In 2006 Bond University Library was one of the first academic libraries in Australia to establish a blog. With the changes in the social media landscape Bond Library has now established a Facebook site. However, it is recognised that Facebook isn‘t the universally preferred social networking site. For example Renren is the most popular site in China; Cyworld in South Korea; Twitter in Japan and Wretch in Taiwan.

Many universities have significant proportions of international students and some of those may not even have used Facebook. If international student use of social networking sites reflects global usage patterns, libraries need to develop new strategies using other social media to reach international students. Furthermore, when deciding what social networking sites to choose we should not assume we know what sites our students are using.

A study by Hendrickson et al. (2011) has indicated that international students with a higher ratio of students from their host country in their friendship networks were more satisfied, content, and less homesick. Therefore, we need to determine if there is a shift in the preference of social networking sites after international students arrive in their host country as they connect with their new university community. Consequently, would we expect to see a move to the preferred sites of domestic students as international students‘ friendship networks expand to include people in their host country?

This poster will present the results of a study being conducted at Bond University and will show

1. The preferred social networking sites of international students

2. Whether these preferences changed after their arrival in Australia

3. A comparison between the preferred sites of domestic students and international students

Once patterns of use are more clearly understood, strategies to effectively engage with international students using social media will be presented.

Jessie Donaghey Bond University

Jessie Donaghey is a Librarian at Bond University on the Gold Coast in Queensland and graduated from Queensland University of Technology with a Masters of Information Technology degree in Library and Information Science in 2010. She is responsible for the teaching and learning needs of the staff and international students in the Bond University English Language Institute. Keeping active the Bond University Library and Computing Facebook page, the Bond Library blog and other Bond Library social media profiles is an important part of her role.