The Librarian's Nitty-Gritty Guide to Social Media

ALA Member
$48.60
Price
$54.00
Item Number
978-0-8389-1160-0
Published
2013
Publisher
ALA Editions
Pages
224
Width
6"
Height
9"
Format
Softcover
AP Categories
A
C

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  • Description
  • Table of Contents
  • About the author
  • Reviews

The vast array of social media options present a challenge: it's tough to keep current, let alone formulate a plan for using these tools effectively. Solomon, a librarian with extensive experience in web development, design, and technology, cuts to the chase with this invaluable guide to using social media in any kind of library. With a straightforward and pragmatic approach, she broadens her best-selling ALA Editions Special Report on the topic and

  • Presents an overview of the social media world, providing context for services like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and analyzes how adults' and teens' use of social media impacts the library
  • Offers advice on easy ways to use these tools on a daily basis, with planning strategies for posting and scheduling
  • Addresses the fine points of Facebook, comparing the various types of profiles and accounts
  • Guides readers in the basics of crafting eye-catching status updates, and other social media best practices
  • Shows how to manage and monitor accounts, including pointers on dealing with negative feedback

Including a bibliography of additional resources, Solomon's guide will empower libraries to use social media as a powerful tool for marketing, outreach, and advocacy.


Introduction
1 Getting a (Better) Grip on Social Media2 Getting Started3 Understanding Social Capital4 Strategies for Social Media Success5 Rethinking Status Updates6 Fine-Tuning Facebook7 Teens and Social Media: Testing Assumptions8 Online Reputation Management9 What Can We Count? Measuring Success10 Social Media in the Long Term11 A Few Final Words
Bibliography

Laura Solomon

Laura Solomon, MCIW, MLS, is the Library Services Manager for the Ohio Public Library Information Network. She has been doing web development and design for over twenty years, in both public libraries and as an independent consultant. She specializes in developing with Drupal. She is a 2010 Library Journal Mover & Shaker. She’s written three books about social media and content marketing, specifically for libraries, and speaks nationally on both these and technology-related topics.  As a former children’s librarian, she enjoys bringing the “fun of technology” to audiences and in giving libraries the tools they need to better serve the virtual customer.

"With specific advice for Facebook, for Twitter, LinkedIn, and other websites, managing one's online reputation and place in media, Laura Solomon presents a wise and sage addition that belongs in the reference collections of any modern librarian...an absolute must for any librarian trying to adapt their library for Web 2.0."
--Midwest Book Review

"Solomon highlights the most effective social media strategies while providing examples of the good, bad, and ugly. This is more than just another book discussing the different types of social media technologies; it provides a critical, in-depth look at our understanding of social media's role in libraries … Whether you are just starting to build your library's social media presence or looking to resurrect your library's accounts, this book will inspire you to get your library's social media efforts on track. While Solomon primarily focuses on examples from public libraries, the scope of her writing is applicable to any type of library. "
--Journal of Library Innovation

"I'd recommend that you suggest Laura Solomon's book The Librarian's Nitty Gritty Guide to Social Media as a primer for any and all library-social media. It's practically my Bible."
— Mackenzie Fish, Digital Marketing Specialist, Jefferson County Public Library