TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight how North Western University (NWU) Library used Facebook and Twitter to inform, educate and communicate with library users during the students’ protests #FeesMustFall Campaign.Design/methodology/approach This paper follows a case study approach to examine how Facebook and Twitter were used to inform, educate and communicate with library users during the #FeesMustFall Campaign. Data was obtained from the NWU Library’s Facebook Insights, the Facebook page itself and Twitter account, after which content was analysed.Findings The paper provides insights that the teaching and learning (educational) aspect still lags behind on social media usage in libraries. Given the period in question, the expectation would have been a higher percentage of posts that could be categorized as educational.Research limitations/implications The study is confined to one campus library of the NWU Libraries and the results cannot be generalised to the NWU.Practical implications Social media use policies should be developed and awareness created on their availability and meaning/implications to users.Originality/value This paper fulfils an identified need to study how social media can be used by academic libraries. The literature currently focuses on how Twitter has been used in library campaigns. This paper shows how Facebook can be used in a university setting during crises time.
VL  - 66
IS  - 6/7
SN  - 0024-2535
DO  - 10.1108/LR-12-2016-0105
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/LR-12-2016-0105
AU  - Chizwina Sabelo
AU  - Rabatseta Benford
AU  - Bangani Siviwe
AU  - Moyo Mathew
PY  - 2017
Y1  - 2017/01/01
TI  - A university library’s use of social media during a time of crisis
T2  - Library Review
PB  - Emerald Publishing Limited
SP  - 456
EP  - 467
Y2  - 2024/04/25
ER  -