Julia Brewster

I have been thinking a lot about the effective use of social media within libraries. I recently started a new position and have walked into an organization that is attempting to actively engage in the use of a variety of social media tools to reach out to library users. While this is currently happening, I feel that the organization could use a more effective strategy. The current strategy is well….there is no strategy. Lacking a strategy means as an organization we are haphazardly contributing to a variety of communities without a consistent voice or message. Which in turn defeats the purpose of engaging (in my opinion) and also does not provide us with a way of actually determining if what we are doing is sincerely making any sort of difference.

The current situation looks something like the following. Several departments have set up their own Twitter accounts – yet the naming of these accounts does not necessarily indicate what organization they are from or whether or not they are related at all.  The accounts appear to primarily, if not only, be used as a method of pushing information – there is no interaction between the account holder and followers.

Each department has their own blog, or space whatever you choose to call it. All using different size fonts, with different layouts. There doesn’t appear to be much of a template…and it kind of drives me nuts.I could go on but it would be too boring.

The spider web of social media interactions currently taking place has made me realise the value of an organization articulating a social media policy before things get out of hand. The ease in which social media can be used is one of its greatest assets, but it’s also one of its greatest downfalls if it’s not regulated in some manner. Encouraging active engagement with social media tools while ensuring there are principles to follow in order to provide a cohesive organizational message without constraining staff members (as that would defeat the point of using social media) is something I hope to help my organization strive for.

Does your library use social media? If so what do you use? Do you have a Facebook page, a Twitter account, a Flickr page, Youtube channel….or something else?

Is there a policy for employees who use social media in their personal lives?  Is there a policy for employees using social media while representing the organization?