Social Media, Libraries, and Web 2.0: How American Libraries are Using New Tools for Public Relations and to Attract New Users – Third Survey November 2010

Social Media, Libraries, and Web 2.0: How
American Libraries are Using New Tools for
Public Relations and to Attract New Users –
Third Survey November 2010

Curtis R. Rogers, Ed.D.

South Carolina State Library
www.statelibrary.sc.gov

POB 11469, Columbia, SC
29211

803‐734‐8928

12/17/2010

Overview
How are American libraries using Web 2.0 applications and social networking tools to
promote their library programs and services?

Many libraries are using them voraciously, some still not at all.  However, we cannot ignore the ever‐increasing use of
these tools to connect with library users.  Statistics such as these illustrate we can no longer ignore the usefulness of
these tools.

• Almost one in 10 (8%) American adults who use the internet are Twitter users, according to a new survey from
the Pew Internet & American Life Project.1
• Between October 2009 and October 2010, Facebook increased its unique visitor total almost 22%, from about
109.7 million to 133.5 million. Compared to September 2010, Facebook grew its unique visitor total 2% from
130.8 million.2
• While overall social networking use by online American adults has grown from 35% in 2008 to 61% in 2010, the
increase is even more dramatic among older adults, according to new data from the Pew Research Center. In
particular, the rate of online social networking approximately quadrupled among Older Boomers (9% to 43%)
and the GI Generation (4% to 16%).3

This survey represents feedback from a wide variety of library staff members in the U.S. to determine how libraries are
employing Web 2.0 and social networking tools to promote library programs and services.  The first survey took place
between March 14 and March 21, 2009 to gather data for a paper that was presented at the 2009 German Library
Association Annual Conference in Erfurt, Germany (Deutscher Bibliothekartag 2009 June 2‐5
http://www.bibliothekartag2009.de/).  The original paper with first survey results is published online via Slideshare:

http://www.slideshare.net/crr29061/social‐media‐libraries‐and‐web‐20‐how‐american‐libraries‐are‐using‐new‐tools‐
for‐public‐relations‐and‐to‐attract‐new‐users

The second survey took place from November 12 to November 25, 2009.  The results are published online at
http://www.statelibrary.sc.gov/docs/social_media_survey2009.pdf.

This report presents the survey results from the third survey which ran from November 1 to November 17, 2010.

Page | 2

Survey Results
A total of 917 individuals began the
survey with 664 completing it.
62.3% of respondents represented
public libraries and 19.1%
represented academic libraries.  The
majority of respondents (413 –
45.1%) reported their main
responsibility at work is in the
library administration/ management
area.  146 (15.9%) of the
respondents reported their main
responsibility at work was in
reference and/or research area.

Other responses came from
individuals who work in
children/youth services (10.8%),
public relations/marketing/
communications (9.7%), and technical services (7.5%).  For this survey, the category of friends group/advocacy
was added with .4%
responding.  One
respondent suggested
Circulation should be
added as a category in
next year’s survey.

Out of 676 respondents to
the question, “My library
uses the following types
of Web 2.0 applications to
promote and market
library services,” social
networks (78.6%) and
blogs (51.9%) remained
the two highest responses
on the list.  Many libraries
continue to use photo
sharing tools (40.2%) as

Page | 3

well as online video (29.1%).
Virtual worlds continue to be
reported as the least used.

Respondents also rated their
perception of each tools’
effectiveness toward achieving
marketing campaign and/or
promotion goals.  On a scale from 1
to 5 with 5 being very effective and
1 being not effective, respondents
continued to rank social networks
as the highest with an average of
3.59.  Coming in second was online
video with an average ranking of
3.31.  Both of these items were
slightly higher than the 2009 survey
responses.

An overwhelming number of
responses (92.2%) to the question,
“Do you think Web 2.0 tools are
important for marketing and
promoting library services?”
continued to respond positively
with only 7.8% stating they did not
think Web 2.0 tools were
important.   159 respondents
provided qualitative information in
the form of detailed comments.

The following are selected
responses representing a broad spectrum of how respondents feel about using these tools to promote library
services:

Effectiveness in 2.0 depends entirely on who's following As the world gets more and more mobile and
or paying attention to you. interconnected, libraries need to keep pace.

These tools are increasingly used by more and more As the world becomes increasingly virtual, to promote
people, so libraries need to utilize them effectively. the library we have to take this idea into consideration.

