Library Advocacy on the Social Media- What Works

Abstract

The study investigates library advocacy on the social media- what works. Survey research method was adopted for the study; Librarians of University of Ibadan and Obafemi Awolowo University were selected for this study. Data collected were analyzed using simple percentages. The results reveal that LinkedIn (100.0%), Youtube (100.0%) and Google+ (93.7%) were the major types of social media used by librarians for advocacy. The findings also revealed that the advantages of using social media for advocacy of library and information resources and services by the Librarians were that social media is a platform to share professional networking (100.0%), is used for marketing and broadcasting library resources (100.0%) and social media are user-centered (100.0%).The findings further reveal that lack of social media skills (100.0%), network fluctuation (100.0%) and epileptic power supply (100.0%) were the major challenges the librarians encounter in the use of social media for advocacy of library and information resources. The study recommended that library management should develop a programme for library advocacy campaign and outreach for awareness which serves as a medium of marketing the library to prospective users.

Key words: Library, library advocacy, social media, universities.