(P121) Social media for international students – it’s not all about Facebook

Apr 4, 2012 | 4/6/2012 (1330-1505), Technology & New Media | 0 comments

According to the OECD there are nearly four million tertiary students enrolled in a course outside their country of citizenship. In 2010 there were 335 273 international students enrolled in higher education in Australia. To support these students during their study, libraries need to find ways to communicate and engage with them.               

An Australian study found that international students’ preferred methods for learning about library services was through library webpages and personal contact with library staff. As more libraries experiment with social networking to inform and connect with students, we need to determine the effectiveness of this strategy for reaching international students. 

Junco (2011) conducted a study into the effects of Facebook usage on students’ grades and found that students who used Facebook for social activities had lower GPA’s than students who used Facebook for information collection and sharing activities. Junco’s distinction between social activities and information dissemination activities on Facebook indicate that social networking sites aren’t necessarily all about being “social” anymore. Junco’s study indicates that libraries should not fear “invading students’ space” as gathering and distributing information makes up a major part of activities conducted on Facebook. 

Libraries need to identify what social networking sites international students prefer. Librarians must then decide if there is value in using these sites to collect and share information with their students. The paper will address three questions:

1. What social networking sites do international students prefer and why?

2. Which sites do they use to socialise and which do they use to gather and distribute information?

3. How can libraries leverage this information to enhance the international student experience?

Discovering which social networking sites international students prefer for information dissemination activities will allow libraries to target appropriate communication channels for engaging these students.

Grace Saw
Grace Saw Bond University

Dr Grace Saw is the Director, Information Services at Bond University. Bond University located at the Gold Coast is Australia‘s first private, not-for-profit university. Information Services at Bond provides a centralised technology and computing infrastructure support and services for the academic and administrative functions of Faculties and Offices. Grace is an Executive of CAUDIT (Council of Australian Directors of IT) and a member of CAUL (Council of Australian University Librarians).

P121Over the last two decades, Grace has worked at the University of Queensland, QUT, UWA and the Northern Territory University (now Charles Darwin University). Grace was the inaugural University Librarian at the Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand.

Grace‘s professional career has metamorphosed from being a political historian to an information scientist and university library and IT administrator. Grace has published and presented widely in information science professional journals and conferences.

Grace is passionate about the enhancement of the student experience through the use of new and innovative technologies.

Wendy Abbott
Wendy Abbott Bond University

Ms Wendy Abbott (BSc GradDipLibSc MSc AALIA) is Associate Director, Customer Services in Information Services at Bond University. In her role, Wendy provides strategic leadership in the development and management of library and IT services. Wendy‘s role is focused on supporting the teaching, learning and research initiatives in each of the Faculties, and is pivotal in developing the Library and Information Services as the centre of a scholarly community. An important aspect of her role is leading the design and development of communication and engagement strategies for Information Services including the use of social media.

Prior to joining Bond University, Wendy had many years‘ experience in information services roles including several positions at Griffith University as Information Services Consultant, Health/Science; Manager, Information Services, Gold Coast Campus; and Library Manager, Nathan Campus

Wendy has given numerous conference presentations and has authored and co-authored many articles and conference papers in a variety of subject areas

Jessie Donaghey
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.

Carolyn McDonald
Carolyn McDonald Bond University

Carolyn McDonald (BA, GradDipLibStud, GradDipCompStud, AALIA) is the Manager, Technology Innovation at Bond University. Her role involves monitoring and investigating developments in current and emerging technologies and implementing services that add value for the staff and students. She recently implemented the Bond on iTunes U site, and is currently managing a project to develop a mobile app for the University.

During her 16 year career in libraries, Carolyn has mostly worked with library systems. She has also worked in other librarian roles such as information literacy, lending, reference, document delivery and external student support.

Although most of her work has been in academic libraries, Carolyn has experience in the public library sector, having worked at both the State Library of Western Australia where she was the Manager, Digital Services, and the Gold Coast City Council Libraries. She has participated in state and national collaborative library system projects, and presented at a number of conferences.

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