Page | 4

I believe Web 2.0 tools will only become more important in the future not only for marketing library services but to
monitor what others are saying about our libraries and library services. With so many venues for people to
comment, it is critical to be trolling and listening for their comments. These are users who may not choose to visit
the library to complete a paper form or interact with the library website to complain or comment, but feel
comfortable doing so on foursquare or twitter.

There are certain essential media that need to be a part depends on the community you serve as to how
of just about any marketing/PR campaign. Web 2.0 effective these tools can be.
tools have quickly been added to this list.
I think any kind of marketing and outreach in 2010 has
Very much so. However, social media is currently not to involve technology ‐ "Web 2.0" is a very 2000 concept
being used in the most effective way possible in my and as usual, libraries are a decade behind.
library. Although the marketing/pr director recognizing
the reach SM can have, another group in the library Libraries are expected by patrons to keep up with
'owns' the library's SM accounts and, to this point, that Web2.0 tools. If Libraries don't patrons may go
group has not used SM to engage in a two‐way elsewhere to fulfill their expectations.
conversation.

This is how people communicate today and if Library's
Some responses mentioned their access to these
want to remain relevant, then they need to join the
useful promotional tools is still being blocked:
conversations.
However ‐ we are a county system and we have to
Everyone is online or using mobile devices... A library
adhere to the Internet policy developed by the county's
has to be in tune with what is happening with their
IT dept., which has effectively eliminated the possibility
patrons and meet them there.
of the library using any sort of Web 2.0 tools.
I think *some* Web 2.0 tools are important for
They would be helpful but we are not permitted to use
promoting library services. It's important to have a
them.
presence where our patrons "live" but things like virtual
worlds, that aren't widely used, aren't the best use of I think they are important and would love to use them,
our time and resources. but most of them have been blocked by our school
network in the past so I can't use them.
We need to use all available sources to reach our
customer base. Most of our customers are using web 2.0 It's important to consider your audience. If I were in a
resources so we should be where our customers are. public library, I would use a lot more web 2.0, especially
to reach younger people. In my library, many web 2.0
To stay relevant to people today, we need to go where
tools are blocked for my primary clientele, so not as
they are ‐ this is true of any business, including libraries.
valuable.
People now expect libraries to use technology to find
We haven't access to social websites due to the City's
them rather than their having to always seek out the
robust firewall.
library.

Our library is located in a small rural community, so
many of our patrons are not tech savvy. I think it
Page | 5

Respondents from
libraries that have
already
implemented Web
2.0 tools
predominantly use
them for promoting
general library
services 82.5%
(77.7% in 2009).
Other highly ranked
uses for Web 2.0
tools show an
overall increase in
use from last year’s
survey:

• Marketing specific adult programs and/or services 70% (60.3% in 2009)
• Marketing specific children’s and/or youth services programs 63% (56.8% in 2009)
• Providing quick updates to users 65.6% (56.8% in 2009)
• Reaching a new audience of potential users 50.6% (48.7% in 2009)

The following are selected comments (from a total of 69) regarding how respondents’ libraries
are using Web 2.0 tools:

Spreading the word about other community We try and engage with our social media
organizations' events/promos; BUILDING friends/customers. One way of doing this is to
COMMUNITY!! ask for input on a topic, another way that we
have found effective is to ask a general question
Connect the library to current events so people to get conversation going on a certain topic.
know the library is a place that is current.
Encourage donations and support.
Updates on new research tools (tutorials,
guides, databases, new books) Provide information about medical information,
update progress of info commons.
Tweet & blog "behind the scenes" news and
observations in order to show our friendly,
helpful attitude toward serving the public.

We include links to community events and
articles on technology that may be of interest to
our customers.

Page | 6

Respondents were asked, “How likely do you believe the people in the following age brackets
are influenced by the library’s use of Web 2.0 tools?”  The majority responded they perceived
individuals 18‐25 were the most likely to be influenced with 26‐35 and under 18 ranking second
and third mirroring the 2009 survey responses.

Respondents were also asked to provide success stories with their library’s use of social media
or Web 2.0 tools for promoting the library’s services and events.  Below are selected responses
from the 90 received:

We've been able to respond to questions and that included several options for him. The
general customer service type issues such as customer was very appreciative and thanked
reserves or email notifications not working. everyone on Facebook for the ideas.
People are asking us more and more questions
through these tools. We've also been able to We are still in the midst of our aha moments.
connect with customers. For example, we had We realized the benefits of social media tools
one of our followers on Twitter mention that such as lowered production costs, better and
they just became a father. We responded and faster distribution of newsletter, programming
said congratulations it's never too early to start and public announcement information. But we
reading to your son. We then asked our "fans" also realize that we have only scratched the
on Facebook for book suggestions for infants surface of what these tools can really do for
and provided him a link to our Facebook page library services!

