Use of Social Networking Sites for Library &

Information Services

T. S. KumbarLibrarian

IIT Gandhinagartskumbar@iitgn.ac.in22nd November, 2012

Outline

Introduction Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 Web 2.0 Tools Social Media Social Networking Sites (SNS) Use of SNS for Library & Information Services Issues, Concerns, Challenges Future Developments Summing up

Introduction Web enables- access to information, create content,

disseminate ideas/info effectively Impact of web technologies on library services Shift from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 Implications for libraries & Library 2.0 Web 2.0 tools based library services Relevance of libraries lies in making them a platform

for conversation, collaboration & sharing both in physical & virtual space

Libraries around the world & in India are catching up with this paradigm shift

Shift from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0

Web 2.0

The phrase Web 2.0 was created by O'Reilly Media to refer to second generation of Internet-based services including tools that let people collaborate & share information online, such as social networking sites, wikis, communication tools & folksonomies

Refers to ideas and techniques behind web-based services which encourage user interaction, communication, and collaboration

Web 2.0 in Brief and Benefits

User-Centered Personalized content Collaborative Social - Conversation/Community Interactive- Participatory, not passive Content-rich, multi-media-rich De-centralized (control) Portable- available anywhere, anytime Many-to-many and/or few-to-few communication Networking opportunities galore Convenient

a "meme map" of Web 2.0

Social MediaHarnessing Web 2.0 Technologies & Tools

Social Media… Social media employ web- and mobile-based

technologies to support interactive dialogue and introduce substantial and pervasive changes to communication between organizations, communities, and individuals

When the technologies are in place, social media is ubiquitously accessible, and enabled by scalable communication techniques.

In the year 2012, social media became one of the most powerful sources for news updates through platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

Social Media Social media encompas many technologies

Internet forums   Weblogs , Micro blogging Wikis  Social networking Podcasts , vodcasting Photographs or pictures Media/Video sharing, social gaming Social bookmarking, tagging Slide sharing tools Instant Messaging, chats, RSS, Mashups Personal portals, Virtual worlds, and many others

Classification of Social Media (Kaplan and Haenlein) 

Collaborative projects (e.g Wikipedia) Blogs and micro blogs (e,g Twitter) Content communities (e.g YouTube), Social networking sites (e,g Facebook) Virtual game worlds (e.g.,World of Warcraft), Virtual social worlds (e.g. Second Life)

Social Networking Sites

Social Network Sites… Social network sites are great ways to get & stay in

touch with friends, family, and associates who spread across the world

SNS are defined as web based services, that allow individuals to, Construct a public or semi-public profile within a

bounded system Articulate a list of other users with whom they

share a connection View and traverse their list of connections and

those made by others within the system More than 140 active social networking websites

Social Network Sites

Blogs are in some way regarded as a social networking tools because blogs support the formation of social connection through blog-roll activities

Wikis, chat rooms, instant messengers, message boards and social bookmarking are also social networking tools since participation technologies are used to facilitate members’ interaction

SNS core funcations: allow socialization, generate participation, facilitate decisions

Social Network Sites- Types

General MySpace, Facebook, Google+, Orkut, Bebo, QQ

Friendster, many more Professional, academic, research

LinkedIn, Ning, ResearchGate, Academia.edu Subject specific

Library2.0, ALA Connect Internal - ALA Connect External - Facebook

SNS User base (According to ComScore (Nov 2011)

Worldwide Unique Visitors Percentage

Facebook.com 792,999,000 55.1%

Twitter.com 167,903,000 11.7%

LinkedIn.com 94,823,000 6.6%

Google+ 250,000,000 17.7%

MySpace 61,037,000 4.2%

Others 255,539,000 17.8%

Total 1,438,877,000 100 %

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networking_service

Social Network Sites & Libraries The way users interact, share information, seek

information has now undergone a big change Provide new exciting form of development Be aware of developments & adapt to changing

environment Enables libraries to place them in current environment Potential for reaching out to users where they are present Create professional image & impact Enables libraries to add social elements Remain valuable & relevant to users Need to take fully informed decisions to make its full

potential

Potential Use of SN Sites for Library Services … Announce library programs, events Respond to Reference questions Ask a librarian Teach basic search tools New resource alerts Send brief updates to patrons Facilitate collaboration & communication with

users Link to library website, e-resources, databases Link to the online catalogue Promote new library collections Provide library tours

