Twitter can be used to engage library users and for research advocacy. Benefits for librarians include professional networking, work place learning, and joie de vivre inspiration!

1. Starting new conversations!
THE ROLE OF TWITTER IN ACADEMIC LIBRARIES AND ACADEMIA
LIASA, 5 OCTOBER 2017
FIONA STILL-DREWETT

2. Too
busy, old or new
for library ‘tweets’?
Computer mediated communication:
Online news alerts
Online learning
Online feedback
Online sharing
Online Conversation
Online engagement

3. Lib Twitter

4. Twitter 101
 2006 +
 rapidly gained worldwide popularity
 News & social networking service – 328 million users 80% via mobile 08/2017
 Breaking news
 ‘140’ characters, # = categorize by keyword e.g.. #liasaconference
 Registered users post ‘tweets’, unregistered users can only read ‘tweets’
 In 2013, it was one of the ten most-visited websites and has been described as "the
SMS of the Internet"

5. Value for Libraries & Librarians?
 How is your library using Social Media?
 Twitter one component of social media
 Extends learning – greater depth via links out to articles, blogs, websites etc.
 Allows for unexpected ‘discovery’
 Timely – can dip in & out
 Interactive – messaging, feedback, Q&A
 Grows diverse communities - networking (personal, professional, institutional)

6. Social Media Policy in the online environment
 code of conduct that provides guidelines for employees who post content on the
Internet Techtarget http://searchcompliance.techtarget.com/definition/social-media-policy
 Universities usually have a social media policy or best practice guidelines for use
developed by the HR or Communications Department
 Guiding principals: ‘do no harm’ or ‘use your best judgement’ e.g. Harvard University
https://provost.harvard.edu/files/provost/files/social_media_guidelines_vers_2_0_eff_081814.pdf

7. Starting out:
Step 1 Find out if your institution and/or library has a social media policy
• What if they don’t have one?
• Often times the library is leading the digital/social media revolution
Step 3 digital etiquette, a.k.a. netiquette http://www.highya.com/articles-guides/the-golden-rules-of-digital-etiquette
• Create profile
• Create content – tweet!
Step 2 Activate a library email account - Register with https://twitter.com/
• Courtesy & respect online Avoid politics/religion
• Credit the creator Check facts and hashtags before using

8. Your choice!
What to tweet? Who to follow?
• Library events/opening changes
• New books/ database highlights
• Research support
• Higher education facts/happenings
• Study skill knowhow
• Tech savvy info.
• Humour!
• Libraries, Librarians, LIS associations
• News/media
• Higher Education/Research info
• Subject related
• Publishers/Authors/Journals etc..

9. Use of Twitter in the SA academic
setting

10. Twitter use by SA academic libraries
 Adopted between 2009-2012 i.e.
relatively soon after the launch of
Twitter in 2006
 UWC includes a live twitter feed (RUL
had a live feed until a recent website
update)
 It is possible libraries have a twitter
account that is not visible on the
homepage e.g.. twitter links on the
subject guides – UNISA
 Website survey 09/2017
Twitter
Uptake
Use of
ICON on
homepage
12 of 26 10 of 12
46% 83%
√

11. Identify your library!
https://twitter.com/RhodesLibrary
USER NAME START DATE
• @nwulibraries Oct 2009
• @UPLibrary Jul 2010
• @UCTLibrary Nov 2010
• @witslibrary Jun 2011
• @UJLibrary Jun 2011
• @dut_library Aug 2011
• @Stelbib Sep 2011
• @UWCLibrary May 2012
• @RhodesLibrary Jun 2012
• @UnisaLibrary Jun 2012
• @MandelaLibrary Aug 2012
• @MUTLIBRARY Feb 2016
A Twitter handle is a username selected by
anyone using Twitter and must contain fewer
than 15 characters. Each Twitter handle has a
unique URL, with the handle added after
twitter.com. Example:
http://twitter.com/username

12. Primary library accounts as at 09/2017
127
63
382
1506
696
232
4145
2835
1334
258
1211
1524
87
17
466
869
1181
390
3414
2930
1074
1240
559
1021
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500
DUT 2011
MUT 2016
NMU 2012
NWU 2009
RU 2012
SU 2011
UCT 2010
UJ 2012
UP 2010
UNISA 2012
UWC 2012
WITS 2011
Institution&startyear
Followers
Tweets

