This is an exploratory study investigating the use of social networking tools in academic
libraries, examining the extent of their use, library staff's perceptions of their usefulness and
challenges, and factors influencing decisions to use or not to use such tools. Invitations to
participate in a web-based survey were sent to 140 university libraries from Asia, North
America and Europe. Responses were received from 38 libraries (response rate: 27.1%).
Twenty-seven libraries (71.1%) used social networking tools, five (13.1%) were potential …

Social media is key to 21 st century communication with library users, and enables the
academic library to pursue its mission and goals online, while promoting library resources
and services. As Johnson and Burclaff note in their 2013 ACRL conference paper,“Making
Social Media Meaningful: Connecting Missions and Policies”, 94% of academic libraries
have a social media presence, mainly on Face book, Twitter, and YouTube, but only 2% of
those surveyed have a library-specific policy for social media. They also stress the …