Using Social Media in Libraries: Best Practices

Citation

Abigail Joy Willemse (2014), "Using Social Media in Libraries: Best Practices", Library Review, Vol. 63 No. 1/2, pp. 159-160. https://doi.org/10.1108/LR-07-2013-0090

This book is aimed at all libraries that wish to use social media more effectively. It shares stories from public, academic, special and government libraries in the form of eight case studies that showcase best practices of particular social media tools. These include blogs, Facebook, Youtube, Pinterest and Twitter.

This volume is edited by Charles Harmon and Michael Messina who have impressive library backgrounds: Harmon is the executive editor for the Rowman & Littlefield publishing group, and Messina is a reference librarian who has also worked as a researcher at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Archives. There is a lively foreword by Laura Solomon who confidently asserts: “If your library is on Twitter, chances are good that I have unfollowed it.” She points out some of the ways in which libraries fall short of her expectations about best practices in social media, and notes that social media is all about building relationships; if libraries view it primarily as an advertising medium, they are likely to have missed the big picture. Walt Crawford continues these themes in the introduction, and reminds us that there is no single template for a successful library: every library is distinct with a different community and context.

The book promises that: “You will welcome the eight best practices presented in Using Social Media in Libraries because they will help your library actually do social media in a way that matters and do it well.” (back cover). The case studies are detailed, sometimes going into depth with specific examples, screenshots and HTML. While this is useful, it may date quickly.

The libraries featured are American or Canadian and mainly academic or public libraries. One exception is the Dag Hammarskjold Library of the United Nations, which is an absolutely fascinating library to read about, and a hospital library is also featured. Noticeably, there are no school libraries featured, although one case study about teen programs in a public library may be helpful.

The range of voices from different libraries is encouraging, and it was also heartening to hear many aspects of social media use being discussed, including staff buy-in, strategic planning and constant evaluation. This is a key strength of the book, as although one may learn much about effective social media use by observing other libraries on social networks and applying what they have done in one ' s own library, it is not always evident from outside observation why and how libraries have implemented their social media policies.

Because social media moves and changes so fast (Myspace anyone?), I am not usually convinced that a book is the best idea. Blog posts or other online writing can reflect faster the changing trends. However, this book focuses on examples of best practices, and a big part is how the libraries work within their particular context and engage their communities. Therefore, librarians can take away general principles from the book which would be applied to their library ' s own unique context.

In conclusion, the key point to take away from this book is that every library is different. This useful book does not provide an exclusive blueprint to imitate, but showcases examples to learn from, as librarians listen to their own community and develop their own individual social media strategy.