Examination of Social Media Use in Museum Libraries

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Examination of Social Media Use in Museum Libraries

For use by The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Library

Fallon Zschiegner-Bleich

Summary

This paper will examine the use of social media in museum libraries. The purpose of this report is to

provide information to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Library1, in order for them to

determine the best way to start using social media. A study was done, using fourteen different museum

libraries, which were examined and analyzed on what social media sites they used. Recommendations

are given for the librarys consideration in planning social media use.

Background

Currently, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art does have both a Facebook and Twitter page.

The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Library has yet to organize any kind of social media

presence. Two questions must first be answered before deciding on what social media applications to

use:

1.) How often do museum libraries have and use social media to communicate with patrons?2.) Which social media forms would be appropriate for the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Library?

These questions are vital to knowing which applications to use and were the driving force behind the

evaluation process.

Process

Fourteen museum libraries were looked at in this study [see Appendix A for complete list]. As there was

not a consistent type of museum library to gather data fromart museum libraries are a rare

occurrence in the social media worlda variety were chosen from to include in this study. There are

three main types of museum libraries included in this study: art, historical, and presidential. The social

media applications included in this evaluation were broken down into seven types: Facebook, Twitter,

blogs, Flickr, YouTube/Video Service, geographic locators (Foursquare, Yelp, etc.), and other, for those

applications that did not fit any of the other types. These seven types were determined by the libraries

usage of social media sites, and are not indicative of all social media applications out there. The datagathered was garnered from first going to the museum libraries websites, viewing their linked social

media applications, and then evaluating usage of said applications.

Evaluation of usage consisted of two main criteria:

1.) User Interaction:1The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Librarys website can be found here:http://crystalbridges.org/Library/
http://crystalbridges.org/Library/http://crystalbridges.org/Library/http://crystalbridges.org/Library/http://crystalbridges.org/Library/


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User interaction was hard to judge with most museum libraries, especially if they had only one or two

social media outlets. Those with the fewest applications also had the least amount of user interaction.

While this correlation may not be true of all museum libraries and/or their usage of social media sitesand quality should always be stressed over quantityit did ring true in this study. User interaction can

be the deciding factor of having a thousand followers and having ten, and therefore makes a difference

in how well the museum library can effectively use social media applications.

However, it must also be said that some libraries were over saturated with social media applications.

The Hagley Museum & Library, for instance, had several different types of social media, yet were only

really taking advantage of Facebook and Twitter. Users were not interacting with the library and its

social media sites, and having so many different sites was pointless. There were two libraries that did do

an excellent job maintaining so many different applications: the Smithsonian Libraries and the

Rosenbach Museum and Library.

2

The Smithsonian Libraries was a good example of using Flickr to itsfull advantage; they did this by sharing their collection with the world and making sure to link back to

their website, something that many museum libraries can and should take note of, as it is fairly easy to

do and maintain:

2However, ultimately, museum libraries must also be wary of user fatigue. While the Rosenbach Museum and Library used

social media sites to their full advantage, it was futile to have a Twitter account and a Facebook account that linked to each

other, as well as the blog. They had very poor user interaction, and it may be due to over saturation. They were maintained

very well, though.


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As can be seen in Table 2 [Appendix B], both Twitter and Facebook remain popular choices for museum

libraries to use, with 64% of the libraries using Facebook and 57% using Twitter. This may be because of

ease of use or because the sites are two of the bigger names in social media, and thus are more

populated by potential patrons. A big benefit to using these applications is that it is easier to interact

with current patrons on these two sites, because so many people already use them. As can be seen by

this conversation on Twitter between a patron and the Rosenbach museum, the ease of use and broad

audience also easily allows for patrons to be informed of other methods to get information from the

museum library:


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And as can be seen by this conversation between a patron and the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum,

these sites provide an opportunity for continued education of the public:

The least used type of application was geographic locators, such as Yelp and Foursquare, with only 14%

of museum libraries using these applications. Many social media articles suggest not using either of

these as the only social media outlet, but rather using them in accompaniment with other social media

applications. As can be seen in Table 3 [Appendix B], this is probably a justified opinion, as a very small

percentage of people actually use these services. However, those museum libraries that did use them


