Higher Ed Wakes Up to Twitter | From the Bell Tower

Is Twitter a must for academic libraries?

Steven Bell, Associate University Librarian, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA -- Library Journal, 05/21/2009

In the last few weeks, higher education news has featured a slew of stories and studies about the use of Web 2.0 technology. There’s a debate going on about the impact of Facebook use on grades; and reports on YouTube’s college channel, YouTube Edu, cite more than 100 colleges participating. A new JISC study on social software in higher education suggests that these technologies can help engage students, but also create concerns about forced use and privacy issues.

No social technology has recently enjoyed more of the limelight than Twitter. Even admissions offices are now using it to connect with students. One college has replaced its student blogs with a widget that provides up-to-the minute tweets from students—what better way to let prospective students know exactly what’s happening on campus? For an extreme case of using Twitter in the classroom, Birmingham City University in the UK has started a master’s degree program in social media with a concentration on Twitter.

Tips for Twitter
I’m on the fence about the value of Web 2.0 technologies for academic libraries. The effectiveness of our blogs, Facebook profiles, and promotional YouTube videos is questionable, and whether a critical mass of college students is even using Twitter is a topic of debate. 

In a University Business article titled “10 Twitter Tips for Higher Education,” Heather Mansfield, owner of DIOSA Communications, points out that the majority of Twitter users are over 35. Still, that hasn’t deterred any number of academic units from jumping on the bandwagon. In fact, Mansfield advises colleges and universities to have many Twitter accounts, one each for athletics, admissions, student life, and more.

In the article, Mansfield says, “Twitter is a must for higher education.” I’m not entirely convinced that’s true, but I’ll admit that higher education needs to pay more attention to the communication technologies their current and prospective students use.

Twitter at the library
Academic librarians have been quick to create Twitter accounts for sharing news and information with their user community. Take a look at Library Secrets, the Twitter account of the College of DuPage Library that takes a particularly creative approach to marketing the library by suggesting its followers are part of a special tribe that is privy to information concealed from others. 

Whatever plans your library may have for Twitter, you and your colleagues would do well to examine Mansfield’s tips. Here are a few that are relevant to the work of academic librarians:

• “Put authenticity before marketing.” If you see Twitter only as a vehicle for marketing and promotion it will come across as lame to social networkers. As with other social technologies, it’s important to have personality and build community.
• Given the demographics, Twitter may be better for reaching alumni and online learners than the traditional 18-22 year old student, despite widespread beliefs that millennial students are the heaviest users of Web 2.0 technologies.
• With an institutional Twitter account, focus on delivering valued content that others will want to re-tweet. This isn’t your personal account, so mind what you choose to mention, and avoid whining or the truly mundane.
• Be sure to provide news stories and other non-institutional content so that your tweets are about more than you and your library.

It’s not about us
Academic librarians have traditionally been leaders in putting new technologies to good use (though we are rarely recognized as leading edge technologists on our campuses). With a relatively low cost investment of staff time, it’s a challenge to find a downside to establishing a social network presence, such as with Twitter accounts.
 
Such social networks open up new opportunities for academic librarians to reach out to students directly and inform them about the amazing resources at their disposal. In taking advantage of this opportunity, however, we need to remember it’s not about raising our profile.It’s about the students and our commitment to apply technology sensibly to their academic success.

Steven Bell is Associate University Librarian, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA.  For more from Steven visit his blogs, Kept-Up Academic Librarian, ACRLog and Designing Better Libraries or visit his web site.

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