Social software programs: student preferences of librarian use

Abstract

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to present findings of an electronic survey to determine the extent of use of social software programs. Design/methodology/approach-The study was conducted to discover the extent to which students use social software programs, namely Facebook, MySpace, Instant Messaging and Second Life, and to determine their level of desire for having a librarian or library presence within those settings. A web survey was developed and distributed using convenience sampling. The survey was distributed to students at two college campuses located in the state of Colorado in the USA. Findings-The majority of respondents use social software programs, but are apathetic about using these programs for library questions or research. Research limitations/implications-This research has several limitations to its findings: limited response rate, ambiguous phrasing of survey questions and geographic limitations all affect the results. Practical implications-Owing to constraints on librarian time and resources, involvement in social software programs should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Originality/value-Social software programs are discussed in library literature, but few research projects have been undertaken to determine patron expectations for librarian involvement.

Facebook: A literature review

“…Fernandez (2009) and Connell (2009), for example, caution libraries not to disregard privacy concerns, and Xia (2009), Bortree and Seltzer (2009), and Jo and Kim (2003) show the importance of active groups and frequent discussion in developing relationships with stakeholders. Graham et al (2009) found that Facebook could facilitate the development of professional relationships, but Epperson and Leffler (2009) did not find much enthusiasm with users about the link between SNSs and libraries.…”

Striking a Balance: Effective Use of Facebook in an Academic Library

“…While 25% of freshmen surveyed by Connell (2009) at Valparaiso University in Indiana "would not be friends with the library," 58% would accept a friend request from the library, and 17% would take the initiative to friend the library. A similar study by Epperson and Leffler (2009) showed that, while 70% of student Facebook users would not care about a librarian being on Facebook, 66% would be "friends" with the librarian (2009). It is not clear from Epperson and Leffler's data, however, whether the students would accept a librarian's friend request or would rather initiate the connection themselves.…”

The impact of Facebook on libraries and librarians: a review of the literature

“…The studies reported till so far Hendrix et al, 2009;Chu and Meulemans, 2008;Epperson and Leffler, 2009;Al-Daihani, 2010;Aharony, 2012;Gerolimos, 2011) were limited due to the libraries and librarians' low interest in social networking sites. In addition, the adoption of social networking sites by libraries and librarians was new as a concept and as such it was expected that the interest would be low.…”