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had good user interaction on them. An advantage to using geographic locators is that it allows for users

to offer tips about the museum library to one anothermuch like some of the social media applications

presidential museum libraries useas can be seen from the Hagley Museum and Library Foursquare

page:

The biggest overall problem was that the museum libraries as a whole did not maintain the majority of

sites used. Facebook and Twitter are easy to maintain, and for the most part, the museum libraries that

had them did a fair job of doing this on those sites. Other social media sites, however, were poorly

maintained. Many of the sites viewed in this study were years out of date. They had no recent updated

pictures, videos, etc., and this meant that the museum libraries were not gaining as broad an audience

as they could have been. The libraries also had a problem of not updating often enough; in other words,

many were recently updated, but would only update once a month or so. This, too, does not encourage

users to participate, and the libraries were missing out on keeping and gaining a big audience. The

maintenance of the social media sites was ultimately the number one factor in a museum librarys social

media presence, something that should be kept in mind when forming a social media plan.


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Recommendations

The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Library is at a real advantage in this field. Social media is

still new enough, that many museum libraries are not sure how to use the different sites, and therefore,

are not reaping the full benefit of them. The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Library can get

ahead by integrating the newer sites, such as Flickr, into their website. However, it is advised that they

do not try to tackle all of the applications at once. It could lead to over saturation, with very little quality

material, as well as frustration for the staff.

The best path to incorporating social media in the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Library

would be to start with either a Twitter or a Facebook page and a possible Flickr account. It cannot be

stressed enough that user interaction and maintenance are the two most important aspects of a social

media plan for the library. Using a site such as Twitter could be the way to start out, as it would be easy

to gather an audience via the museums Twitter and/or Facebook page and would be simple for the staff

to maintain. Having Flickr linked into the Twitter accountor as a separate account all togetherwould

allow for images to entice new users from around the world, whereas Twitter may only get a local

following with sporadic global attention. Integrating them into each other can provide for the biggestaudience overall.


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Appendix A

Museum Libraries used in this study:

The Harry S. Truman Library and Museum:

Website:http://www.trumanlibrary.org/

Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/TrumanPresidentialLibrary

Podcasts:http://www.trumanlibrary.org/audio/podcasts.php?sortby=posted&o=a

Rosenbach Museum and Library:

Website:http://www.rosenbach.org/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosenbachmuseum

Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rosenbach-Museum-Library/107394107481

Blog:http://rosenbach.blogspot.com/

Foursquare:https://foursquare.com/v/rosenbach-museum--library/4bb393af42959c74db23222c

Yelp:http://www.yelp.com/biz/rosenbach-museum-and-library-philadelphia

National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library:Website:http://www.ncsml.org/default.aspx

Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Czech-Slovak-Museum-

Library/97687943939

Twitter:https://twitter.com/NCSML

YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/user/CzechSlovakMuseum

The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum:

Website:http://hoover.archives.gov/

Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/HooverPresLib

YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/HooverPresLib

Shaker Museum and Library:

Website:http://shakermuseumandlibrary.org/

Blog:http://shakermuseum.blogspot.com/

Flickr:http://www.flickr.com/photos/shakermuseumandlibrary/sets/721576215080872 60/

Worcester Art Museum Library:

Website:http://www.worcesterart.org/Collection/library.html

Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Worcester-Art-Museum-Library/117229248297710

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum:Website:http://www.jfklibrary.org/

YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/user/JFKLF

RSS Feed:http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/93722614.rss

Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/pages/John-F-Kennedy-Presidential-Library-and-

