I recently came across a list of “40 Cool Ways College Libraries Are Leveraging Social Media.” Although this list was created in 2011 and contains many examples that are now fairly commonplace as opposed to being considered particularly “cool” or creative, I was still amazed at the wide range of ways social media is being used. This list really speaks to the possibilities for social media to aid libraries (and other information organizations) in a variety of ways. Many people view social media as a promotional or marketing tool, and without a doubt, social media platforms are viable and increasingly important tools for promotional activities. However, there is are countless other ways in which social media can be used.
For example, there are various social media platforms that are being used by librarians to conduct, collaborate on, and disseminate research. The PDF linked above gives several examples of this; Item #2 on the list cites “The Incremental Project,” in which a “researcher at Cambridge University Library used YouTube and social media as a source of research on Iraq.”
Social media is also being used to solicit feedback from staff and patrons. Item #8 notes that “Libraries have used Facebook status updates to ask for feedback that they can use right in the middle of meetings.” Item #32 is also dedicated to “Getting feedback.” This touches on a key advantage of social media: users can voice their opinions and their comments can potentially be heard instantly. The immediacy of this tool means that libraries may have the ability to make necessary changes a lot faster than in the past. This can also provide benefits when it comes to research, with collaboration between researchers taking place in real-time.
Social media can also provide patrons who are in need of assistance with easier and faster access to the expertise of librarians. The aforementioned list provides several examples of this, including “Homepage IM reference service” (#13), “Qwidget” (#21), and “Text a librarian” (#26). These features help students find the information they need without even necessarily setting foot in an actual library.
Other features, such as “BiblioCommons” (#30) are used in a number of different ways, as “a social discovery system, allowing advisory, recommendations, social tagging, and more.”
However, I think that some of my favourite items of this list are the fun ways in which libraries are using social media, such as for “Parody videos” (#31), “Librarians do Gaga” (#22), and the “Zombie comic” (#19). Many librarians still struggle to shed the stereotype that libraries are stuffy places full of uptight people who frown upon ‘frivolous’ activities. Social media can be used to showcase creative works that are fun and exciting, which in turn works to dispel these stereotypes and draw in new patrons. I hope to see even more fun and creative works produced by libraries in the future, and I think that the dissemination of these sort of creations can have a powerful effect on how libraries are viewed by the general public.