Volume 30, Issue 1 (3-2024)
Research on Information Science and Public Libraries 2024, 30(1): 66-80 |
Back to browse issues page
Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
Doulani A, Khaleghi M. Investigating the Use of Virtual Social Networks by Librarians and Users of Public Libraries. Research on Information Science and Public Libraries 2024; 30 (1) :66-80
URL: http://publij.ir/article-1-2465-en.html
URL: http://publij.ir/article-1-2465-en.html
Department of Information Science, faculty of Education and Psychology, Alzahra University, Iran, Tehran (Corresponding Author) , a.doulani@alzahra.ac.ir
Abstract: (3947 Views)
Purpose: The purpose of this survey research was to investigate the use of virtual social networks by librarians and users of public libraries located in Iran.
Method: The current research is applied in terms of its purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of its type and methodology. The statistical population of this research are librarians and users of social networks (Instagram and Bale platforms) used in public libraries. According to the statistics of the managers of the Instagram page and Bale page, 80% of the users of these pages are librarians of public libraries across the country, and 20% of them are regular or usual users. Therefore, out of 5000 people following these pages in June 2022, nearly 4000 people were librarians and the rest were normal users. Based on Morgan's table, the number of research samples was estimated to be 357, which were selected according to the population of each group. According to the overall response rate, which was about 80.15%, finally 204 samples from the librarian community and 81 samples from the user community were selected using convenience sampling method.
Findings: The findings of the research showed that there is a significantly positive relationship between the information format (how to display information) and the level of interaction of users and librarians (liking, commenting, etc.). In terms of the level of interaction of librarians and users with social network pages, it was found that librarians have more communication and interaction with the studied platforms than users due to the employment relationship and the need to produce content on these pages as part of librarians assigned tasks and duties. Also, according to librarians, the use of relevant information available on social media pages is effective in their organizational performance. Also, considering that foreign platforms such as Instagram sometimes face some legal restrictions in the country, it is suggested that domestic platforms increase the tendency of users by upgrading their services from a technical point of view in order to use them. Based on this, the most important result of the current research is that public libraries started to operate in social networks and this action is currently at the level of an organizational task and they still could not attract users and interact properly with them in these social networks. Therefore, it is necessary for Iran's public libraries to take action and plan for more interaction with users in these networks.
Originality/ Value: The most important result of the current research is that public libraries started to operate in social networks and this action is currently at the level of an organizational task and they still could not attract users and interact properly with them in these social networks. Therefore, it is necessary for Iran's public libraries to take action and plan for more interaction with users active in these networks.
Method: The current research is applied in terms of its purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of its type and methodology. The statistical population of this research are librarians and users of social networks (Instagram and Bale platforms) used in public libraries. According to the statistics of the managers of the Instagram page and Bale page, 80% of the users of these pages are librarians of public libraries across the country, and 20% of them are regular or usual users. Therefore, out of 5000 people following these pages in June 2022, nearly 4000 people were librarians and the rest were normal users. Based on Morgan's table, the number of research samples was estimated to be 357, which were selected according to the population of each group. According to the overall response rate, which was about 80.15%, finally 204 samples from the librarian community and 81 samples from the user community were selected using convenience sampling method.
Findings: The findings of the research showed that there is a significantly positive relationship between the information format (how to display information) and the level of interaction of users and librarians (liking, commenting, etc.). In terms of the level of interaction of librarians and users with social network pages, it was found that librarians have more communication and interaction with the studied platforms than users due to the employment relationship and the need to produce content on these pages as part of librarians assigned tasks and duties. Also, according to librarians, the use of relevant information available on social media pages is effective in their organizational performance. Also, considering that foreign platforms such as Instagram sometimes face some legal restrictions in the country, it is suggested that domestic platforms increase the tendency of users by upgrading their services from a technical point of view in order to use them. Based on this, the most important result of the current research is that public libraries started to operate in social networks and this action is currently at the level of an organizational task and they still could not attract users and interact properly with them in these social networks. Therefore, it is necessary for Iran's public libraries to take action and plan for more interaction with users in these networks.
Originality/ Value: The most important result of the current research is that public libraries started to operate in social networks and this action is currently at the level of an organizational task and they still could not attract users and interact properly with them in these social networks. Therefore, it is necessary for Iran's public libraries to take action and plan for more interaction with users active in these networks.
Keywords: Social networks, Interaction, Librarians, Users, Organizational performance, Institutions of Public Libraries
Type of Study: quantitative |
Subject:
Information Literacy and Information Media
Received: 2023/05/6 | Accepted: 2023/09/27 | Published: 2024/03/29
Received: 2023/05/6 | Accepted: 2023/09/27 | Published: 2024/03/29
References
1. Aba, J. I., & Makinde, T. O. (2023). Use of social media in libraries and impact on undergraduates. In: Research Anthology on Applying Social Networking Strategies to Classrooms and Libraries (pp. 1122-1142). IGI Global. [DOI:10.4018/978-1-6684-7123-4.ch061]
2. Aharony, N. (2010). Twitter use in libraries: An exploratory analysis. Journal of Web Librarianship, 4(4), 333-350. [DOI:10.1080/19322909.2010.487766]
3. Alkindi, S. S., & Al-Suqri, M. N. (2013). Social networking sites as marketing and outreach tools of library and information services. Global Journal of Human-Social Science Research, 13(2), 1-14.