Museum/9538894955

Twitter:http://twitter.com/Kennedy1961
http://www.trumanlibrary.org/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/http://www.facebook.com/TrumanPresidentialLibraryhttp://www.facebook.com/TrumanPresidentialLibraryhttp://www.facebook.com/TrumanPresidentialLibraryhttp://www.trumanlibrary.org/audio/podcasts.php?sortby=posted&o=ahttp://www.trumanlibrary.org/audio/podcasts.php?sortby=posted&o=ahttp://www.trumanlibrary.org/audio/podcasts.php?sortby=posted&o=ahttp://www.rosenbach.org/http://www.rosenbach.org/http://www.rosenbach.org/http://twitter.com/rosenbachmuseumhttp://twitter.com/rosenbachmuseumhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Rosenbach-Museum-Library/107394107481http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rosenbach-Museum-Library/107394107481http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rosenbach-Museum-Library/107394107481http://rosenbach.blogspot.com/http://rosenbach.blogspot.com/http://rosenbach.blogspot.com/https://foursquare.com/v/rosenbach-museum--library/4bb393af42959c74db23222chttps://foursquare.com/v/rosenbach-museum--library/4bb393af42959c74db23222chttps://foursquare.com/v/rosenbach-museum--library/4bb393af42959c74db23222chttp://www.yelp.com/biz/rosenbach-museum-and-library-philadelphiahttp://www.yelp.com/biz/rosenbach-museum-and-library-philadelphiahttp://www.yelp.com/biz/rosenbach-museum-and-library-philadelphiahttp://www.ncsml.org/default.aspxhttp://www.ncsml.org/default.aspxhttp://www.ncsml.org/default.aspxhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Czech-Slovak-Museum-Library/97687943939http://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Czech-Slovak-Museum-Library/97687943939http://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Czech-Slovak-Museum-Library/97687943939http://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Czech-Slovak-Museum-Library/97687943939https://twitter.com/NCSMLhttps://twitter.com/NCSMLhttps://twitter.com/NCSMLhttp://www.youtube.com/user/CzechSlovakMuseumhttp://www.youtube.com/user/CzechSlovakMuseumhttp://www.youtube.com/user/CzechSlovakMuseumhttp://hoover.archives.gov/http://hoover.archives.gov/http://hoover.archives.gov/http://www.facebook.com/HooverPresLibhttp://www.facebook.com/HooverPresLibhttp://www.facebook.com/HooverPresLibhttp://www.youtube.com/HooverPresLibhttp://www.youtube.com/HooverPresLibhttp://www.youtube.com/HooverPresLibhttp://shakermuseumandlibrary.org/http://shakermuseumandlibrary.org/http://shakermuseumandlibrary.org/http://shakermuseum.blogspot.com/http://shakermuseum.blogspot.com/http://shakermuseum.blogspot.com/http://www.flickr.com/photos/shakermuseumandlibrary/sets/721576215080872%2060/http://www.flickr.com/photos/shakermuseumandlibrary/sets/721576215080872%2060/http://www.flickr.com/photos/shakermuseumandlibrary/sets/721576215080872%2060/http://www.worcesterart.org/Collection/library.htmlhttp://www.worcesterart.org/Collection/library.htmlhttp://www.worcesterart.org/Collection/library.htmlhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Worcester-Art-Museum-Library/117229248297710http://www.facebook.com/pages/Worcester-Art-Museum-Library/117229248297710http://www.facebook.com/pages/Worcester-Art-Museum-Library/117229248297710http://www.jfklibrary.org/http://www.jfklibrary.org/http://www.jfklibrary.org/http://www.youtube.com/user/JFKLFhttp://www.youtube.com/user/JFKLFhttp://www.youtube.com/user/JFKLFhttp://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/93722614.rsshttp://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/93722614.rsshttp://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/93722614.rsshttp://www.facebook.com/pages/John-F-Kennedy-Presidential-Library-and-Museum/9538894955http://www.facebook.com/pages/John-F-Kennedy-Presidential-Library-and-Museum/9538894955http://www.facebook.com/pages/John-F-Kennedy-Presidential-Library-and-Museum/9538894955http://www.facebook.com/pages/John-F-Kennedy-Presidential-Library-and-Museum/9538894955http://twitter.com/Kennedy1961http://twitter.com/Kennedy1961http://twitter.com/Kennedy1961http://twitter.com/Kennedy1961http://www.facebook.com/pages/John-F-Kennedy-Presidential-Library-and-Museum/9538894955http://www.facebook.com/pages/John-F-Kennedy-Presidential-Library-and-Museum/9538894955http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/93722614.rsshttp://www.youtube.com/user/JFKLFhttp://www.jfklibrary.org/http://www.facebook.com/pages/Worcester-Art-Museum-Library/117229248297710http://www.worcesterart.org/Collection/library.htmlhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/shakermuseumandlibrary/sets/721576215080872%2060/http://shakermuseum.blogspot.com/http://shakermuseumandlibrary.org/http://www.youtube.com/HooverPresLibhttp://www.facebook.com/HooverPresLibhttp://hoover.archives.gov/http://www.youtube.com/user/CzechSlovakMuseumhttps://twitter.com/NCSMLhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Czech-Slovak-Museum-Library/97687943939http://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Czech-Slovak-Museum-Library/97687943939http://www.ncsml.org/default.aspxhttp://www.yelp.com/biz/rosenbach-museum-and-library-philadelphiahttps://foursquare.com/v/rosenbach-museum--library/4bb393af42959c74db23222chttp://rosenbach.blogspot.com/http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rosenbach-Museum-Library/107394107481http://twitter.com/rosenbachmuseumhttp://www.rosenbach.org/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/audio/podcasts.php?sortby=posted&o=ahttp://www.facebook.com/TrumanPresidentialLibraryhttp://www.trumanlibrary.org/


