Utilization of Social Media for Marketing Library Resources and Services in Academic Libraries in Tanzania.

Mashindano, Agatha J. (2020) Utilization of Social Media for Marketing Library Resources and Services in Academic Libraries in Tanzania. Masters thesis, The Open University of Tanzania.

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Abstract

Recently, social media applications in libraries have become very popular in the world. However, studies show that library resources and services in Tanzania are underutilized due to poor marketing. This study aimed to investigate the utilization of social media for marketing library resources and services in academic libraries in Tanzania. The objectives of the study were to; determine the level of awareness and perception of library staff towards the usefulness of social media applications in libraries, examine the present status of using social media for marketing of library resources and services in academic libraries in Tanzania and determine the problems faced by academic libraries in utilizing social media. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to provide the results of the study. The data were collected using the open-ended questionnaire and a semi-structured interview schedule. The study findings revealed that library staffs are aware of social media applications. The majority of academic libraries have social media accounts. Facebook is the most utilized social media for library marketing. Additionally, findings revealed the issues of time, poor support from management, difficulty administration and monitoring of social media accounts and lack of skilled personnel to be among the problems facing academic libraries. The study recommends that the library staff should be trained continuously in ICT skills, and the library management should streamline marketing activities in day-to-day library operation. Keywords: Library marketing, social media, academic library, higher learning institutions libraries.

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