13. Survey Analysis: 12 Main Library twitter accounts
 WE CAN INFER…
 Tweet content & relevance may impact
number of followers
 High performance accounts generally
show a higher ratio of followers to
tweets, we can infer high ‘interest’ in
content e.g.. UJ, UNISA, SU, RU, NMU
 High no.s of followers & tweets
indicates good engagement, together
with sustained commitment by library
staff e.g.. UCT, UJ
 BUT PROCEED WITH CAUTION!
 Need to take into account: start date &
size of the university community
 followers may extend across
institutions and borders/ local, national
& international
 Highest ranked University – UCT –
correlates with the best performing
academic library twitter account

14. What is Rhodes Library doing?
@RHODESLIBRARY
@RHODESRESEARCH
@COMSCHOL

15. @RhodesLibrary
Official Twitter feed of the Rhodes University
Library, a leading academic research support
library in South Africa

16. @RhodesLibrary
 Joined Twitter June 2012
 Followers include RU students & staff, RU
alumni, librarians, publishers, recruitment
agencies, news sites, visitors, and HE
institutions.
 Followers need to have twitter accounts, and
follow @RhodesLibrary by choice.
 Marketing low key 2012-2017, i.e. via a
memo to RU listserves, included in signature
info., and by word of mouth.
 Tweets posted include library notices,
information about new resources, library
related happenings, research support
information & study humour.0
502
1181
0
299
696
0 23
278
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
Jun-12 Oct-14 Sep-17
followers 0 502 1181
tweets 0 299 696
following 0 23 278
Lifespan
followers tweets following Linear (followers)

17. Twitter Chatter: tweets & retweets

18. Mentions, Retweets, Feedback, Q&A, Notices…

19. Research advocacy with Twitter

20. @RhodesResearch
scholarly
communication
‘research & researcher
visibility’
📌 Latest RU Research: books, theses,
conference papers, published articles,
& more..by Rhodes University
Researchers Growing local... global
knowledge

21. Potential for Impact: discovery; news; networking; funding; employment;
research…

23. @RhodesResearch
Q&A feedback

24. @RhodesResearch
 Showcasing departmental research via
use of a hashtag e.g. #RUAnthro
 Research sourced from RU affiliated
alerts from the databases,
departmental websites, word of mouth,
researcher profiles, GS author alerts
 Advocacy of your researchers &
institutional research output
https://www.slideshare.net/EileenShepherd/liasa-conference-

25. In the field
RESEARCHERS USING SOCIAL MEDIA
• Nature’s 2014 social media survey
• Twitter, although used regularly by only
13% of scientists in Nature’s survey, is much
more interactive: half of the Twitterati said
that they use it to follow discussions on
research-related issues, and 40% said that it
is a medium for “commenting on research
that is relevant to my field”
• Richard Van Noorden Nature, Vol. 512,
Issue7513
ALTMETRICS – SCOPING IMPACT
• Collection of retweets
• E.g.. Altmetric, Plum Analytics
• Publishers show altmetrics on journal article
pages
• E.g.. PLOS archives & features retweets

26. The benefits of twitter for scientists
“Despite frequent claims to the contrary, social media tools such as Twitter can be
incredibly valuable for scholars. My own research (and years of personal experience) has
shown that if properly used, Twitter makes it possible for scholars to follow along with
cutting-edge research in their discipline as it is presented at conferences on the other side
of the world, to directly share their expertise with policy makers and journalists, and to
get feedback from expert peers as they work on their own research projects”
David Shiffman is a marine conservation biologist and award-winning science
communicator
@WhySharksMatter
https://www.americanscientist.org/blog/macroscope/the-benefits-of-twitter-for-scientists

27. Extending the conversation..

28. Multiple library twitter accounts, increased engagement…
e.g.. branch libraries/collections/units within the library

29. Library twitter community
#liasaconference
#SAlibchat

30. How to & lessons learnt…
 Find a champion, or two - seek passionate individuals – ownership of Twitter project
best
 New job dimension – takes time but stimulating and enhances faculty liaison
 Link library email to LibAnswers
 Feature live twitter account on university webpages / Library Subject Guides
 Incorporate social media training into CPD - Continuing Professional Development
 Marketing – don’t forget
 Curating – keep it ‘alive!’
 Administration – needs doing but is manageable