4. Brookbank, E. (2015). So much social media, so little time: Using student feedback to guide academic library social media strategy. Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship, 27(4), 232-247. [DOI:10.1080/1941126X.2015.1092344]
5. Doulani, A., Hajimohammadian, M., Rashidi, A., Nazari, H., Khosroshahi, S., & Motazakker, M. (2012). Urmia University of Medical Sciences based production databases WOS, Scopus and PubMed. Urmia Medical Journal, 23(5), 531-8.
6. Doulani, A., Hariri, N., & Rashidi, A. (2013). Analysis of Iranian and British university websites by World Wide Web consortium. Journal of Scientometric Research, 2(1), 74-79. [DOI:10.4103/2320-0057.115870]
7. Fasola, O.S. (2015). Perceptions and acceptance of librarians towards using Facebook and Twitter to promote library services in Oyo State, Nigeria, Electronic Library, 33(5), 870-882. [DOI:10.1108/EL-04-2014-0066]
8. Ghanizadeh, M. (2019). Identify the displaing subcultures and the way of spreading norms in social network of instagram. Media Studies, 14(2), 63-86. (In Persian)
9. Ghazizadeh, H., Asnafi, A., & Jahanshahi, Z. (2016). Social networks: Reflection on their role in libraries. Asatir Parsi, Chapar, Tehran. (In Persian)
10. Gupta, V., Rubalcaba, L., Gupta, C., & Pereira, L. F. (2022). Library social networking sites for fostering startup business globalization through strategic partnerships. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 48(6), 102504. [DOI:10.1016/j.acalib.2022.102504]
11. Hosseini, R., Asgari, H., & Moghaddis Sharq, A. (2022). Investigating the effect of social networks on consumer purchase intention among social network users. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Marketing Management, 1(1) 110-134. (In Persian)
12. Howard, H. A., Huber, S., Carter, L. V., & Moore, E. A. (2018). Academic libraries on social media: Finding the students and the information they want. Information Technology and Libraries, 37(1), 8-18. [DOI:10.6017/ital.v37i1.10160]
13. Joo, S., Lu, K., & Lee, T. (2020). Analysis of content topics, user engagement and library factors in public library social media based on text mining. Online Information Review, 44(1), 258-277. [DOI:10.1108/OIR-11-2018-0345]
14. Mardani, F., & Janavi, E. (2021). The impact of social networking on improving information and attracting public library contacts from the viewpoint of librarians. Sciences and Techniques of Information Management, 7(1), 53-76. doi: 10.22091/stim.2020.5546.1395(In Persian)
15. Morovati, M., & Erfanmanesh, M. (2015) Librarians and social media literacy: A case study of university librarians in Sistan District . Human Information Interaction, 2(3), 33-42. (In Persian)
16. Narimani, I., Zerehsaz, M., & Sarafzadeh, M. (2020). Analyzing the perspectives of Instagram followers of Iranian public libraries about users' engagement and features of pages' content. Library and Information Sciences, 23(4), 106-129. doi: 10.30481/lis.2020.231601.1714 (In Persian)
17. Ng, L. S., Thang, S. M., & Noor, N. M. (2023). The usage of social networking sites for informal learning: A comparative study between Malaysia students of different gender and age group. In: Research Anthology on Applying Social Networking Strategies to Classrooms and Libraries (pp. 1467-1481). IGI Global. [DOI:10.4018/978-1-6684-7123-4.ch078]
18. Rossmann, D., & Young, S.W.H. (2015), Social media optimization: making library content shareable and engaging, Library Hi Tech, 33(4), 526-544. [DOI:10.1108/LHT-05-2015-0053]
19. Shafawi, Sh. and 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 (e-journal). 1820. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/182.
20. Shin, G. D., Jeon, K., & Lee, H. E. (2022). Public library needs assessment to build a community-based library: Triangulation method with a social media data analysis. Library & Information Science Research, 44(1), 101142. [DOI:10.1016/j.lisr.2022.101142]
21. Shiri, A., & Rathi, D. (2013). Twitter content categorisation: A public library perspective. Journal of Information & Knowledge Management, 12(04), 1350035. [DOI:10.1142/S0219649213500354]
22. Valizadeh, B., Rezaei-Sharifabadi, S., & Doulani, A. (2017). The role of Telegram mobile social network in developing the academic library services (Case study: Managers and librarians of the central library of the universities of the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research and Technology). Library and Information Sciences, 20(1), 21-51. (In Persian)
23. Zandian, F., Vafai, Z., & Hassanzadeh, M. (2018). The extent of goal achieving of in-service training courses in the libraries of Tehran State Universities. Knowledge Retrieval and Semantic Systems Quarterly, 5(16), 121-143. (In Persian)
Send email to the article author
| Rights and permissions | |
 |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
