Philippine E-Journals

FACEBOOK AND LIBRARIANS: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF FACEBOOK PAGES OF PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Janice D.C. Peñaflor | Philip Mark D. Daiz

 

Abstract:

This study explores the use of Facebook among professional librarian organizations as a venue to connect, interact and communicate with their members. Specifically, this paper aims to: (a) determine the level of activity of professional organizations as indicated by their pages’ performance; (b) evaluate the type of information being shared in their Facebook pages; and, (c) measure the level of user engagement generated by their posts. This paper employs content analysis to examine the publicly available content on 12 Facebook pages of professional organizations selected for this research. This study was able to determine that: (a) professional librarian organizations utilize Facebook to connect with their member/ fans and use the platform primarily to disseminate information; (b) content shared, posts are predominantly about events related to professional development like seminars, trainings and conferences; and (c) engagement rate as percentage of total fans is high over-all, but the average post engagement rate is quite low. The results of the study provide a basis for common and best practices on the use of Facebook for professional purposes. It offers valuable information on how professional associations can effectively leverage this social media tool for providing information and maintaining interaction with their member-librarians.