TikTok and Public Libraries

     TikTok has taken over the social media stage during the pandemic. Between political drama, and teens doing weird dances in public, is there really a need for libraries to use the platform?

YES. 

    When we take a look at social media as a whole, people all have their reasons for using it. Whether it be to connect with family that live across the country or just to watch funny videos, it is all about sharing. Sharing your life, your experiences, and things that you find entertaining and valuable. While most of TikTok is individuals that are creating content for entertainment, businesses have began to catch on and use the platform as well. 

    But rather than use the platform to directly advertise their goods and services, brands and companies have incorporated subtle marketing techniques into comedic entertainment. With a majority user base in the United States using TikTok being 10-29, businesses can directly reach a large demographic. 

    So where do libraries come into play? Well just looking at the library I personally work at, we are having a huge issue with reaching and connecting with certain user groups. There is a large fallout between the ages of 12-30, which ironically is the largest user group on TikTok. Libraries can join in on the entertainment factor, and create content whether it be original or a trend. 

    Each type of social media (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok) has their own type of vibe, type of post, and humor that resonates amongst the users. Libraries can add this social media platform to expand who and how they reach the community, but it will take a little practice and finesse!

I found this video that made me chuckle a few times, thought I would share!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8P0eQYMnyo

Instagram and COVID-19 Information

     Instagram has been marking posts and stories that mention COVID or the vaccine with an information label with a link to learn more about COVID from a verified source such as the World Health Orginization (WHO) or the Center for Disease Control (CDC). If a post contains claims or information that goes against or violates Instagram's COVID-19 and vaccine policy, Instagram will remove the posts. 

     It is important that large companies are taking misinformation seriously, and doing their best to try and stop the spread of misinformation. Especially when misinformation can lead to negatively impacting others. When going through the policy, there are some interesting points, (that to my own non-scientist eye) seem incorrect in themselves. Just a few days ago, the administration of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine has been halted due to rare side affects of blood clotting. Yet under Instagram's policy, posts can be removed based on sharing "Claims about the safety or serious side effects of COVID-19 vaccines, including: Claims that COVID-19 vaccines kill or seriously harm people (such as, causing blood clots)."  

    My hope is that Instagram updates their policies as new discoveries and updates are made as we learn more about the virus each day and the vaccines that are being distributed to stop the spread. 

https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/continuing-to-keep-people-safe-and-informed-about-covid-19

https://help.instagram.com/697825587576762

https://www.cnet.com/health/us-officials-call-for-johnson-johnson-vaccine-pause-due-to-rare-clotting-problems/ 

Using Social Media To Connect to Missing Users

     The library I work at is lovely, but we have a major problem. We have a LARGE gap in our user group base. We have families and children that come visit the library, and we have a large adult/senior population. But we are failing to reach and serve the teen/young adult community. One of the reasons that I feel we have such a gap is the type of services we offer and the way that we are marketing these services. 

    We tend to focus on programs for the more responsive users that we currently have, and have not really used any social media outlets to share our services. Prior to my investigation, we have relied on an OUTDATED website, the town newspaper and fliers on our bulletin board. No Facebook events, or Instagram posts. Now that I have come into a position where I have more control on what goes on in the library, I am hoping that incorporating the use of social media and increasing our presence may broaden our reach. We are even talking about *attempting* to make a TikTok account! It is difficult with a smaller library (we have 12 staff members) and two of us are under the age of 65. But steps are being made to expand the way that we share information with patrons.

Libraries and Video Games

    There were two types of people early in the pandemic, ones who were able to purchase gaming consoles and ones who could not. It is an absolutely trivial aspect of the times, but was a big deal for some trying to purchase consoles like the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite. These devices, due to production shortages as well as astronomical demand, were extremely hard to come by. With children and adults stuck inside, some turned to video games to pass the time and entertain themselves. 

    Oh how I wish I had access to our means of promotion at this time last year... Our library has video game consoles and games that can be checked out, but many patrons are unaware of this service! Video games are a great way for people to interact, and many times have aspects of social media intertwined in their use. 

    In March of 2020 when the pandemic first hit the United States hard and the shut down began, a highly anticipated video game newly rereleased for the switch came out: Animal Crossing. I was obsessed and played for hours at a time. I joined Facebook groups where other users across the country would visit each others islands, trade goods and tips. 

   Hindsight is 20/20, but oh how I wish that the library worked to organize a video game "club" of sorts during the pandemic. Even a platform where patrons could borrow games and talk about them with other patrons. The combination of a fun interactive game and talking to other people about their experiences with the game was fun and therapeutic. We have recently purchased 5 Switch games as well as a few consoles, and I think that creating a video game club would be a really fun program for all ages. Either in person or on a social media platform, the interactions and discussions would be fun for all. 

