Twitter Use by Academic Libraries in New York State

Abstract

Twitter can be a productive tool for academic libraries to use when sharing information, marketing services, and building relationships with students, yet it is difficult to know whether academic libraries are utilizing this platform by creating an independent library account. Furthermore, if academic libraries do have accounts, it is valuable to understand what academic libraries use Twitter for, and what kinds of media they share. The purpose of this study then is to investigate whether academic libraries in New York State (NYS) use Twitter, and if they do, how and why. Based on a sample of 226 academic libraries of 2- and 4-year institutions with physical locations, the results of the analysis found that approximately 48% of academic libraries in NYS have a Twitter account. A content analysis of a random sample of 21 academic libraries in NYS showed that academic libraries primarily use Twitter as a resource to share information about events in and outside of the institution, by sharing links to other information and content