People have come into the library for a program and say, "I didn't know you did things like this, but I saw it
on Facebook and just had to come." We see people "friending" the library who haven't visited us in years and
now, because of Web 2.0, are coming back.

We used an online video via email to tell our negative towards our government for
'story' to patrons in early 2008 and it ultimately preventing this library standard from being used
led to a passage of a 1.5 million dollar bond because of liability.
issue for a complete renovation of our library.
We moved back into our "new and improved" When we post a question on Facebook, such as
old library in the fall of 2009. "What are you reading right now?" we get great
feedback and it creates a feeling of community
We're getting a lot of feedback via twitter and and interaction between our fans.
Facebook ‐ patrons asking questions about
services, ref questions, etc. We're having fun The blog is especially useful when we want a
connecting with our community. soft introduction of a new product or service. It
reaches a few which allows us to ramp up/work
We track website statistics using Google out bugs without being inundated.
Analytics for all three of our websites. Not only
does Google Analytics provide useful data on When we hosted an exhibit and workshops
our most popular pages but it also tracks traffic relating to veterans artwork we had
from other sources. One of the interesting tremendous feedback from the "chatter" on the
things we have noticed is that the teen blogs and other 2.0 sites related to veterans
Facebook page is generating traffic to the teen affairs. In other words, don't underestimate the
site, more so than our main site Facebook or positive possibilities of getting your
kids Facebook. It provides validation of our announcements and information out on
efforts to post daily and informs us that teens 2.0/blogs/etc. that are focused on very specific
(at least in our area) are heavier Facebook users audiences or very specific projects.
than MySpace users.
I think Facebook is a great way for the
We've used our Second Life library as a community to communicate back with you. I
presentation site for a KLA workshop on had a parent that said too bad the storytime
greening your library, avoiding the cost of fossil wasn't later because the kids don't get off the
fuels for a trip from Olathe to Wichita for a 1‐ bus till 3 so I moved storytime. I had no idea
hour presentation that the buses ran so late.

Sadly our municipal government is fearful of Twitter is a great tool for reminding the media
social networking like Facebook because they about an event. They already have the press
believe they are liable for anything posted and release, so when I send a tweet the day of they
our patrons really want this connection with our are reminded to come cover the story. We have
library. The "aha" would be more in the received coverage many times because of this.

I put out a call on Facebook for adult
volunteers for an afternoon program
that were had trouble finding help for
‐ I had a response within minutes.
Page | 8

Many of these responses illustrate that if social media and Web 2.0 tools are used effectively,
they can produce many positive outcomes.

Respondents were also asked to choose from a list of 25 Web 2.0 and social media tools their
library uses.  The tool most widely used was Facebook at 84.3% (74.7% in 2009).  Twitter moved
into second place (third place in 2009) with 49.2% and blogging tools came in third with 42.4%.

This question had 65 comments posted listing other related resources being used by libraries.

Selected comments:

We have stopped using MySpace as it does not Internal messaging (pidgin and jabber). We use
generate interest or traffic among our teens. delicious, but it's not really active at this point.
We did invest time into creating podcasts and Flickr and GovLoop are used informally,
online book reviews but have not maintained internally. We also use Yammer (like Twitter,
these projects due to the lack of benefit for the but enterprise based). Staff use most of the
amount of time involved in creating them. other resources listed, but mostly not for work.

Page | 9

weebly & animoto Gaia, Shelfari, Podomatic, BookBundlz

FourSquare GovDelivery

Pandorabots/SitePal for our artificially LibraryH3lp
intelligent virtual agent.
Google chat IM
We use Diigo and Goodreads instead of
del.icio.us and Library Thing

A last open‐ended comment option was provided for respondents. Below are selected
comments:

The only other comment I have is that libraries one person and spreading out the notion of core
seem to spend an awful lot of time on social PR tasks‐ this fact lessens the overall marketing
networking/Web 2.0 services, but I've yet to see impact.
any really impacting success stories. I'm
wondering, after these 5‐6 years or so, why we While the library has a presence on Facebook,
still bother. Mobile services are probably going according to Town policy, we are forbidden to
to make a bigger splash in the future, and I access it. Facebook is blocked from Town
think that should be our focus. computers.

