TY - JOUR
T1 - Interactions between English-speaking and Chinese-speaking Users and Librarians on Social Networking Sites
AU - Huang, Hong
AU - Chu, Samuel Kai-wah
AU - Chen, Dora Yu-Ting
AU - huang, hong
PY - 2015/6/1
Y1 - 2015/6/1
N2 - Social networking sites (SNSs) can encourage interaction among users. Existing research mainly focuses on the ways in which SNSs are used in libraries and on librarians’ or users’ attitudes towards these SNSs. This study focused on the flow of information via SNS interactions between librarians and users on library Facebook, Twitter, and Chinese Weibo sites, and developed an SNS user interaction type model based on these information flows. A mixed-method approach was employed combining quantitative data generated from the analysis of 1,753 posts sampled from 40 library SNSs and qualitative data from interviews with 10 librarians. Four types of interactions were identified: information/knowledge sharing, information dissemination, communication, and information gathering. The study found that SNSs were used primarily as channels for disseminating news and announcements about things currently happening in the library. Communication allowed open-ended questions and produced more replies. In Facebook posts, Chinese Facebook users generated less “likes” than English-speaking users. The comparison of data between Facebook-like and Twitter-like SNSs in different library settings suggested that libraries need to coordinate different types of SNSs, and take library settings and sociocultural environments into consideration in order to enhance and encourage user engagement and interaction.
AB - Social networking sites (SNSs) can encourage interaction among users. Existing research mainly focuses on the ways in which SNSs are used in libraries and on librarians’ or users’ attitudes towards these SNSs. This study focused on the flow of information via SNS interactions between librarians and users on library Facebook, Twitter, and Chinese Weibo sites, and developed an SNS user interaction type model based on these information flows. A mixed-method approach was employed combining quantitative data generated from the analysis of 1,753 posts sampled from 40 library SNSs and qualitative data from interviews with 10 librarians. Four types of interactions were identified: information/knowledge sharing, information dissemination, communication, and information gathering. The study found that SNSs were used primarily as channels for disseminating news and announcements about things currently happening in the library. Communication allowed open-ended questions and produced more replies. In Facebook posts, Chinese Facebook users generated less “likes” than English-speaking users. The comparison of data between Facebook-like and Twitter-like SNSs in different library settings suggested that libraries need to coordinate different types of SNSs, and take library settings and sociocultural environments into consideration in order to enhance and encourage user engagement and interaction.
KW - Information services
KW - Library users
UR - https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/si_facpub/149
UR - https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.23251
U2 - 10.1002/asi.23251
DO - 10.1002/asi.23251
M3 - Article
VL - 66
JO - Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology
JF - Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology
ER -