5 Minute Librarian: 31 Days of Instagram Challenge. This week, we invite all library Instagram accounts to participate in our October Challenge: 31 Days of Instagram! I have a confession: I have a very sad library Instagram account. I know I should be posting daily (some stats say twice a day), but making the time to take photos, find relevant/popular hashtags, and posting them when teens get out of school -- it was overwhelming. So, this challenge is for those who are in the same boat and those who want to learn how to use Instagram in the most painless way possible.
I researched what worked for other libraries, shared additional programs that'll make your life easier, and provide popular hashtags that you can easily use over and over again. Sound good? Join us on Oct. 1st and use the hashtag #5minlibchallenge so we can find each other. Feel free to complete these challenges in any order and skip what doesn't work for you.
NOTE: Any hashtag in red needs to be specific. 1. First, find your city's/town's most popular hashtag. 2. 3. 4. 5. Using Instagram for your library: 9 strategies - Emerging Tech in Libraries. Follow @johnjaylibrary on Instagram for #librarylove! Update January 29, 2015: I revised this post to add a 4 more tips. We’re heavy Instagram users now; we post 2+ times a week when school is in session; we geotag and hashtag each post; we know the other IGers on campus; and we take the time to like/comment on other organizations’ posts, and even students’ posts, with the result of gaining followers and goodwill. Since this was originally posted, we gained 5x the number of followers we originally had. Moreover, I informally surveyed freshmen throughout the last semester. All of them are on Instagram all the time. And all of them laughed when I asked if they used Facebook. Update November 6, 2013: We’re on a pretty good posting schedule now: #tbt Throwback Thursdays (Special Collections photos related to the history of John Jay and criminal justice), and another photo from around campus earlier in the week to spice things up.
Good examples of cultural organizations using Instagram. Social Media and Libraries: 5 Quick Tips for Using Instagram | wrapped up in books. Libraries are doing lots of cool things on Instagram. For instance, just yesterday was #libraryshelfie day and tons of libraries posted pics of staff, patrons, and even dogs with shelves of books. Libraries are sharing #bookface pics where people pose with covers of books that line up with their faces. They highlight their programs and facilities. They advocate for literacy and community. It’s awesome. While my library has had an Instagram account for years, we only posted in fits and starts for a long time.
Here are 5 ways that my library has used Instagram to inspire, inform, and entertain our patrons. Highlight new additions to the collection. This is something I don’t see a lot of libraries do (and I follow a ton personally and through the library’s account!) Make it fun! And of course, The Fault in Our Stars requires tissues. If you don’t have props, add some fun graphics through an app on your phone.
If you want to just snap a quick photo of a new release, make it fun. Like this: 10 Interesting Ways to Use Instagram for Your Library. NOTE: Originally published in 2012 Instagram is a very popular mobile photo sharing app that’s currently being used by over 80 million users. It was acquired by Facebook earlier this year, so it’s something that’s going to be around for quite some time. Instagram allows you to put all sorts of filters and effects on images and then share them with your network and the world.
Here are ten ideas for ways you could use this immensely popular app for your library: #1: Show Off Your Books! What better way to use a photo sharing app than to take pics of your books! #2: Show Off Your Events and Services Whether it’s an author talk, an ice cream social, or a book sale, photos of library events are much more engaging for patrons than a simple write-up. . #3: Go Behind the Scenes Have you started an improvement on your library? #4: Give a Sneak Peek Everyone loves a preview, or sneak peek into an upcoming event or launch. . #5: Share Your Office (…or Show Your Librarians in Their Natural Habitat) 20 Ways to Make People Fall in Love With Your Instagram: A Guide for Libraries and Other Cultural Institutions.
Five ways libraries are using Instagram to share collections and draw public interest. Alongside universities, libraries and librarians are now using social media platforms to connect with users in a range of exciting and innovating ways. The latest platform that libraries are experimenting with is Instagram, which allows users to take photos on their smart phones, apply exciting filters and add hashtags, and then share these images online with their followers. Amy Mollett and Anthony McDonnell investigate how libraries are making the most of this visually-engaging platform. This piece originally appeared as an Editor’s Column on LSE Review of Books. With photos of the latest books available to borrow, snaps of library visitors attending workshops, and shots of behind the scenes activities, Instagram is fast becoming an exciting platform through which libraries and librarians can share news, achievements, and images of everyday life among the bookshelves. 1. Libraries are using Instagram to ask users about their favourite authors 2. 3. 4. 5.
About the Authors. Barbican Music Library (@barbicanmusiclibrary) British Library (@britishlibrary) Imperial College Library (@imperiallibrary) The New York Public Library (@nypl)