Connecting the Stacks

This blog shares its title with a project I completed last year for my Information Policy course. It remains one of the most interesting projects I’ve ever done, though its subject matter is anything but bright and cheery. This project asked us to examine an instance of an information technology gone wrong, and with our current week’s session on ethical use of social media, I see no better opportunity to discuss it. The issue of privacy on social media looms perennially large. Is it even possible to remain truly private once we enter the digital world, full of innumerable and rapidly-evolving connections? All it takes is one post or image posted out of context for a misplaced narrative to form. Couple that with the way social media often prioritizes clicks and views over truth, and you’re got a recipe for disaster. This is precisely what happened on Reddit following the Boston Marathon Bombings in 2013. A quick overview: On April 15, 2013, the 117th annual Boston Marathon was tragical...

  Image source:  How to Make Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant More Private Blog Post #5- Social Media and Data Tracking By Madeline Feehan Have you ever been having a conversation and felt like your phone is stalking you? For example, you and your friend could be talking about visiting a new ramen place that opened up in your neighborhood, and 5 minutes later, all you keep getting are advertisements for it. Sometimes it can feel like there's always someone or something listening in, trying to anticipate our next move. If you feel that way, you're not alone. According to a Pew Research study, 72% of Americans feel that their phone is being tracked by advertisers. Many people also feel that what they do offline is also tracked. Smart devices like Alexa and Siri will sometimes listen and start speaking even when you don't say their name. I had one in my house for a while, and sometimes I'd just see it lighting up blue and pulsing, as if waiting to dissect and analyze my ...

  In reading some fascinating content found within this week's readings, I came across many librarian blogs that advocated and highlighted various types of social media posting strategies, what platforms to use, and how to best use them.  However, I was lucky enough to come across the "Tame the Web" blog , (a long-running and respected platform focused on library innovation, digital literacy, user engagement, and technology integration in libraries) created and curated by librarian, professor, and advocate, Dr. Michael Stephens.  Dr. Stephens' pedagogical and personal approach promotes ideas around human-centered librarianship, digital strategy, and what he's come to call, The Hyperlinked Library Model . Dr. Stephens has expressed that this concept was born out of the ongoing evolution of libraries and library services, but equally from the groundbreaking book, The Cluetrain Manifesto , within the chapter, “The Hyperlinked Organization.”  (Sidenote - if you'v...

Image Source Public libraries often struggle to obtain sufficient funding for many of their endeavors. As a result, it can be difficult for them to hire additional staff members beyond what is strictly necessary. So, tasks like book display or bulletin board design and social media posting are assigned to the most adept staff member, often adding to their already busy to-do list. As an example, at my library the head of Technical Services also handles a number of other duties. In addition to running a department, handling book purchases, facilitating item repairs, and overseeing our records, she also posts to our social media accounts. She also happens to be a reference librarian as needed, and reviews part-time employee applications on behalf of the director. She is one of our busiest staff members, and has been doing these "other duties as assigned" for at least a decade. While other staff members could take over these projects, especially being that the library has grown s...

(Yes, I'm calling it Twitter instead of X again. Old habits die hard.) Fun fact: I was going to take a gander at the New York Public Library's (NYPL) Facebook account initially, but I scarcely got halfway down the page before being hit with a login pop-up. There's something to said about barring sites to people who aren't logged in, but that's a story for another time (or a future blog, perhaps...?).  I admittedly haven't had much experience using social media here at NYPL. I have some colleagues who are amazingly adept at it, however. Well then,  I figured, what better way to get a sense of our content strategy than peeking at one of our flagship accounts? Firstly, let's review NYPL's mission statement here: to inspire lifelong learning, advance knowledge, and strengthen our communities. I'm going to examine this account through the lens of said mission statement, and see how it meets those objectives. This is, of course, a very active account! It ...

