ABSTRACT

The library regardless of type and size remains a veritable institution charged with the sole responsibility of information generation, organization, dissemination, preservation and conservation. However, the library performs these multi roles through the deployment oftechnological and non-technological tools and mercenaries. The essence of the deployment of these tools and mercenaries is to deliver effective and efficient library and information services. It is in this light that Ayiah and Kumah (2011) noted that the efficiency and effectiveness of library and information services as essential tools for research and learning, is determined by the success of providing patrons with relevant and timely information. However, there are various means and ways through which the library provides and shares this timely information. One such way is through the use of social media networks popularly referred to as social networking sites. The social media network in the words of Ansari and Nazim (2016) is a social structure that allows the user to interact and work llaboratively with other users, including availing them the ability to browse search invite friends to connect and interact with the web world. ’ Consequently, the introduction of these media networks in the modern-day libraries and information centres are dividends of the changing technology, exponential information explosion and growth and the transition of the libraries from analogue to digital or hybrid (library automation). Embracing this change in their pattern of information services delivery, Ansari and Nazim (2016) noted that most libraries, especially the academic libraries have continued to be hybrid (print and electronic) compared to their other counterparts (public, national, school, special and private libraries). It is very clear that the adoption of these social media networks by libraries in their business of information service delivery has not only changed the pattern but also resulted in the change of the library users’ behaviour. Statistics has further shown that the success of social media networks can be seen in their dominance in society today, with Facebook having a massive 2.13 billion active monthly users and an average of 1.4 billion daily active users in as of2017 and 900 million users on Twitter, thereby, becoming the mainstream offering the library and other allied institutions,the opportunity to achieve their strategic goals of reaching out to numerous users at the same time. The uniqueness of these social media networksis to share information among users ranging from highly personal to academic interests of the participants and has become one of the largest platforms in the world for sharing real-time infonnation and its possible uses for libraries in reaching numerous patrons simultaneously.