Changing the face of reference and user services: Adoption of social media in top Ghanaian academic libraries

Abstract

Purpose – Social media allows collaboration, participation and sharing in libraries with users. The purpose of this study is to examine the response of academic librarians in Ghana to the use of social media in reference and user services. Design/methodology/approach – It is a quantitative study that used the Likert type of questionnaire insolicitingtheviewsofacademiclibrariansfromsixpublicandprivateuniversitiesin Ghanaontheirknowledgeanduseofsocialmediainprovidingreferenceanduserservices. Findings – Thefindingsofthestudyindicatethatmajorityofacademiclibrariansareknowledgeable andusesocialmediaforbothpersonalandwork-relatedpurposes.They,however,lackadequateskills tousethearrayofsocialmediatoolstomakeremarkabledifferenceinservicedelivery.Forthisreason, theyfindthetraditionalmodeofservicedeliveryacomfortzone. Practical implications – Higher education policy makers in Ghana and elsewhere would find the resultsusefulindecisionsonthetypesofsocialmediatoolstouseinuniversitiesandcolleges. Originality/value – Thestudyprovidesin-depthanalysisoftheimpactofsocialmediaonreference and user services in Ghanaian libraries, which is deficient in literature. It also recommends change in policy direction and t raining to whipup interest in librarians to use social media.