  Before taking this class, I had no idea how much actually goes into making social media posts that work. I used to think, “Post a cute picture, add a caption, and that's it.” It turns out that there is a lot more strategy involved, who would have thought? In class this week, we read a 2020 article by J. Choi and colleagues titled “Social Media Analytics and Business Intelligence Research,” which essentially states that social media is a goldmine for hearing the “voice of the customer.” People are constantly sharing their thoughts, complaints, and opinions online, and libraries can use this information to determine what their community actually cares about.  A perfect example of a library actually doing just that is the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL). Back in 2015, they began using Tableau. This tool transforms plain spreadsheets into colorful, interactive dashboards, enabling users to understand how people are using the library and determine how to serve the community bette...

  This week, I have reflected upon the East Hampton Library's Facebook and Instagram presence. The Facebook posts primarily focus on adult programming, events, and newly released books, while the Instagram account is a mix of adult and children's content. There are posts from different departments on the same day, which is not ideal for engagement. As Dr. Sun notes, "too often organizations post randomly or reactively, which leads to inconsistent results" (Sun, 2025, 0:34). It leads me to question whether the library staff are thinking about what to post, when to post, and why the content matters, or if they are simply posting about upcoming events or tooting their own horn. Visually, the social media posts vary from full-screen headshots of performers to short reels of children participating in an activity, or a replication of a paper flyer. The East Hampton Library appears to be adapting its content based on the platform it is using. For example, since Instagram s...

  Photo Cred:  The Best Time to Post on Social Media in 2025: Times for Every Major Platform Blog Post #4- Time is of the Essence: When should you post? By Madeline Feehan This week in class, we talked a lot about content calendars and needing a plan in order to run social media successfully. This got me thinking about another key aspect that will help with your posting schedule: time. Is there a 'right' time to post? Should you be thinking about time in order to get the most engagement? Does this change between platforms? According to the social media management platform, Social Pilot , time plays a greater factor than you might think. It's a good idea, as a start, to observe your own habits. When do you tend to use social media most? Is it when you wake up in the morning? Is it when you get home from work? More importantly, when do you post, and do you notice a change? Do you get more likes and comments on the weekend or the weekdays? Once you take notes and observe, you ...

  Image Source Choosing the right social media platforms for any organization can be tough, but this is especially the case in places like libraries, where resources like staff and time are often less readily available. When you can only choose one or two platforms, which do you pick? The biggest influence is likely going to be your user base. However, polling your users on which platforms to use would not be very effective in terms of time and creating a fair representation of your community. So, I'm going to start by going over some statistics of the most commonly used social media platforms to give you an idea of what audience you may reach using each one. Many of these statistics will very by location, so I'll base as much information on the global averages. Facebook : Active global monthly users: 3,070,000,000 Largest user group(s): Men, aged 25-34 Increasingly popular with: Men and women, aged 35+ Instagram : Active global monthly users: 2,000,000,000 Largest user group(...

  As a public librarian, I am learning so much already from this class in how and in what ways we "meet" our community and stakeholders by way of social media. For Week 3, I'd love to discuss Kaplan and Haenlein's (2010) article, as it relates to the article's focus on 5 essential recommendations for using social media. 1. Be active - "social media is not a monologue, it's a dialogue." 2. Be interesting - "boring gets ignored." 3. Be humble - "don't try to be everything to everyone." 4. Be unprofessional (but only a little!) "break away from corporate tone." 5. Be honest - "transparency builds trust."  So what do these key points break down to when it comes to being an active social media-oriented public librarian? Well, I think it can translate into many types of ways of "showing up," but I would further connect these 5 recommendations to examples of how I plan to use them. #1. Be active - I woul...