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W. Van Alan Clark Jr. Library:

Website:http://www.smfa.edu/van-clark-library

Blog:http://smfalibrary.blogspot.com/

The Field Museum Library:

Website:http://fieldmuseum.org/explore/department/library

Flickr:http://www.flickr.com/photos/field_museum_library/

Hagley Museum and Library:

Website:http://www.hagley.lib.de.us/

Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hagley-Museum-and-Library/105784501313

Twitter:http://twitter.com/hagleyde

Blog:http://hagleypublicrelations.blogspot.com/

Foursquare:https://foursquare.com/v/hagley-museum-and-library/4b703dacf964a520740d2de3

YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/hagleymuseum

Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum:

Website:http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/IkeLibrary

Twitter:http://twitter.com/eisenhowernews

YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/ikelibrary

Ingalls Library and Museum Archives:

Website:http://library.clevelandart.org/

Blog:http://library.clevelandart.org/blog/

Twitter:http://twitter.com/IngallsLibrary

Smithsonian Institution Libraries:Website:www.sil.si.edu

Blog:http://si-siris.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-am-your-most-humble-servant-is-newton.html

Twitter:http://twitter.com/SILibraries

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/SmithsonianLibraries

Flickr:http://www.flickr.com/photos/smithsonianlibraries/

Frick Art Reference Library:

