This document discusses how libraries can use social media. It notes that social media allows for sharing of information and expression through virtual communities. Libraries' roles have changed with technological advances, and social media can help libraries promote themselves and attract more users. Reasons for libraries to use social media include giving them a competitive edge, demonstrating their value as information resources, and reaching users who may not otherwise consider the library. Examples are given of how the New York Public Library uses social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Google Hangouts for marketing, customer service, and connecting with users. In conclusion, social media are becoming widely used by libraries for purposes like promotion, reference services, and building user loyalty.

1. RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN © 2015
www.PosterPresentations.com
Social media are computer-mediated
technologies that allow the creating and
sharing of information, ideas, career
interests and other forms of expression via
virtual communities and networks. The
variety of stand-alone and built-in social
media services currently available
introduces challenges of definition.
Abstract Social Media Management:
Librarians and UsersWe all have social media accounts, such as
twitter, facebook, instagram which we use
in a daily basis. Over the last years, the
libraries's role has changed and it has been
adapted to the technological advances of the
current century. The question is: How can
all these contribute to make a library more
known and attractive to the public.
Introduction
Social media can be used in a variety
of communication methods broadly
summarized as broadcast messages,
response to enquiries and then
conversation between institution and
users, but regardless of the approach
taken there are compelling reasons for
libraries to engage with social media.
Social media can give a competitive
edge in a time of major technological
change, and with access to information
widely available libraries need to
demonstrate the value of their
proposition.
Social media give librarians a way to
reach out to their users who may not
have considered the library as a resource
for their information needs.
How Libraries are Using Social
Media
Conclusion
We saw the ways social media are used by
the librarians and users and we also saw
examples of their usefulness and their usage
by one of the top libraries – the New York
Public Library, who created a whole event
with the help of a Google application. To
sum up, the libraries are starting to use
social media for many purposes, from
marketing and promotion, to a customer
service function.
References
•Obar, Jonathan A.; Wildman, Steve (2015). "Social media definition and the
governance challenge: An introduction to the special issue".
Telecommunications policy. 39, (9), 745–750.
•Curtis, R. (2009). Social Media, Libraries, and Web 2.0. How American
Libraries are Using New Tools for Public Relations and to Attract New Users.
South Carolina State Library.
•Fernandez, J. (2009). A SWOT Analysis for Social Media in Libraries.
University of Maine
•CANTY, N. (2012). Social Media in Libraries: It’s Like, Complicated.
Manchester University Press.
•Dankowski, T. (16 July , 2013). American Libraries. Visit 2 February, 2017,
from https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2013/07/16/how-libraries-are-
using-social-media/.
•King, D. (2015). Managing Your Library’s Social Media Channels.Library
Technology Reports.
The use of social media in libraries is
one form of relationship marketing that
has the potential to pay great dividends in
the form of user loyalty they create an
atmosphere in which library users are
connected with librarians.
Libraries are not just about tangible
objects, they are also about people. As
such, cultivating user loyalty is just as
important as building library collections.
One of the greatest strengths of social
media is the users' interaction with
librarians.
Hangouts is just one of many public-facing
platforms NYPL has taken into the fold of a
marketing arsenal that produces results.
Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube,
Pinterest, Tumblr, and e-newsletters are a
few staple mechanisms.
Five years ago the novelist and director
Stephen Chbosky was hanging out at New
York Public Library , fielding questions
about his just-released film "The Perks of
Being a Wallflower", offering tips to aspiring
writers and sharing morsels of inspiration
with starry-eyed fans. But he wasn’t in New
York.
Google Hangout: Example of
the New York Public Library
Katherine Varsamopoulou
Department of Library Science and Information Systems
Social Media Management in Libraries