Censorship, Misinformation and Access

     Recently I came across an article in the Wall Street Journal (which can be found here), discussing Amazon pulling from sale in print, Kindle and Audible formats a book that portrayed LGBTQ+ identities as mental illness. Immediately I thought back to a time where a patron requested us to purchase a book that had a similar theme. I felt uncomfortable with the request because I thought that the book undermined the LGBTQ+ community in a similar way that the book from the recent article did. I also know that as a library staff member, I am not there pass judgement or filter the information that they request, especially when it is something I do not agree with. We are bridges to help reduce the gap between patrons and the information they seek. But where do we as librarians draw the line with having misinformation within our stacks? Or when a patrons requests materials that are considered subjective, disputed or contentious topics? 

    I also thought that it was a very powerful move that Amazon made halting the sales of this title. According to the article, a 53% of books purchased in the United States are through Amazon, and 80% of eBook titles as well. Amazon put out a statement that they provide customers “with access to a variety of viewpoints, including books that some customers may find objectionable. That said, we reserve the right not to sell certain content.” I am intrigued to see if going forward Amazon pulls more titles that are deemed harmful, or controversial. 

The Importance of Social Media to Society During the Pandemic

     We all can recognize the importance that social media has in our lives and the role that it plays. When we look back on the last year of our lives, I think that we can all agree that social media was somewhat of a positive factor in many peoples lives. At the end of the day, social media was created to keep people connected that can't always be physically near. 

    Humans bond over shared experiences, and quarantining during a pandemic is definitely an experience people across the world had to suffer through. Social media acted as some peoples main communication between friends and family members both near and far.  Facebook introduced the "care" button during the pandemic, a new reaction showing a smiley face hugging a heart. While this may seem trivial, to many an emoji hugging a heart was a way to send an emotion and an action that was for many impossible to convey otherwise. When talking about the new emoji, Facebook product manager Misbah Uraizee explains, "Love already works really well. But we also tried to find a reaction that can work for use cases where it's not purely about love, like when someone wants to show an emotion like sympathy, support, or care. Something beyond Love.” Social media is also a great place to share content. Many were able to get lost in the TikTok trends and stay entertained that way, others were able to find a relatable comic and share it with family and friends. 

There's more to the hashtag

     When the average person thinks of a "hashtag" and how it is used, their first thought would probably be in reference to twitter or instagram. The use of a hashtag is placing the pound symbol (#) in front of a word, and that post or tweet will be associated with every other post or tweet that share that #hashtag. 

    Social media has tricked us all into indexing and assigning keywords to our posts! Kinda kidding, but interesting concept is it not? Let's say I am a photographer, and when I share my work on my instagram page, I also tag it with the following: #photographer #nature #mountains. Now if I am a regular user who just wants to see some cool pictures of the mountains while I am stuck in my 800 square foot apartment in Brooklyn, all I can do is open up my Instagram app and search through the hashtag. I can come across your image that you posted. 

    What if library patrons could "tag" books in the catalog? I know most ILS/OPAC have ways of searching through subjects, authors, title and more; but sometimes both patrons do not know how to correctly search and MARC records are not as well done as they can be. Imagine a patron checks out a book, reads it, and can add tags so that maybe a patron who wants to read a specific type of story, or even character types that they enjoy reading about. It may be an impossible late night idea, but I think it could be an interesting project for both staff and patrons alike. 

A Social Media Platform for Bibliophiles!

     I think that we all can agree that social media is an integral part of society. Many of us start and end our days using some form of social media to stay in touch with friends and family, near and far. It is a great way to stay in touch, share personal photos, and updates with your friends. 

    What if I told you that there was a social media platform for book lovers?! Yes, dreams really do come true. A few years ago I discovered Goodreads, and reading has never been the same. Goodreads is a great tool to a reader, I originally started using it to track books that I wanted to read. Once I realized other reader friends were using the app, it transformed into a more social tool. Goodreads allows the user to share books that they are reading and their progress; track what they have read, what they want to read; and also get personalized book recommendations based off of your own personal ratings and books read. Adding friends allows you to see what books they are reading and you can like and comment on their progress and "shelve" onto their own lists.

    My goal is to try and incorporate the use of this application to use into my library community where I work. We have used Beanstack, a software program purchased to use for reading challenges within the library which allowed for some social interaction between library patrons to leave reviews on books read and comment within. Patrons provided feedback that they really enjoyed the social aspect of reading and seeing how many books they could stack up during a period of time. Goodreads allows the reader to set yearly goals, which could provide a similar feeling of reading accomplishment but with the added social aspect and eliminating the moderator of library staff. 

    If anyone has used Goodreads or creates an account, add me!  I'd love to see what you're reading😊