Potential Use of SN Sites for Library Services Promoting of Library Resources & Services Relationship Building Subject guides Library instruction, orientation, tutorials Acquisition suggestions Publicity & public relations Online book clubs Outreach services – off campus services Readers advisory Library photo & video sharing FAQs Connection with other libraries & librarians

Library of Congress on Facebook

Maharshi Dayanand College Library

New York University Libraries

MIT Libraries

University of Michigan Library

University of Washington Libraries

MySpace for librarians

Denver Public Library

New York Public Library

American Library Association

British Library

British Library

New York Public Library

American Library Chennai

New York Public Library

ResearchGate

Planning for SNS Use by Library…

Planning is vital for implementing Think before- benefits & drawbacks Planning help us anticipate any problem and

craft library presence that will meet future needs of users

Choose a social network site Go where your users are Take a poll or conduct a survey Reason for conducting poll & Educate users Look at the features offered Identify subject specific, profession, region

Planning for SNS Use by Library

Initiate the process & get it approved Management, staff

Encourage staff & user environment Prepare policies- social media policies Think of the services you can offer Create profiles & services that interest users Keep up with the changes

Plan to Market & Promote Effectively Need to reach out to as many as possible Integrate with library marketing plan Develop marketing plan

Know your users Know your library

Update Library Brand Identity Combine push & pull marketing techniques Create social marketing campaign

User-centric, offer value, feel & experience, interactive, memorable, shareable, keeping it up

Best Practices to Follow Follow friendly etiquette

Let users choose libraries & librarians as friends Use proper tone, language and content Blend professional with personal

Use separate account for library & personal Take care of privacy issues

Engage in reactive services Engage students to seek services

Engage in proactive services Ubiquitous librarian Offer services never seen before

Assess-Impact, Participation & Success

Assessment is must Money, time, effort, other resources spent Identify tools & techniques to assess Use quantitative & qualitative measures

Monitor usage statistics Take surveys Hold focus group discussions Informal communications Initiate studies & other methods

Set the goals & achieve them

Issues, Concerns, Challenges… Many feel libraries do not have a role in social

networking Libraries are places for learning & information Requires time & resources Not very heavily used Students may not be eager to communicate with library staff on Facebook, Google+ etc. Getting users to treat librarians as friends- a

challenge These sites can be only compliment Users may not like the presence of library on SN

Issues, Concerns, Challenges Hard to maintain regular posting & updates No guarantee of how long these tools will remain More useful for librarians than libraries Focus more providing online services using library

website Need to do a proper study & then step in Mastering & keeping with technology Engaging users (staff and students) in using

social networking tools Achieving an informal yet presentable tone of

communication with students

Future Developments Increase in global social connections Providing more services Access to core features Integrating other social tools SNS will be around for some time to come New SNS in new form may come More people connected with SNS Libraries will have to make use of this opportunity

To sum up… SN sites are beneficial in

promoting library services interacting with users communicating within internal staff

Benefits are more than the cost involved Provide new platform to reach out users Important to see users response before introducing These SN sites are evolving rapidly & will get better

day-by-day Important for libraries to seek new avenues &

therefore consider benefits of using these tools Face the challenges & place library in centre place of

these technological developments

Selected References… Ayiah, E.M. and Kumar, C.H. (2011) Social networking: A tool

to use for effective service delivery to clients by African libraries. Retrieve from http://conference.ifla.org/past/ifla77/183-ayiah-en.pdf

Chu, S.K.W. & Du, H. (2012). Social networking tools for academic libraries. Journal of Librarianship & Information Science.

Dickson, A. & Holley, R. (2010). Social networking in academic libraries: the possibilities and the concerns, New Library World,111 (11/12), pp.468 – 479

Selected References… Gerolimos, M. (2011). Academic libraries on Facebook: An

analysis of users' comments. D-Lib Magazine, 17(11/12). Retrieved from http://www.dlib.org/dlib/november11/gerolimos/11gerolimos.html

Khan, S. A. & Bhatti, R. (2012). Application of social media in marketing of library and information services: A case study from Pakistan. Webology 9 (11).

Landis, C. (2010). A social networking primer for librarians. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers.

Selected References Olasina, G. (2011). The use of web 2.0 tools and social

networking sites by librarians, Information professionals and other professionals in workplaces in Nigeria, Pacific Northwest Library Association, PNLA Quarterly, 75 (3) pp. 11-43.

Rod-Welch, L. (2012). Incorporation and visibility of reference and social networking tools on ARL member libraries' websites, Reference Services Review, 40 (1), pp.138 – 171.

Thank you!