The Status Report of San Diego County Libraries and Their Social Media Presence.
The title says it all! I wanted to go ahead and do a check in of sorts with the current status of county library Twitter account. My goal with this was to assess how each library has approached social media on this platform. Is there a template/pattern to what is uploaded to twitter? Do they engage or reply with other accounts? How active are they and are they easy to search? These were my first initial questions, but quickly I found that many systems may not be even engaging with Twitter audiences...nor that their patrons may even be on twitter all that much.
Carlsbad
https://twitter.com/carlsbadlibrary
Followers: 2,141
Last Tweeted: Jan 21st
Carlsbad City Library’s twitter has not tweeted since January 21st of this year. The last message was informing Patrons they were suspending donations due to the Omicron wave. The wording was a bit clunky; it did not surprise me that it encountered the ire of two accounts. Fortunately, the Library (rightfully) did not respond to either.
Why the library account has been MIA for the past 3, going on 4 months is beyond me. Before January of this year, the Carlsbad City Library account tweeted about one to three times a week. It’s emphasis erred towards mostly cultural arts events, still with plenty of patron-oriented library news or encouragement to search the catalog. Almost, if not all, of of its posts involved a graphic or image. This is actually the perennial template across these twitter posts;, graphics with text!
Most of their tweets, across 2020 to January 2022, rarely charted or caused a stir with followers. Few broke above three favorites nor tracked any real engagement from patrons asking prospective questions. Yet, a search for the library system on twitter produced video and location results that seemed like the library may want to consider posting! Why local news interviews or pictures taken near were never retweeted or engaged with is a baffling choice. Would they have done the same with Facebook? Did they leave Twitter for Facebook?
Oceanside
Oceanside’s Library System currently does not have a twitter presence. Still, prep up a twitter search and you are showcased several small snippets what the library and its patrons are up to. How twitter's search feature broadly, but not effectively, can function a makeshift feed of RSS feed documenting a specific spot, like a library, make me wonder if rural libraries be searchable like this. It's not an ancillary to having a dedicated account for your system.
Coronado
Followers: 1,128
Last Tweeted: Mar 3
At first glance the twitter tag may seem confusing. “@CPL92118”. Then you take a moment and…oh it’s Coronado Public Library + Zip Code (address in bio by the way)!
COVID had a drastic affect on the way libraries emphasized social media. So far in the case of the ones I’ve looked at, it almost seems to have hindered the ability to post. The account has sometimes gone without an update for weeks or months during the past two years.
This is actually not a terrible thing, as it’s made what is posted a little more salient and worth of emphasis—such as the soundcloud interviews that sit near the top of this scroll; Twitter can be real horrid when it comes to forcing "of the moment" tweets. What content it did post over the past two years involved select cultural art events, library news about re-opening, reading events, or joining the Link+ database.
The Coronado Library twitter account may never have been that big of wanting to use twitter to post updates. More often than not, the account was spending 2021 informing users that it had posted library updates on Instagram…a platform it is still uploading, basically weekly, and with vastly greater consistently and humor/flair.
Chula Vista
https://twitter.com/ChulaVistaLib
Followers: 817
Last Tweeted: Oct 11th, 2021
So what is with libraries and not wanting to utilize Twitter? For over half a year, the Chula Vista Library has abandoned their twitter account. Yet, if you head to their designated website page, you’ll see it next to icons for an instagram and facebook page that have been active within the last few days!
Like the other accounts, Chula Vista’s twitter account was a designated space to post about upcoming library (and community) events, library related news, and chat/connect with their patrons. The account had a sense of humor, often using funny gifs to personify their social media feed. The problem that likely contributed to why they stopped posting is that no one engaged with their posts or prompts.
Unlike other accounts, their followers are below a thousand. While a low follower count does not imply an unresponsive one, many posts or the attempts to post, feel like dead ends to connect. Should a tweet imploring library users to check out music downloads from Hoopla be a slam dunk? Yes, certainly. So, why is one such post turned into an advertisement for a Space Jam soundtrack?
Escondido
https://twitter.com/escolibrary
Followers: 1,289
Last Tweeted: April 26th
Escondido Library’s Twitter account is nothing but efficient. While it may attract the same level of engagement as Chula Vista, this account seems to be on a regulated posting schedule; mostly two times a day, although some days may be left blank or go unposted. Of all the Twitter accounts visited so far, that feels like a first and a good thing writ large.
When an account utilizes a regulated posting schedule, there’s definitively a level of caution that needs to be undertaken. Spam with too many posts and nothing ever truly carries its salience. Under-post and risk failing to highlight events that may happen. Escondido strikes a nice balance by using their posts to remind patrons of upcoming meetings or online webinar events, as well as personal library news/Friends of the Library sales, and even display library displays or timely reminders. Because so much of this news is time-dependent, the library is able to post about a consistent cluster of events without ever feeling fatiguing. It retains a bit of a feel of a bulletin board, with things coming and going consistently.
County
https://twitter.com/SDCountyLibrary
Followers: 2,912
Last Tweeted: April 26th
Since the SDCL system contains libraries from upwards of Fallbrook and Valley Center to Poway and Lemon Grove, it would make sense that these systems perhaps develop their own Twitter presence. Naturally, many of these libraries have done so on their own time. There have been varying levels of success. This ranges from systems like Fallbrook who have tried twice to start an account that has failed to crack 100 followers and stopped posting since COVID, to Poway, which while still relatively small at under 175 followers, has found its niche retweeting SDCL posts and pinning/highlighting their own Poway-oriented events.
That lack of full coordination between these branch accounts and the system account is perhaps the only real criticism that can be leveraged against the network SDCL has efficiently set up.
Public
https://twitter.com/SDPublicLibrary
Followers: 4,473
Last Tweeted: April 27th
Scratch what I said about the SDCL. The San Diego Public Library's social media presence on Twitter is the strongest--on account of followers and the prowess of posting. Near daily (if not daily) posts regarding all kinds of happenings across their branches throughout the San Diego metropolitan area. Additionally, the twitter account is NOT afraid to react or respond to community questions and statements. As a result, the twitter feels less like a bulletin boards of events coming and going, and a real status report on their patrons and what they love. For example, recent posts include congratulating a young pre-K patron who has breezed through reading 500 books before kindergarten, a response about the status of opening further seed libraries at other branches, and welcoming a disabled patron back to the library after over two years of being unable to visit due to COVID. The fact that this account is maintained with such consistency and ease of communication makes it a surefire follow for savvy San Diego area patrons. You might just end up reserving a seat for a digital event!
Perhaps that comes as a result of the SDCL and SDPL systems being so branch oriented that they have the time and ability to properly compensate an individual for their time to handle these accounts. However, that affect can make all the difference! While smaller systems like Escondido have found their own niche and success with community posts, SDPL excel at linking a geographically diverse stretch of branches s a sight to behold. Engagement may be as light as the previous systems analyzed (most posts hover around 4-6 likes or a retweet or two), but because so much is happening across the system and county, it provides a pretty refreshing look at how a library system can engage with Twitter
Closing
In conclusion, the current state of San Diego county libraries' twitter presence--from public city systems to sprawling county systems--can be a bit underwhelming. For small systems like Carlsbad, Chula Vista, and Coronado, the capacity of running a twitter has fallen to the wayside. Perhaps it servers their patrons best to be more active on Facebook or Instagram. However, for county systems like SDCL or SDPL, the necessity of having active social media goes without mention. Whether for easy communication or active calendar event posting, larger systems with the resources have mapped out a template for posting that works and begets patron engagement.
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