Has your public library fully embraced the use of social media? I know mine is trying, but there is no point person or marketing department for librarians to consult. It seems like department members are creating posts without much planning or foresight. Therefore, the platforms that we use and the content posted need deep thought and analysis. As Kietzmann et al. (2011) explain, libraries should follow a social media framework that includes “seven functional building blocks: identity, conversations, sharing, presence, relationships, reputations, and groups” (p. 241). We need to start meeting together and questioning whether or not our library adheres to, or even considers, any of the aforementioned building blocks. Scrolling through the East Hampton Library’s Instagram feed one can quickly notice that the majority of the content is about the children and young adult departments. There is no sense of identity that is obvious, no logos present, and no consistent tone of language use...

  Nowadays, I think it’s pretty safe to say that social media is an invaluable tool for organizations. They’re a great way to communicate your mission, advertise your brand, extend your reach, and all that awesome stuff. LinkedIn in particular is probably the best way for upstart organizations to build connections and spread the word about what they seek to accomplish. Of course, the rewards of using social media to promote your organization come with their own risks. A tone-deaf post, unprofessional structure, allegations of misbehavior from an employee…all of these things might cause an organization’s social media campaign to completely and utterly backfire. Say, for example, that the CEO of your organization was caught on camera at a concert embracing a fellow employee who wasn’t his spouse. For those unfamiliar, the LinkedIn “kiss cam” incident has become something of a legend in online circles. On July 15th of 2025, during a Coldplay concert, the stadium Jumbotron caught a cou...

                                                                                Remember when libraries had to rely on a newsletter or a flyer taped to the bulletin board to share news? I don't either, but it doesn't matter because those days are long gone. Now, libraries connect with people where they already spend their time: online. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, you name it, libraries are on it. Social media isn’t just for fun anymore; it’s how we stay connected, even when no one is in the building. We can post a last-minute storytime cancellation, share when new museum passes are available, or get the word out about a snow day right away. We can reach hundreds, if not thousands, of people in minutes and bring people into the library who may not hav...

Blog Post #3- Crazy for Canva: Finding Your Brand By Madeline Feehan If you run a social media account, especially a professional one for an organization, you need to check out Canva! When running social media for any organization, looks are everything! Your content is equally important, but if your account is inconsistent and ugly to look at, it doesn't matter if your content is solid gold. You need to draw an audience in and keep them hooked. Canva will help you do this. You can start creating a cohesive brand that will make your marketing the best it can be! Social media platforms and Canva go better together than peanut butter and jelly. In all my experience running an Instagram for clubs throughout school and for my job, Canva is the best resource. It is easy to use, has tons of great options, has size templates that automatically align with popular social media platforms' dimensions (Instagram, Facebook, etc.), and allows you to create graphics that seamlessly go together...

Image source As social media content creators gain popularity, their goal often becomes "how can I make money off of this?" It's the age old story that I've heard a countless amount of times, as I'm sure you have too. A creator gets big enough to monetize their content. They start making enough money from their content that they quit their jobs to focus on creating full-time. But eventually, the bubble bursts--they lose their monetization, their income. This cycle seems to effect smaller-scale creators--not major players like Mr. Beast, more like mid-tier cosplayers or influencers. Compared to big creators, small to mid size creators have a smaller following, may put out less content, or may simply be very niche content. But that isn't why they are more likely to lose their monetization. The true reason is more than likely in the fine print. Have you ever read the terms and conditions or policies on a website or app before agreeing? Most people don't . And...

(courtesy of The Tennessee Conservative ) As a librarian in a public library, learning how to best navigate social media, teen information behaviors, and the language of safety and consent via data privacy and other inherent consequences of monetization methods used within social media, I found myself combing through any recent legislation within the United States that offered any attempts to look at digital literacy from this vantage point. This search led me to the Teen Social Media and Internet Safety Act within Tennessee.  The Teen Social Media and Internet Safety Act , introduced during the 114th Tennessee General Assembly (2023-2024), was introduced in the House by Representative William Lamberth in February of 2023. It was then referred to the Education Instruction Subcommittee, then moved through House and Senate committees, with a companion bill SB 0811, sponsored by Senator Jack Johnson , to the Senate whereby in April 2023 both were passed by the House and Senate will br...