When used expertly, social media can function as many
roles within a library. It can work as an educator to the community, using social
media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to inform people all over the
world of the library’s collection. Additionally, the library may utilize those
platforms to highlight key items of interest. For example, The United States
Library of Congress often uses their Twitter account to showcase resources and
items in their collection, such as photos of the 1st World Series in
honor of its 113th anniversary (Library of Congress, 2016). Through programs such as textalibrarian.com (program which allows patrons to
communicate directly with librarians via phone texting and allows libraries to “respond
to multiple inquires at once” (Mosio for Libraries, 2016)) and live-chat,
social media has the ability to strengthen existing relationships between the
community and the library. Finally, according to Ann P. Bishop and Karen E.
Fisher (2015), technologies such as “Wordpress blogs, Vimeo, videoconferencing”
and other forms of media can be managed to both create and archive a library’s
work (p. 23). Such media platforms can help keep information from libraries in
an organized location as well as help share said information with the
community.
An important element when effectively using social media
on a library’s behalf is the American Library Association Code of Ethics. Most
importantly, principle IV of the ALA Code of Ethics states that libraries must “respect
intellectual property rights and advocate balance between the interests of
information users and rights holders”
(American
Library Association, 2008). A librarian may have experience navigating social
media, but if they post an image without citing its source or acquiring the
proper release of said image, such actions could have serious repercussions on
the entire library. Additionally, principle III of the Code of Ethics, which
states that libraries must “protect each library user’s right to privacy and
confidentiality with respect to information sought or received” (ALA, 2008), is
significant for librarians running social media as, according to Naomi House
(2015), effective online communication requires respecting and setting someone’s
boundaries (p. 373). If a patron no longer feels that their online conversation
is private and wishes to stop communication with the library, respect their
wishes and stop communication. Such actions may actually strengthen the
relationship between the patron and the library as it proves the library will
respect their patrons.
Overall, social media, when used responsibly and
competently, can be a wonderful tool for strengthening the relationships
between libraries and their patrons.
Works
Cited
Books:
Bishop, Ann P., & Fisher,
Karen E. (2015). Information Communities. In Sandra Hirsh (Ed.),
Information Services Today: An
Introduction (pp. 20-26). New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield.
House, Naomi. (2015) Career
Management Strategies for Lifelong Success. In Sandra Hirsh (Ed.),
Information Services Today: An
Introduction (pp. 367-373). New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield.
Electronic Sources:
American Library Association.
(2008). Code of Ethics of the American
Library Association. Retrieved
October 4, 2016 from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/proethics/codeofethics/codeethics.
Library of Congress. (2016,
October 1). Today in History: The Boys of October: 1st World Series,
1903; Roger Maris hits home run 61, 1961. Retrieved October 4, 2016 from https://twitter.com/librarycongress/status/782188334902751232.
Mosio for Libraries. (2016). The all-in-one support tool for libraries.
Retrieved October 4, 2016 from http://www.textalibrarian.com/.
Does anyone have any thoughts on WHO should manage social media accounts in libraries with multiple branches? Should it be the branches themselves, or the main library? I see both sides to this coin...
ReplyDeleteYour “Libraries and Social Media in the 21st Century” post caught my eye because I am also wondering what everyone’s thoughts are about library employee rights and responsibilities when using social media. We have all seen in the news where an employee has made a comment on their personal page that got them a disciplinary action or even fired. Recently I saw a police officer was fired because of a racial remark on her Facebook page.
We also have a circ clerk who makes very mean and inappropriate comments about one staff member in particular and the public. I am sure she is treading on thin ice.
My point is that I think in order to be proficient in some of the 21st Century competencies, we have to have personal experience with the technologies. But, does that give an employer the right to censor our personal, off-the-clock activities?
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ReplyDeleteI agree with "Librarians Out Loud"'s post. Although social media is a great way to reach out to the community and advertise the library's services, it's very important to make sure the library is marketing itself in the best way possible. In my opinion, no ordinary volunteer should be handling public social media accounts like Twitter or Instagram. Judging from many of the people I follow on social media, some people clearly don't understand what is seen as professional or not. Even seeing a post from a company that has misspellings or grammatical mistakes deters me from using their services.
ReplyDeleteI think it's important to wisely select who will be posting on your social media accounts.
Hi Librarians Out Loud and Cara: Even though I didn’t write this particular post, I wanted to respond to your comments since you took the time to write them. The short answer as to whom manages Library Social Media Accounts is: I think it depends primarily on the size of the organization, and what the purpose of using Social Media is. At my organization, Social Media is handled by a designated Social Media Coordinator in our Marketing Department. She primarily just “markets” for us. Staff members (usually managers) can submit a marketing request to promote any program in one of our 20 locations. There are staff members who tweet regularly, and if they tag @toledolibrary, she will retweet them. Some Librarians that I am Facebook friends with also use Facebook to promote a program or storytime at their branch, but that still seems a rarity.
ReplyDeleteNow, I follow some librarians on Twitter who are from much smaller systems, and they are responsible for their own social media. Some Teen Librarians also operate their own special Facebook Group Page for teens in their branch, claiming that is the best way to get the word out to teens about programs.
I think having an administrator or a marketer handling the keys to an organization's social media is the best solution, if it is in the budget. If not, or if organizations still want to empower employees to use social media in a professional context, then a policy should be written up that a user agrees to- much like a technology use policy. Some examples of the points of such contract may be: employees will only post positive messages or will not include pictures of customers without a release, etc. Failure to comply would result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.
Regarding the point about what people post on their personal social media in relation to their jobs, I still say they do so at their own risk. What so many people miss is that while their right to freedom of speech is protected, that doesn’t necessarily protect them from the consequences of their speech. I have taught computer and internet classes, and my rules of thumb for social media use are: keep it PG or PG-13, and don’t post anything you wouldn’t want your mom, grandma, or boss to see. Also, consider anything posted on social media as something you have put in writing. I can curse, swear, and tell a dirty joke with the best of them, but doing those things over some beers at a buddy’s backyard fire pit is very different than putting it in writing on social media. The point is, whatever your feelings about it, people do get fired for what they say on social media. Is it unfair sometimes? Sure, but if you have a job to get fired from, I’m going to assume you’re an adult. And adults know that sometimes, life isn’t fair.