Website:http://www.frick.org/library/index.htm

Twitter:http://twitter.com/fricklibrary
http://www.smfa.edu/van-clark-libraryhttp://www.smfa.edu/van-clark-libraryhttp://www.smfa.edu/van-clark-libraryhttp://smfalibrary.blogspot.com/http://smfalibrary.blogspot.com/http://smfalibrary.blogspot.com/http://fieldmuseum.org/explore/department/libraryhttp://fieldmuseum.org/explore/department/libraryhttp://fieldmuseum.org/explore/department/libraryhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/field_museum_library/http://www.flickr.com/photos/field_museum_library/http://www.flickr.com/photos/field_museum_library/http://www.hagley.lib.de.us/http://www.hagley.lib.de.us/http://www.hagley.lib.de.us/http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hagley-Museum-and-Library/105784501313http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hagley-Museum-and-Library/105784501313http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hagley-Museum-and-Library/105784501313http://twitter.com/hagleydehttp://twitter.com/hagleydehttp://twitter.com/hagleydehttp://hagleypublicrelations.blogspot.com/http://hagleypublicrelations.blogspot.com/http://hagleypublicrelations.blogspot.com/https://foursquare.com/v/hagley-museum-and-library/4b703dacf964a520740d2de3https://foursquare.com/v/hagley-museum-and-library/4b703dacf964a520740d2de3https://foursquare.com/v/hagley-museum-and-library/4b703dacf964a520740d2de3http://www.youtube.com/hagleymuseumhttp://www.youtube.com/hagleymuseumhttp://www.youtube.com/hagleymuseumhttp://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/http://www.facebook.com/IkeLibraryhttp://www.facebook.com/IkeLibraryhttp://www.facebook.com/IkeLibraryhttp://twitter.com/eisenhowernewshttp://twitter.com/eisenhowernewshttp://twitter.com/eisenhowernewshttp://www.youtube.com/ikelibraryhttp://www.youtube.com/ikelibraryhttp://www.youtube.com/ikelibraryhttp://library.clevelandart.org/http://library.clevelandart.org/http://library.clevelandart.org/http://library.clevelandart.org/blog/http://library.clevelandart.org/blog/http://library.clevelandart.org/blog/http://twitter.com/IngallsLibraryhttp://twitter.com/IngallsLibraryhttp://twitter.com/IngallsLibraryhttp://www.sil.si.edu/http://www.sil.si.edu/http://www.sil.si.edu/http://si-siris.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-am-your-most-humble-servant-is-newton.htmlhttp://si-siris.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-am-your-most-humble-servant-is-newton.htmlhttp://si-siris.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-am-your-most-humble-servant-is-newton.htmlhttp://twitter.com/SILibrarieshttp://twitter.com/SILibrarieshttp://twitter.com/SILibrarieshttps://www.facebook.com/SmithsonianLibrarieshttps://www.facebook.com/SmithsonianLibrarieshttps://www.facebook.com/SmithsonianLibrarieshttp://www.flickr.com/photos/smithsonianlibraries/http://www.flickr.com/photos/smithsonianlibraries/http://www.flickr.com/photos/smithsonianlibraries/http://www.frick.org/library/index.htmhttp://www.frick.org/library/index.htmhttp://www.frick.org/library/index.htmhttp://twitter.com/fricklibraryhttp://twitter.com/fricklibraryhttp://twitter.com/fricklibraryhttp://twitter.com/fricklibraryhttp://www.frick.org/library/index.htmhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/smithsonianlibraries/https://www.facebook.com/SmithsonianLibrarieshttp://twitter.com/SILibrarieshttp://si-siris.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-am-your-most-humble-servant-is-newton.htmlhttp://www.sil.si.edu/http://twitter.com/IngallsLibraryhttp://library.clevelandart.org/blog/http://library.clevelandart.org/http://www.youtube.com/ikelibraryhttp://twitter.com/eisenhowernewshttp://www.facebook.com/IkeLibraryhttp://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/http://www.youtube.com/hagleymuseumhttps://foursquare.com/v/hagley-museum-and-library/4b703dacf964a520740d2de3http://hagleypublicrelations.blogspot.com/http://twitter.com/hagleydehttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Hagley-Museum-and-Library/105784501313http://www.hagley.lib.de.us/http://www.flickr.com/photos/field_museum_library/http://fieldmuseum.org/explore/department/libraryhttp://smfalibrary.blogspot.com/http://www.smfa.edu/van-clark-library


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Appendix B

Table 1

Table 2

Name of Library Facebook Twitter Blog Flickr

YouTube/

video

service

Geographic

Locator OtherIngalls Library and Museum

Archives N Y Y N N N N

Eisenhower Museum & Library Y Y N N Y N NField Museum N N Y N N N N

Frick Library N Y N N N N N

Hagley Museum & Library Y Y Y N Y Y N

Harry S. Truman Library &

Museum Y N N N N N Y-Monthly Podcasts

Herbert Hoover Presidential

Library & Museum Y N N N Y N Y-Virtual Guestbook

John F. Kennedy Presidential

Museum & Library Y Y N N N N

Y-Archived Webcasts, RSS

Feed, & Forums

National Czech and Slovak

Museum & Library Y Y N N Y N N

Rosenbach Museum & Library Y Y Y N N Y Y-Virtual Guestbook

Shaker Museum Library N N Y Y N N NSmithsonian Libraries Y Y Y Y N N N

W Van Alan Clark Jr. Library N N Y N N N N

Worchester Museum & Library Y N N N N N N


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Table 3


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Works Cited

All sites used for this report can be found in Appendix A, with the exception of the following report:

Zickuhr, K & Smith, A. (2011, September 6). 28% of American adults use mobile and social location-based

services. Pew Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved December 10, 2011 from

http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Location.aspx
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Location.aspxhttp://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Location.aspxhttp://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Location.aspx

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Examination of Social Media Use in Museum Libraries

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