31. Feeling inspired…

32. Twitter analytics - account overview
• summary: tweet stats, tweet impressions, profile visits, mentions, followers
• By month: top tweet, top mention, top follower
• Impression = how many times my tweet showed up in people’s feeds.
• Engagement:
Retweets can reflect value. Someone found your tweet valuable enough to share with
their audience
Likes can be a sign of appreciation
https://blog.bufferapp.com/twitter-analytics Keven Lee

34. Readings…
• Twitter Golden Rules:
http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/08/marketing/10-golden-rules-to-take-your-librarys-
twitter-account-to-the-next-level/
• The Benefits of Twitter for Scientists
https://www.americanscientist.org/blog/macroscope/the-benefits-of-twitter-for-
scientists
• Leveraging the Power of a Twitter Network for Library Promotion
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0099133314002675
• How Libraries Can Leverage Twitter
http://andyburkhardt.com/2011/04/26/how-libraries-can-leverage-twitter/

35. What does the Future hold?
LIBRARIES USING MORE APPS & MORE SOCIAL MEDIA
STREAMING VIDEO (FACEBOOK LIVE, YOUTUBE), MESSAGING APPS (WHATSAPP, FACEBOOK MESSENGER)
BLOG; FACEBOOK; FLICKR; INSTAGRAM; PINTEREST; YOUTUBE; SNAPCHAT; WHATSAPP…

36. Joining library conversations!
• #liasaconference
• #SAlibchat
• #librarylife
• #edtechchat
• #datalibs #open17 etc.
• “For me Twitter has been a major boost for my professional life in terms of insights,
inspiration, debates and network with the global library community” Christian
Lauersen, Library Director - Roskilde University, Denmark.
Tweets by @clauersen

37. Librarians on Twitter – Create your own account!
• “Twitter, for example, has offered librarians the chance to connect with millions of
other people and today there are many librarians who have large followings on Twitter
thanks to their informative and entertaining posts, their willingness to share
knowledge, and their ability to interact with others”
Library Science Articles, Social Media by Melissa Steele
“Are you ready to become a tweetbrarian? Twitter is a fantastic tool for engaging with
other librarians, monitoring LIS trends and debates in real time, and gathering unfiltered
insights and inspiration from peers and seasoned professionals”
Michael Rodriguez https://hacklibraryschool.com/2014/05/27/hashtags/

38. Fiona Still-Drewett
@feestill
f.still@ru.ac.za
Principal Librarian,
Humanities & Education
Rhodes University Library
@RhodesLibrary
https://pixabay.com/en/twitter-line-power-line-sit-2713571/

39. Acknowledgments/References
https://pixabay.com/en/twitter-line-power-line-sit-2713571/
http://librarysciencelist.com/75-of-the-coolest-librarians-to-follow-on-twitter/
http://librarysciencelist.com/social-media/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter
https://www.omnicoreagency.com/twitter-statistics/
https://www.lifewire.com/twitter-slang-and-key-terms-explained-2655399
http://www.proquest.com/blog/pqblog/2016/3-Hot-Social-Media-Trends-for-Libraries.html
Techtarget http://searchcompliance.techtarget.com/definition/social-media-policy
Harvard University
https://provost.harvard.edu/files/provost/files/social_media_guidelines_vers_2_0_eff_081814.pdf
http://www.highya.com/articles-guides/the-golden-rules-of-digital-etiquette
https://hacklibraryschool.com/2014/05/27/hashtags/
https://christianlauersen.net/2016/08/22/library-related-twitter-hashtags/
http://www.nature.com/news/online-collaboration-scientists-and-the-social-network-
1.15711?WT.mc_id=TWT_NatureNews

40. Acknowledgments/References cont.
https://www.slideshare.net/EileenShepherd/liasa-conference-presentation?qid=0edc3902-574e-
4c2a-b3ca-5e694c7bd86c&v=&b=&from_search=2
https://blog.bufferapp.com/twitter-analytics
https://pixabay.com/en/mail-email-at-smartphone-566337/
http://www.business2community.com/twitter/7-ways-to-get-retweet-after-retweet-
0538724#ggb1AArFWioj3bjQ.97
https://www.americanscientist.org/blog/macroscope/the-benefits-of-twitter-for-scientists
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0099133314002675
http://andyburkhardt.com/2011/04/26/how-libraries-can-leverage-twitter/