Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to highlight how North Western University (NWU) Library used Facebook and Twitter to inform, educate and communicate with library users during the students’ protests #FeesMustFall Campaign.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper follows a case study approach to examine how Facebook and Twitter were used to inform, educate and communicate with library users during the #FeesMustFall Campaign. Data was obtained from the NWU Library’s Facebook Insights, the Facebook page itself and Twitter account, after which content was analysed.
Findings
The paper provides insights that the teaching and learning (educational) aspect still lags behind on social media usage in libraries. Given the period in question, the expectation would have been a higher percentage of posts that could be categorized as educational.
Research limitations/implications
The study is confined to one campus library of the NWU Libraries and the results cannot be generalised to the NWU.
Practical implications
Social media use policies should be developed and awareness created on their availability and meaning/implications to users.
Originality/value
This paper fulfils an identified need to study how social media can be used by academic libraries. The literature currently focuses on how Twitter has been used in library campaigns. This paper shows how Facebook can be used in a university setting during crises time.
This article reports on the lessons learnt by the Library Services of the North-West University (NWU), Mafikeng Campus in North-west province, South Africa, with regard to extending library opening hours for 24 hours (Monday to Friday) during the November/December examination period in 2015. The students' call for 24-hour physical library services was part of the much talked about demand for "free quality education" coupled with the popular hash tag, #FeesMustFall. In the case of the NWU Mafikeng Campus, the protests began when students staged a "sit-in" on 20 October 2015, demanding that the library remain open for 24 hours. Management acceded somewhat to the students' demands, having considered the time lost when the campus was closed due to continued student protests. Although the students were demanding permanent 24-hour physical library services, management only agreed to open the library on a trial basis during the delayed examination period. The major lesson learnt was that students were not primarily in the library for library transactions, but rather to study in conducive environment despite the existence of a separate 24-hour study centre located in the basement of the library. This shows the need for the reconfiguration of the library's 24-hour study centre into a space that supports independent study. The article suggests that libraries should be able to support students if they recreate the library environment in their 24-hour study centres.
his study sought to determine the citation of media sources by law students in South Africa. Data were gathered from theses and dissertations of selected law schools in the country using specifically designed excel spreadsheets comprising columns for citations and sources, among others. The results, in relation to the research questions of the study, indicate that media, as a source of information, was the least cited while other secondary sources of information such as journal articles and books were among the most cited sources. Regarding usage of the media, the results show that newspapers had a high citation rate, followed by Television, radio, with magazines coming last. The study findings further indicate that two African economic giants, South Africa and Nigeria, were among the top origin of the media cited, alongside the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. The results further indicate that the Mail and Guardian, the British Broadcasting Corporation, and the Economist magazine, were the most cited forms of media. The study also indicates a positive but weak relationship between scholarly (citation) and public impact (circulation) of media sources. Keywords: Theses and dissertations, legal education, media, Newspapers, Magazines, Television and Radio
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