{"id":5273,"date":"2015-10-27T11:21:20","date_gmt":"2015-10-27T11:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/?p=5273"},"modified":"2015-11-29T09:19:15","modified_gmt":"2015-11-29T09:19:15","slug":"with-power-comes-great-responsibility-how-librarians-can-harness-the-power-of-social-media-for-the-benefit-of-library-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/2015\/10\/with-power-comes-great-responsibility-how-librarians-can-harness-the-power-of-social-media-for-the-benefit-of-library-users\/","title":{"rendered":"“With power comes great responsibility” How librarians can harness the power of social media for the benefit of library users."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"social<\/a>
Library flipchart<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the annual conference of the CILIP Multimedia, Information and Technology Group<\/a>\u2019s (MmIT) held at the University of Sheffield in mid-September. The opening keynote from Marie Kinsley (Professor of Journalism, University of Sheffield) discussed the core of some of the issues the conference title indicated and we would face in the next two days. She illustrated how powerful social media was when we were not allowed to have access to information on the Minton report<\/a> banned under injunction. Using social networking sites thousands of people spread the information. Within 12 hours, millions of people around the world knew of the Minton report and Trafigura had become one of the most searched-for internet terms.<\/p>\n

The question is how can\u00a0libraries use the benefits of social media for their users? I picked up some tips at the conference to answer this question.<\/p>\n

Where are your users?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many speakers agreed that we must go on social media where our users are, not where we think they should be. Successful social media presence comes from knowing your users well and understanding their needs. For example last year I run a survey at Regent\u2019s University London and asked my students at the library what social media platforms they think the library should be using. Currently the library is only on Twitter. Surprisingly the absolute winner was Instagram! If most of my students, bear in your mind that Regent\u2019s has a chiefly undergraduate student body, prefer the visual advantages of Instagram, perhaps I should spend less time on promoting our Twitter account. Let alone creating a Facebook profile for the library. For searching social media try Topsy<\/a> which covers a range of media all in one place.<\/p>\n

Incorporate social media into information literacy<\/strong> and academic research<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many of the workshops addressed information literacy skills. Covering social media in information literacy skill sessions is a good way of making students aware of the platforms libraries are using. Some said that Academic Liaison Librarians should also now teach students and academics how to use social media tools. Here at Regent\u2019s such training is provided by the University\u2019s Learning Technology Team.\u00a0 Welcome packs given to new students detailing for example useful Twitter, Facebook, Instagram accounts from key departments and schools to follow can encourage students to use social media platforms for their learning and ensure that they find the right ones.<\/p>\n

Social media can also be essential because many students engage with libraries remotely. I do not only mean distance learners and part-time students but those studying all across the University in student rooms, on corridors or in the student bar. Academic conversation on social media is a source of information for students studying. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the University of Edinburgh has its own social media community that meets every second month. I like this idea very much!<\/p>\n

\"Regent's<\/a>
Regent’s on Twitter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Impact of social media <\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the most interesting presentations was a study by Claire Sewell who measured the impact of social media marketing on users of a business faculty library at a large university. It was fascinating to hear whether a like<\/em> or a re-tweet<\/em> would actually affect anything. The entire research paper is available here<\/a>.\u00a0Having been to many workshops over the course of the two days, I have come to the conclusion that social media has a positive effect on the student perception of the library. The communication is crucial, social media experts in the library play a significant role. Recently, Liz MacCarthy (@maccarthy_liz) was named on Jisc\u2019s list of 50 most influential social media users in UK HE<\/a> having set up a twitter account for Oxford\u2019s Bodleian librarians @bodleianlibs. In the future, communicating this way might become part of our job roles.<\/p>\n

