Twitter can be used for focused, and up-to-date news. Twitter is excellent for getting small bits of information out to the public that is short and concise. Posting on Twitter also allows for accessible links to the library's website. For a broader form of information and one that is more visually pleasing, libraries can look to YouTube. YouTube is not typically thought of as traditional social media, but with millions of viewers using the platform and the ability to subscribe to an account to keep up with the latest, it is a great way to amass followers and reach out to many people at once. The New York Public Library has a very successful YouTube account. With over 17,000 subscribers, the account boasts posts of authors, library events, free children's activities and much more.

The above video shows an in depth video of the map collection of the New York Public Library. Many videos like this exist on the account and can provide much information about the innerworkings of the library.

Works Cited

King, David Lee. “Landscape of Social Media for Libraries.” Library Technology Reports, vol. 51, no. 1, Jan. 2015, pp. 10–15. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=100279059&site=ehost-live&scope=site.