“We’re Still Here:” Evaluating Academic Library Instagram Posting During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Julie Turley, Department of the Library
Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York (CUNY)
Marketing Libraries Journal, volume 6, issue 1, pages 67-95.
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Abstract: Academic libraries use social media to build community and increase visibility and engagement among followers–students, faculty, and staff. Instagram, in particular, is a popular social media platform used by a college-aged demographic. Academic library Instagram administrators create and maintain Instagram accounts to post visual content to promote the physical library and library services. In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic closed the college campuses of the New York City-based City University of New York (CUNY) system to all but “essential staff” and compelled non-essential employees to work from home. During the first few months of 2020, college library Instagram administrators in the CUNY system considered how a once-in-a-century pandemic might affect the content of their Instagram posts and post frequency. The posts of Instagram accounts for eight CUNY libraries were this study’s subject. Data from each account’s Instagram posts were examined: images and captions, posting frequency, and the ways in which these accounts may have made a “pandemic pivot.”
Keywords: COVID-19, Instagram, library marketing, social media outreach
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Citation to article:
Turley, J. (2022). “We’re Still Here:” Evaluating Academic Library Instagram Posting During the Covid-19 Pandemic. Marketing Libraries Journal, 6(1), 67-95. Retrieved from https://journal.marketinglibraries.org/summer2022/06_MLJv6i1.pdf |
