Volume 4, Issue 1 (Spring 2020)

Rethinking Facebook: An Exploration

Elaine M. Lasda, University at Albany, SUNY

Cary F. Gouldin, Wheaton College Massachusetts

Amanda M. Lowe, University at Albany, SUNY

Marketing Libraries Journal, volume 4, issue 1, pages 81-106.

Abstract: This two-phase study began as an exploration of Facebook usage at academic libraries and resulted in the discovery of the broader implications for social media management. In Phase One of this study, the authors looked at the Facebook pages of a sampling of academic libraries to determine the combination of time, resources, and planning that would lead to success on Facebook. To assess this, they took a mixed-method approach that compared the results of a survey of page administrators with data pulled from the library’s Facebook pages to see what insight could be gleaned. Phase Two of this study looks at how the results of Phase One have influenced the social media strategies at two very different academic libraries: one at a research university, the other at a small liberal arts college, despite the waning of Facebook as a prime source of social media engagement among college students. This study also highlights the importance of continuity planning for social media activities to ensure continued success.

Citation to article:

Lasda, E.M., Gouldin, C.F., & Lowe, A.M. (2020). Rethinking Facebook: An Exploration. Marketing Libraries Journal, 4(1), 81-106. Retrieved from https://journal.marketinglibraries.org/april2020/06_MLJv4i1_Feature_Lasda_Gouldin_Lowe.pdf

References

ACRL Statistics Portal. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2019, fromhttps://www.acrlmetrics.com/

Aharony, N. (2012). Facebook use in libraries: An exploratory analysis. ASLIB Proceedings, 64(4), 358–372. https://doi.org/10.1108/00012531211244725

Castonguay, R. (2013). Social media: strategies for success for music libraries, or
beyond creating an account (Report). Fontes Artis Musicae, 60(3), 163–172.

Crumpton, M. A., & White, P. B. (2016). Connecting real learning with social media ROI. The Bottom Line, 29(1), 2–11. https://doi.org/10.1108/BL-10-2015-0020

Gerolimos, M. (2011). Academic Libraries on Facebook: An Analysis of Users’ Comments. D-Lib Magazine, 17(11/12). https://doi.org/10.1045/november2011-gerolimos

Glazer, H. (2012). “Likes” are lovely, but do they lead to more logins? College & Research Libraries News, 73(1), 18–21.

Griffin, M., & Taylor, T. I. (2013). Of Fans, Friends, and Followers: Methods for Assessing Social Media Outreach in Special Collections Repositories. Journal of Web Librarianship, 7(3), 255–271. https://doi.org/10.1080/19322909.2013.812471

Houk, K. M., & Thornhill, K. (2013). Using Facebook Page Insights Data to Determine Posting Best Practices in an Academic Health Sciences Library. Journal of Web Librarianship, 7(4), 372–388. https://doi.org/10.1080/19322909.2013.837346

King, D. L. (2015). Chapter 5: Analytics, Goals, and Strategy for Social Media. Library Technology Reports, 51(1), 26–32.

Kyrillidou, M., Morris, S., & Roebuck, G. (2013). ARL Statistics 2011–2012. Retrieved from https://publications.arl.org/ARL-Statistics-2011-2012/

Liew, C. L., King, V., & Oliver, G. (2015). Social Media in Archives and Libraries: A Snapshot of Planning, Evaluation, and Preservation Decisions. Preservation, Digital Technology & Culture, 44(1). doi: 10.1515/pdtc-2014-0023

Palmer, S. (2014). Characterizing University Library Use of Social Media: A Case Study of Twitter and Facebook from Australia. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 40(6), 611–619. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2014.08.007

Pew Research Center. (2018, March 1). Social Media Use 2018: Demographics and Statistics. Retrieved February 27, 2019, from http://www.pewinternet.org/2018/03/01/social-media-use-in-2018/

Phillips, N. K. (2011). Academic Library Use of Facebook: Building Relationships with Students. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 37(6), 512–522. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2011.07.008

Romero, N. L. (2011). ROI. Measuring the social media return on investment in a library. The Bottom Line, 24(2), 145–151. https://doi.org/10.1108/08880451111169223

Shafawi, S., & Hassan, B. (2018). User Engagement with Social Media, Implication on the Library Usage: A Case of Selected Public and Academic Libraries in Malaysia. Library Philosophy and Practice.

Tonyan, J. (2016). Measuring the Success of Your Social Media Presence with Google Analytics. Library Technology Reports, 52(7), 38–42.

University at Albany, State University of New York. (2010). Self Study Report 2000-2010: Prepared for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (p. 316). Retrieved from https://www.albany.edu/middlestates/pdf/middlestates_report.pdf

Wallaroo Media. (2019). Facebook Newsfeed Algorithm History. Retrieved June 29, 2019, from https://wallaroomedia.com/facebook-newsfeed-algorithm-history/

Wan, G. (Gary). (2011). How Academic Libraries Reach Users on Facebook. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 18(4), 307–318. https://doi.org/10.1080/10691316.2011.624944

Webb, H., & Laing, K. (2015). Engaging with Social Media: The Emily Carr University of Art and Design Library Experience. Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America, 34(1), 137–151. https://doi.org/10.1086/680570

Winn, D., Rivosecchi, M., Bjerke, J., & Groenendyk, M. (2017). MTL 2.0: A Report on the Social Media Usage and User Engagement of the “Big Four” Academic Libraries in Montréal. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 43(4), 297–304. doi: 10.1016/j.acalib.2017.04.006