A survey of Canadian academic librarians and their use of social media (2009-2010)

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Contents

Possible titles

  • "A survey of Canadian academic librarians and their use of social media"
  • "How is social software used by academic librarians? A survey of CARL/ABRC libraries"
  • "Web 2.0 use by academic librarians: a CARL/ABRC survey"
  • "Social media and web 2.0: how Canadian academic libraries are using the tools of the social revolution in instruction, reference and liaison"

Principle Investigator

Survey advisors

Introduction

As blogs, wikis and online social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have become increasingly popular and widely-used in the general population (services known as web 2.0), academic librarians have responded accordingly by applying some of these tools in varying degrees to the provision of library services. In July 2008, the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) published a report entitled "Social software in libraries - SPEC Kit 304" which gives examples of how Canadian and American academic libraries are using social media within their institutions.

However, the report suggests that:

"...while chat and instant messaging have been in use for several years [in ARL libraries], use of other types of social software is very recent. Beyond isolated cases, a steadily increasing number of ARL member libraries began implementing social software in 2005, with the largest rate of adoption being in 2007." (Bejune & Ronan, 2008)

Given the hype around many social or web 2.0 technologies, and the speed of change in the area, it can be confusing for academic librarians to decide which tools to apply to information challenges and problems. The debate about whether librarians should use these tools suffers from weak evidence especially in a Canadian context. Some academic librarians believe that the digital spaces created by social media should be exploited fully (see appendix II "Academic libraries 2.0") while others argue that many web tools are "disruptive" and fall outside the parameters of the field.

Both sides of the social media debate (for and against) can be vociferous in their defense of their views. Although a survey of this kind cannot by itself change how many of these tools are perceived (or evaluated), it is nonetheless an important first step in initiating the conversation or debate as we move further into the web 2.0 era.

Statement of problem

As library blogs emerged as early as 2002-2004, many early-adopters began to experiment ad-hoc with social software tools such as RSS feeds, wikis, chat tools and podcasting, video-sharing and bookmarking. Since that time, all kinds of surveys have been conducted in various jurisdictions that describe how these tools are used (Aharony, 2009; Chu, 2009; Connell, 2009; Hendrix 2009; Kroski, 2007). In addition, academic librarians regularly report on their innovative use of social media at association meetings and in scholarly papers, but no Canada-wide study has yet been conducted. The library and information science literature is replete with applied research, opinion-based case studies and early theoretical research (see Habib (2006)) but generally this area of information technology lacks a strong empirical base.

It is not known, for example, what types of social software are commonly used by CARL/ABRC member libraries and whether they have adapted any of their traditional bibliographic or legacy computing systems to respond to the service expectations created by social media. Finally, there is a need to establish an overall view of innovative uses of social media in Canadian academic libraries for capturing best practices and to apply that information with some dispatch to developing new theoretical frameworks and novel services for faculty, staff and students.

Aim of survey

The aim of this survey is to gather empirical data of social media usage by academic librarians in Canada. The goal is to establish factual information and reveal the nature and extent of social media usage by Canadian academic librarians for the purposes of communication, networking and marketing. The survey will be designed to elicit opinions of academic librarians from twenty-three Canadian university libraries within CARL/ABRC. The descriptive statistics will include what factors influence the adoption of social media such as demographics, professional titles and attitudes. This data will be cross-tabulated to identify dominant themes and issues of concern such as what barriers (ie. lack of time, knowledge or institutional support) currently restrict the use of social media.

It must be said that an underlying problem for librarians who use web 2.0 technologies is the lack of a practice framework - and not just within a Canadian context. In the absence of supporting theories and strategic planning for web 2.0, it is unlikely that academic librarians will ever be able to obtain the type of support they need to integrate social media effectively. Therefore, a baseline of descriptive data will be indispensible both for understanding the state-of-the-art of social media and what might be required of university libraries in terms of allocating optimal infrastructure support and resources.

The publication of this information will enable academic librarians in Canada to analyze viewpoints and to compare their use of social media with peers from across the country. Canadian library associations and educators can refer to this data in order to identify new areas for research and continuing education for professional librarians.

Literature review

The principle investigator is currently teaching a 13-week course called Social media for information professionals. The course is for graduate students within the MLIS and MAS programmes at the University of British Columbia's School of Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS). The readings and bibliographies below will be kept up to date and synthesized in preparation for the development of the survey questionnaire.

Relevant websites

Study methodology

  • The principle investigator and a research assistant will update bibliographies on academic libraries 2.0, library 2.0, web 2.0 and social software
  • Investigators will design an online survey (semi-structured questionnaire) of 20-25 questions with the assistance of UBC's ARES unit
  • The survey will be in two-phases and a 'stepped' methodology
    • Phase I survey will be piloted and validated by a small sample group
    • Phase II survey will have more in-depth questions (and a small randomized sample of 20 librarians will be interviewed)
  • This survey will examine attitudes and experiences of Canadian academic librarians who use/do not use social media
  • Survey tool called "Vovici" will be used; online software program is supported by the University of British Columbia
    • Institutional and demographic information will be gathered; phase I survey will include closed and open-ended questions
  • Invitations to complete Phase I survey will be sent to listservs such as CACUL, CAUT, CLA and directly to contacts at CARL libraries
  • Ethics approval for both phases will be required ('behavioural studies')
  • Phase I data will ask participants to agree to an interview in Phase II (a random sample of 20 librarians)
  • Phase II will include in-depth questions and room for more sharing of opinions, viewpoints and perspectives

Timeline

Budget

See also

References

See also Academic libraries 2.0

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