Using Social Media for Marketing Public Libraries' Collection and Services in Pakistan

Current Practices, Challenges and Future Prospects

Abstract

Social media has emerged as a popular marketing tool. The present study explored the current practices of social media marketing in public libraries. It also identified the barriers which hampered the usage of social media for promoting library collection and services.  We employed a qualitative approach and conducted 10 interviews with librarians from public libraries of Lahore. The findings showed that public libraries' use of social media for marketing purposes is at its infancy stage. The interviewees reported a number of personal, administrative and infrastructural hurdles which hampered the effective use of social media for promoting public library collection and services. A number of strategies are also discussed for an enhanced and effective social media use in public libraries. This study is one of the first attempts to understand the phenomenon of social media for marketing in public libraries.