ARTICLE REVIEW:
With the growing popularity of social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter, even libraries are now using them for collection requests and for interacting with their patrons (Petit 2011). This allows patrons to easily request for the materials they need.
Patrons are most likely more familiar with Twitter and Facebook than they are of the library’s website, which enable them to easily send their requests or communicate their complaints and needs to the library. In addition, patrons most probably already have a Twitter and Facebook account, which makes it even easier and more convenient for them.
Aside from being free and accessible, library accounts on Twitter and Facebook enable the library to fulfill their patrons’ expectations of having a social media presence. It also enables the library to communicate with patrons whom they won’t encounter otherwise.
While having social media accounts does not guarantee success, it would greatly help for the libraries to engage actively with their followers by mentioning them and responding to them in a timely manner. For this, it may be necessary for libraries to assign personnel for these particular tasks where the selected personnel must have a good grasp of the culture around these social media websites and must be able to post relevant and appropriate content. In addition, the social networking program must be integrated with the library’s bigger program of marketing, event promotion, and reference.
Although there is no guarantee that social media presence will help advance the library’s initiatives and although it will take time for its benefits to be realized, the writer thinks that it is still a worthwhile effort and that libraries have more to gain than lose by starting to engage in social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook.
Bibliography
Petit, J. “Twitter and Facebook for User Collection Requests,” Collection Management, 36 no. 4
(2011): 253-258, DOI: 10.1080/01462679.2011.605830.