You can see the Twitter timeline for the conference on Storify<\/a>.
\n

Gregory Toth, Regent’s University, London
\ntothg@regents.ac.uk<\/p><\/p>\n

If you enjoyed reading this article we invite you to join the Association for Learning Technology (ALT) as an individual member, and to encourage your own organisation to join ALT as an organisational or sponsoring member<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the annual conference of the CILIP Multimedia, Information and Technology Group\u2019s (MmIT) held at the University of Sheffield in mid-September. The opening keynote from Marie Kinsley (Professor of Journalism, University of Sheffield) discussed the core of some of the issues the conference title indicated and we […]","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[725,774,1070,1063,1064,1000,1019],"class_list":["post-5273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conference-reviews","tag-altc","tag-community","tag-gregory-toth","tag-library","tag-mmit","tag-social-media","tag-technology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4120,"url":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/2014\/08\/social-media-for-every-audience-student-social-media-showcase-and-the-european-conference-on-social-media-2014\/","url_meta":{"origin":5273,"position":0},"title":"Social Media for Every Audience : Student Social Media Showcase and the European Conference on Social Media 2014","author":"ALT","date":"13 August 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 The first Student Social Media Showcase (SMSS) and the inaugural European Conference on Social Media 2014 (ECSM2014) were hosted 9th-11th July by the University of Brighton Business E-Learning Research Group and took place in the Huxley Building, Brighton. The two events brought together over 250 academics (from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Conference reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Conference reviews","link":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/category\/reviews\/conference-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"SSMS logo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2014\/08\/SSMS-logo-300x85.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5396,"url":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/2015\/12\/misuse-of-social-media-alt-members-suggestions\/","url_meta":{"origin":5273,"position":1},"title":"Misuse of social media – ALT-MEMBERS suggestions","author":"ALT","date":"21 December 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently Sue Watling from Hull University asked the ALT-MEMBERS mailing list for advice on developing a policy document on the use of social media which in particular addresses misuse: I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for dealing with misuse of social media, for example students using anonymous apps\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Community"","block_context":{"text":"Community","link":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/category\/community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2015\/12\/21132194610_a2f9c86c19_z.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2015\/12\/21132194610_a2f9c86c19_z.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2015\/12\/21132194610_a2f9c86c19_z.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8094,"url":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/2019\/08\/maren-deepwell-marendeepwell-in-conversation-with-sue-beckingham-suebecks\/","url_meta":{"origin":5273,"position":2},"title":"Maren Deepwell (@marendeepwell) in conversation with\u2026 Sue Beckingham (@suebecks)","author":"","date":"1 August 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This time I am delighted to be talking to Sue Beckingham, National Teaching Fellow and Principal Lecturer in Business Information Systems and Technology, LTA Lead in Computing at Sheffield Hallam University as well as one of the highly anticipated keynote speakers of the 2019 ALT Annual Conference, taking place 3-5\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "In conversation with"","block_context":{"text":"In conversation with","link":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/category\/in-conversation-with\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"In Conversation with... Sue B","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2019\/07\/In-Conversation-with...-Sue-B.jpg?fit=960%2C625&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2019\/07\/In-Conversation-with...-Sue-B.jpg?fit=960%2C625&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2019\/07\/In-Conversation-with...-Sue-B.jpg?fit=960%2C625&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2019\/07\/In-Conversation-with...-Sue-B.jpg?fit=960%2C625&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4237,"url":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/2014\/09\/sig-update-the-games-and-learning-group\/","url_meta":{"origin":5273,"position":3},"title":"SIG Update: the Games and Learning Group","author":"ALT","date":"26 September 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"For this latest gathering of ALT-GLSIG (the Games and Learning Special Interest Group, hosted by the Association for\u00a0Learning Technology and chaired by myself and Nicola Whitton), we returned to Manchester. This time, a little further down the road at the University of Manchester's excellent Alan Gilbert Learning Commons building: an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Special Interest Groups"","block_context":{"text":"Special Interest Groups","link":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/category\/sig-updates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2014\/09\/GLSIG-Man-3-e1411642758375.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2014\/09\/GLSIG-Man-3-e1411642758375.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2014\/09\/GLSIG-Man-3-e1411642758375.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4075,"url":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/2014\/07\/altc2014-for-the-community-by-the-community\/","url_meta":{"origin":5273,"position":4},"title":"altc2014: for the community, by the community","author":"ALT","date":"23 July 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The ALT conference provides an annual opportunity for the ALT community to come together, either in person or online, to discuss and explore new approaches to learning and teaching, technological developments, implementation experiences, and recent research into technology enhanced learning.\u00a0 It is a conference that has evolved over 21 years,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "ALT news"","block_context":{"text":"ALT news","link":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/category\/alt-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2014\/02\/RidingGiants.jpg?fit=291%2C258&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9565,"url":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/2021\/08\/guest-post-how-do-you-present-survey-results-in-an-interesting-an-engaging-way-make-it-interactive\/","url_meta":{"origin":5273,"position":5},"title":"Guest Post: How do you present survey results in an interesting an engaging way? Make it interactive!","author":"Christina Vines","date":"2 August 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I joined the ucisa Digital Education Group's Technology Enhanced Learning Survey team in 2010 and ALT-C has always been our main conference for presenting the survey results. We attend ALT-C every two years with an update on the adoption and support of TEL within UK Higher Education. The survey results\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "altc21"","block_context":{"text":"altc21","link":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/category\/events\/altc21\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Annual Conference 7-9 Sept","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2021\/07\/Screenshot-2021-07-26-12.45.35.png?fit=650%2C365&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2021\/07\/Screenshot-2021-07-26-12.45.35.png?fit=650%2C365&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2021\/07\/Screenshot-2021-07-26-12.45.35.png?fit=650%2C365&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6CxU9-1n3","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/113"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5273"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5281,"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5273\/revisions\/5281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}