Using Social Media for Readers’ Advisory

Would you like to discover new techniques to push your library's collections, both digital and actual, in fun, lively ways using various social media channels? Readers' advisory is a growing field, and the use of social media offers creative opportunities and unusual challenges regarding engagement with readers in a virtual world.

In this course learners will explore the use of various popular social media platforms to promote books and reading, find and evaluate analytics for each social media platform and understand more about the importance of having a library social media policy in place. Additionally they will generate ideas for sharing books, reading programs, and social media promotion while learning how to increase engagement among their digital community.

Course Description: This two-week online course will provide learners with an understanding and plan for using social media to promote readers' advisory in public libraries. Through online meetings, assignments, and discussions participants will learn the differences between multiple social media platforms, how to measure success of posts, and how to craft creative, lively elements to engage a public library's online community. By the end of the course, learners will have closely examined at least three social media channels, created samples of readers' advisory prompts, and have an understanding of best practices using social media for Readers' Advisory. The instructor will provide resources, best practices, and useful tips and techniques that can be applied immediately. During the course, attendees will participate in discussion forums and two online meeting with ample opportunity for questions, sharing experiences, and brainstorming ideas for future use. This course is designed for learners to immediately apply the concepts to their own libraries and communities.

Online Meetings
Meeting One: Thursday, August 17, 2017 11am PST/12pm MST/1pm CST/2pm EST
Meeting Two: Thursday, August 24, 2017 11am PST/12pm MST/1pm CST/2pm EST

Note: Please make every effort to ensure that you are able to attend these two meetings before enrolling in the course. If this is not possible, archived recordings will be made available.

Course Outline: When you log in to the Infopeople online learning site, you will see weekly modules with these topics:

• Week 1: Digitally-based Readers' Advisory
  • Differences in Readers' Advisory conversation in-person and online
  • Examination of differences between multiple social media tools
  • Creating/phrasing content and "voice"
  • Social media use policies and Golden Rules of social media
• Week 2: Social Media and Readers' Advisory in Practice
  • Selecting best social media channel(s) for Readers' Advisory for Library
  • Evaluating success/metrics of multiple social media platforms
  • Best practices for responding to positive/negative posts
  • Creating a social media content calendar/reading promotion

Pre-course Assignment: Participants should register for personal accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, tumblr, and Goodreads

Time Required: To complete this course, you can expect to spend 2 ½ hours per week, for a total of five course hours. Each week's module contains an online meeting, readings, and various options for assignments and discussions. You can choose the options most relevant to your work and interests. Although you can work on each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night, it is recommended that you complete each week's work within that week to stay in sync with other learners.

Who Should Take This Course: This course will be of greatest interest to public library staff, however, academic and high school librarians will find ideas in this course that can be shaped to best serve their students and faculty. Other non-profit staff may also find useful tips for creating content, developing an online persona, and managing a social media calendar.

Online Learning Details and System Requirements may be found at: infopeople.org/training/online_learning_details.

Learner Requirements: Passing familiarity with most social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest) helpful but not required.

After the official end date for the course, the instructor will be available for limited consultation and support for two more weeks, and the course material will stay up for an additional two weeks after that. These extra weeks give those who have fallen behind time to work independently to complete the course.

Keywords: Reader's advisory, Social media