WeChat in the library: promoting a new virtual reference service using a mobile app

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address how New York University Shanghai Library utilizes WeChat to support students’ research and information needs. WeChat is a mobile text and voice messaging communication service developed in China. Released in 2011, it currently has over 355 million users worldwide. The paper explores the information exchanges and interactions as well: what are students asking and what they can gain from this app; and features of the app are explored: WeChat can send files, support video-chat and group and voice messaging. By examining the opportunities and challenges of this app, the paper offers best practices to maximize WeChat as a library virtual service. Design/methodology/approach – The design approach of this paper is to analyze the information exchanges and interactions from participants. By collecting and analyzing the responses, the paper presents the opportunities of the app in supporting patrons who are often mobile and also how the app can be used for student engagement that is beyond reference services. Findings – From virtual reference to social media outreach, this paper finds that the app can offer a wide range of support and service through the library. Based on the positive daily interactions in the app, the research notes that the app can be utilized in many contexts: to support virtual service, to create student engagement, to promote library services and to create an online community of student users. Originality/value – This paper introduces in the context of an American institution and how this app can be utilized to support virtual reference and student engagement. The most important feature of this work is to demonstrate how to use this app to promote and to provide library services remotely. The paper introduces an alternative virtual reference service that can be utilized in any university setting.

WeChat Library: a new mode of mobile library service

“…Xu et al (2015) stated that approximately one-third of the top 39 academic libraries in China use WeChat as a marketing tool to promote their collections and services to users. Pun (2015) introduced the use of WeChat as a new virtual reference service in New York University Shanghai. To comprehensively determine the current situation of WeChat Libraries applied in the libraries of Chinese colleges, the present study found that there are 39 “Project 985” (Wikipedia, 2015b) university libraries as the basis for the investigation objectives.…”

Chinese App User’s Needs Profile: From Questionnaire Measurement to Behavior Analysis

“…In addition, for the cognitive needs and self-actualization needs, there were gaps between questionnaire evaluation and behavior data scores in study 2. Pun (2015) mentioned that more and more people used smartphones to obtain information for the satisfaction of their cognitive needs. In the era of fragmented reading, people could easily get a lot of information at their preferred times and places, but few of them would in fact benefit the self-growth of the individual (Liu and Huang, 2016).…”

Неки Аспекти Мобилних Апликација За Факултетске Библиотеке

“…12 Надаље, анализирајући паметне телефоне и мобилне технологије и њихову улогу у факултетским библиотекама, поједини аутори као почетну тачку наводе смернице у складу са којима су мобилне технологије и паметни телефони изменили начине на које користимо, делимо и стварамо информације, али упркос брзини којом су ове технологије дочекане, академска заједница их је прилично споро прихватала. 13 Управо се могућност распрострањеније употребе мобилних апликација у библиотекарству и библиотекама налази и у предлогу цитираног аутора, који закључује да је неопходно да сами библиотекари препознају и анализирају трендове мобилних апликација, као и да изнађу стратешке одговоре за новонастале изазове.…”