UTILIZATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR LIBRARY SERVICES IN KATSINA STATE

Abstract

Library as service enterprises with responsibility for acquiring, storing, organizing, preserving,

transmitting and disseminating the whole scale of man’s recorded knowledge from one

situation to another, libraries cover the years have control on existing technologies to perform

these functions. However, library users have to be physical present in order to access library’s

resources or services. Though, with the present age of information or digital age, the resources

and services of the library can be accessed real time online irrespective of the patron’s location.

This study explores the different application for the social media uses in library and information

resources and services. It emphases how libraries can use the social media to meet a variety of

their objectives such as advertising of library products and services, revolutionising the library

image and reputation worldwide and prompt satisfaction of the needs of their users in most

lucrative manner. The advantages, the characteristics, social media channels, the rationale and

challenges of deploying in social media in library task were emphasized. The paper completes

by recommending strategies for the utilization of social media in library services in Katsina

State such as provision of adequate funds for libraries for the utilization of social media,

training and re-training of librarians on the use of social media, controls on the part of librarians

on the type of information they post or share online and lastly encouraging for a national policy

through which the social media could be made more operative for library services.