The Information Literacy Network of the GCC hosted a Roundtable on Library Communications. Presentations and discussion on social media and user engagement were helpful to understand the current user experience.

1. SOCIAL MEDIA FOR LIBRARIES:
Sharing an experience in brief
Homai Faridi
Senior Librarian – Information services
American University in Dubai

2. What AUD Library has learned so far:
1. Think BIG, Start small: start with one platform only
2. Try a variety of content (Video, pictures, articles, etc.) and test what
gets most reach
3. It doesn’t have to be always original (share a popular content from
other libraries with high reach)
4. Words matter! (start with a punch line rather than an ordinary
announcement)
5. Graphics matter! (use a few fonts and colors)
6. Follow your institution’s regulations and write a social media policy

3. 7. Use free online visualization tools/images
Free high-resolution images
• Pixabay
• Unsplash
• Public Domain Archive
• Wikimedia Commons
• 2017 Social Media Image Sizes Cheat Sheet
Design Tools
• Canva
• Piktochart
• GIMP
Suggested by: Hitchner, A., Bacon, J., & Web Junction. (2017)

4. 8. Develop a schedule (content calendar) to promote your
RESOURCES, SERVICES and EVENTS
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Weekend
(optional)
Mornings
Serious
content!
Author of
the week
(bio)
Database of
the week
Books from
the Author
available in
the Library
An example
from the
database
Recap in
form of a
question or
a quiz
Advertise an
event that
might
happen on
the weekend
Or just post
something
fun!
Evenings
Fun content!
A fun fact
about the
author or a
quote
… Chess
Game!
… …
Use tools such as Google Sheets to schedule and share with your social media team in the library

5. WHAT ELSE?
9. Don’t post too many (maximum two a day)
10.Create quizes and competitions using social media to engage your
students and increase your followers
11.Collaborate with other departments advertise their event if they are
using the library resources/facilties for their event or connect with them
through #hashtags and @handles! (e.g. Writing Center, RAC, or an individual professor)

7. REFERENCES
• AUD Library. (2020). AUD Library (@audlibrary) • Instagram photos and
videos. Retrieved May 3, 2020, from https://www.instagram.com/audlibrary/
• Hitchner, A., Bacon, J., & Web Junction. (2017). Getting Started with Social
Media for Your Library. Retrieved May 5, 2020, from OCLC website:
https://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/getting-started-with-social-
media.html
• WordArt.com. (2020). WordArt.com - Word Cloud Art Creator. Retrieved May
3, 2020, from https://wordart.com/