What is the Library Brand?

What is the library brand?  Or how would the library define it's brand when using social media? Libraries that choose to make use of social media be more than impersonal posts about their programs and services.  They can reach out to the community and support educating them to learn more about the causes that are interested in supporting social justice.   

I began thinking about the branding question because of my project Sussex Royal Instagram Analysis.  Harry and Meghan have to decide what their brand will be going forward because they are unable to use the word royal.   A library when they choose to use social media has to define what their brand is.  Will, it only is impersonal posts communicating to patrons about the library services or will it reach out to the community?

 A study at Montana State University uses Twitter to reach out to the students by using the hashtag #askalibrarian.  One way to reach out to the community is to find out what their needs are. Should this community be interested in how activism works a librarian needs to provide access to these resources and making them aware of available resources.  Or they could provide a way through the library website for the community to ask about certain causes such as  #BlackLivesMatter, #Metoo, #Macmillainembargo.  Social media posts on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram can also be used to reach different populations.

Members of the community use social media regardless of their financial status.   The poorer communities may come to the library to use the public computers to access it.  Library staff will need to support the use of social media on public computers.  The perception should change to how it can benefit the individual that it is just as valuable to use of time as working on a resume.  Staff can specifically respond to community inquiries for using library resources.  Let these community groups use the library and through their inquiries circulation may increase.   One of the readings from this week in class discussed supporting these community groups or local chapters of  Black Lives Matters or  LGBQ. 

There are many ways that the library can benefit from supporting social justice in the branches.  It all depends on how the library defines its brand.

References

Suciu, P. (2020, 3 March). What influence do prince harry and meghan have without the sussex royal brand? Forbes. Retrieved from  https://www.forbes.com/sites/petersuciu/2020/03/03/what-influence-do-prince-harry-and-meghan-have-without-the-sussex-royal-brand/#7a034ef41dd4

Young, S.W.H. & Rossmann, D. (2015 March). Building library community through social media. 

Information Technology and Libraries.  20-37. Retrieved from:  file:///C:/Users/Jencey/Downloads/5625-Article%20Text-11826-4-10-20150409%20(1).pdf