Do they “like” the library? Undergraduate students' awareness, attitudes, and inclination to engage with library social media

Abstract

This paper reports on research into undergraduate students' engagement with university library social media. Social media (SM) applications enable university libraries to reach users in ways that may better meet their needs and preferences, but evidence suggests that undergraduate students' engagement with library social media is limited. This raises the question of whether libraries have a good understanding of student preferences for library SM content and approaches and whether students want to engage with the library at all through SM applications. This research aimed to identify if, how and why undergraduate students in select Nigerian universities engage with their library's SM through a questionnaire survey drawing on the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) of persuasive communication. The results indicate that most students are unaware of university library SM posts. Those who are aware prefer content related to events and happenings on campus as well as news about library service developments. Results of the multiple regression reveal that students attach importance to the content of SM posts suggesting that the university library may still be able to reach them through social media for more meaningful interactions. Recommendations for the management of the content and approach to SM communications for university libraries are provided.