Decoding Social Media in Libraries: Building Your Research Superpower
"Unlock collaborative research: How a Canadian team built capacity through social media adoption."
In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, social media has become an undeniable force, reshaping how we communicate, collaborate, and conduct research. This is particularly true within the realm of library and information science, where professionals are constantly seeking innovative ways to engage with their communities and deliver services.
Enter the Social Media Research Team (SMRT), a Canadian initiative born from the desire to explore the potential of social media in academic libraries. Originating at the University of British Columbia (UBC), this team brought together librarians and MLIS students from across the country, united by a common goal: to share information, overcome research hurdles, and discover new avenues for collaboration.
This article delves into the SMRT's journey, highlighting their collaborative practices, diverse research interests, and the strategies they employed to build research capacity through social media adoption. Discover how this Canadian team navigated the challenges and opportunities of the digital age, offering valuable insights for librarians and information professionals looking to enhance their own research endeavors.
Measuring Library and Social Media Activity
The NCES Library Statistics Program has surveyed academic, federal, and public libraries, school library media centers, state library agencies, and library cooperatives since 1989, and makes survey data available. The University of Michigan’s social media research guide points to current statistics from government, industry, marketing, and trade-group sources. For academic libraries, an ACRL survey seeks data to assess trends and compile a national overview of their resources and impact. A 2024 study collected primary quantitative data through a survey of 165 participants to explore social media use and library marketing.
Evaluation, Integration, and Research Ethics
Research on undergraduates has examined why they use different social media platforms to seek information and how they evaluate information found there, comparing the results with what academic librarians consider useful. In research involving sensitive communities, NIH’s guide reports a recommendation to omit usernames and illustrative quotes to help prevent identification of specific r/selfharm users. A 2025 systematic review highlights best practices for integrating social media into academic library services and offers recommendations for future implementation. Another review notes that, despite a growing body of library social media research, studies of best practices remain few, structured strategies are scarce, and the literature is not well connected.
From Networked Research to Library Engagement
In the formative years of the Internet, researchers in academic and industry research-and-development institutions worked collaboratively to connect computing systems and share research and computing resources. A 2025 article uses case studies and examples to describe how libraries leverage social media to build stronger community connections and remain relevant in the digital environment. Separately, American Libraries’ collection of 55 moments presents milestones as evidence of libraries’ lasting connection to the American story, including their roles as repositories of memory, arenas of debate, and instruments of democratic life.
Breaking Down Barriers: SMRT's Collaborative Approach
The Social Media Research Team (SMRT) distinguished itself by uniting librarians from diverse backgrounds and geographical locations across Canada, all sharing a keen interest in leveraging social media for library services. This collaborative spirit fueled their mission to not only share information but also to pioneer innovative research methodologies.
- Shared knowledge and resources related to social media research.
- Provided mutual support and mentorship for team members.
- Collaborated on research projects, leveraging diverse skills and perspectives.
- Developed a research portal on HLWIKI Canada to centralize resources.
Adoption Stages and Library Engagement
A source on innovation adoption reports that early adopters make up 13.6 percent, compared with 2.3 percent for innovators, while the early majority accounts for 34.1 percent. A separate study of plug-in electric vehicle users in Indianapolis says that 0.5% of vehicles currently purchased in the United States are PEVs and that early adopters may act as opinion leaders with disproportionate influence. These adoption figures concern different contexts and do not establish social media adoption rates in libraries. A systematic review specifically describes academic libraries’ use of social media to strengthen communication, expand outreach, and enrich user engagement.
The Future is Social: Embracing Media Literacies for Library Innovation
Looking ahead, social media's role in libraries is poised to expand, demanding that librarians adapt and innovate their service delivery methods. This necessitates a shift towards prioritizing media literacies, equipping librarians with the skills to effectively navigate and leverage social media platforms.
Tracking Change in Academic Libraries
The American Library Association’s Center for the Future of Libraries maintains a trends collection to help libraries and librarians understand how trends develop and why they matter, updating entries as new reports and articles become available. A 2026 academic library trends review identifies challenges including political and regulatory shifts, artificial intelligence disrupting traditional research methods and tools, and an ADA Title II-driven redesign of websites and digital repositories. A 2024 trends review notes that ChatGPT and other generative AI tools have renewed interest in AI, which could have profound implications for academic libraries. A broader 2024 review examines modern academic libraries’ strategies, challenges, and future trends, including efforts to remain relevant and effective.
How Libraries Connect with Their Communities
A 2017 phenomenological study examines themes on university library social media pages and whether those themes differ according to the library’s status. A 2014 case-based article reports that Twitter and Facebook appear to be the most commonly observed social media applications in libraries. A separate term paper investigates how social media may enhance library services through user engagement, promotion of library resources, and community development. Together, these sources describe social media as a setting for examining library communication and service interactions with users.
Several SMRT librarians are actively exploring solutions and establishing best practices for social media integration. Their diverse projects encompass social bookmarking for scholarly influence, reference management tool evaluations, and the utilization of mobile devices in medical library settings. These initiatives underscore the team's commitment to staying at the forefront of social media trends and their implications for library services.
The SMRT's journey offers a compelling example of how collaboration and a focus on media literacies can empower librarians to overcome research barriers and enhance their professional capabilities. By embracing social media and fostering a culture of continuous learning, libraries can unlock new opportunities to engage with their communities and deliver innovative services in the digital age.