I find the tools are only as effective as the user. More of our students are tweeting and using
Oftentimes, staffs can’t support full time staff social media. The younger ones view email as
members requiring many people to do the job of antiquated, so we message them more and
more on Facebook.

The building community part is the most important!
It makes people feel more positively towards the
library and want to participate there and advocate
for the library. Some of the most popular FB entries,
for example, are "overheard at the library: a ten
year old boy said, "I love books"!" etc. etc.

Page | 10

Summary
These survey responses show an overall increase in last year’s survey responses.  Social media
and Web 2.0 applications and tools are increasingly being used by U.S. libraries of all types.  The
majority of open‐ended responses illustrate the growing need for libraries to stay ahead of the
curve when it comes to using these popular tools to effectively communicate with their current
and potential users.

While some respondents stated their local government or organizations restrict usage of social
media tools, the majority of respondents appear to be using a more wide variety of applications
to connect with customers.

We must remember that social media and Web 2.0 tools are freely available communications
tools, yet take time and continued use to make them effective.

When searching for statistical data to support the growing use of social media tools,
MarketingCharts.com provided links to many useful reports and studies.  Library staff members
responsible for promotion and communication can subscribe to this web site to keep up with
growing trends in this and related areas.  Listed below are some references to recent reports
and studies that support the need for libraries to put these ever‐changing communication tools
to use:

• Social media is not making users less social, despite popular contrary opinion, according to a new
white paper from ExactTarget and CoTweet.4
• We must continue to move in emerging areas such as mobile applications.  Smartphones showed
an increasing presence in the US mobile device market in October 2010, according to the latest
Millennial Media Mobile MIX report. 5
• The number of mobile applications developed by advertisers/marketers in 2010 increased
significantly year‐over‐year, according to a new report from Millennial Media. 6
• Each year, surveys have shown increases in how social media and Web 2.0 applications are being
used.  Americans are most likely to use online social networks, according to a new study from the
Pew Global Attitudes Project. Among the 22 publics surveyed, Americans most often say they use
websites like Facebook and MySpace: 46% use such sites, 36% use the internet, but do not access
these sites, and 18% say they never go online. 7

We hope this survey report assists libraries that are using social media and Web 2.0 tools to
make better decisions about their continued use.  It also is our hope this report assists libraries
that are still not using these tools make the case for exploring the unlimited communication
possibilities these tools can afford.

Page | 11

Resources
1. "1 in 10 Adult Web Users Tweets." MarketingCharts: Charts and Data for Marketers in Web and
Excel Format. Web. 21 Dec. 2010. <http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/1‐in‐10‐adult‐web‐
users‐tweets‐15305/>.
2. "Facebook Growth Dramatically Outpaces Other SocNets." MarketingCharts: Charts and Data
for Marketers in Web and Excel Format. Web. 21 Dec. 2010.
<http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/facebook‐growth‐dramatically‐outpaces‐other‐
socnets‐15077/>.
3. "Older SocNet Use Dramatically Rises." MarketingCharts: Charts and Data for Marketers in Web
and Excel Format. Web. 21 Dec. 2010. <http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/older‐socnet‐
use‐dramatically‐rises‐
15418/?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_source=mc&utm_medium=textlink>.
4. "New Research Dispels Interactive Marketing Myths, Social Media Drives Face‐to‐Face
Interations." Social Media & Email Marketing Software & Services | ExactTarget. Web. 21 Dec.
2010. <http://www.exacttarget.com/company/news/Article‐View/ArticleId/432/New‐Research‐
Dispels‐Interactive‐Marketing‐Myths‐Social‐Media‐Drives‐Face‐to‐Face‐Interations.aspx>.
5. "Smartphone Popularity Increases." MarketingCharts: Charts and Data for Marketers in Web
and Excel Format. Web. 21 Dec. 2010. <http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/smartphone‐
popularity‐increases‐15134/>.
6. "Mobile App Development Grows Sharply." MarketingCharts: Charts and Data for Marketers in
Web and Excel Format. Web. 21 Dec. 2010. <http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/mobile‐
app‐development‐grows‐sharply‐14894/>.
7. "Global Publics Embrace Social Networking." Pew Research Center. Web. 21 Dec. 2010.
<http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1830/social‐networking‐computer‐cell‐phone‐usage‐around‐the‐
world>.

Page | 12

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Social Media, Libraries, and Web 2.0: How American Libraries are Using New Tools for Public Relations and to Attract New Users – Third Survey November 2010