The Tech Set 15: Strategic Planning for Social Media in Libraries

Citation

McNicol, S. (2013), "The Tech Set 15: Strategic Planning for Social Media in Libraries", New Library World, Vol. 114 No. 7/8, pp. 361-361. https://doi.org/10.1108/NLW-05-2013-0043

While some volumes in this series are more technically focussed, Strategic Planning for Social Media in Libraries, is very much concerned with the organisational and strategic aspects of introducing new technology. In fact, much of the advice about planning and strategy development is generic and could be applied to any new technology project, or indeed most service development projects, not just social media.

Following the standard format for this series, this book starts by introducing the options available for libraries who want to include social media in their strategic planning, before moving on to consider planning, social mechanics, implementation, marketing, best practices, metrics and developing trends.

The implementation section provides some useful suggestions which may present a new approach to some, such as the use of personas and the mini cases studies help to put the advice in context, demonstrating how theory can be put into practice easily.

This book would be valuable for anyone new to a management or planning role in connection with social media. Readers with some experience of strategic development and planning are likely to find that most of the information repeats what they already know, albeit with a reminder that these practices are just as applicable when dealing with social media projects as they are for traditional projects. Given that this book offers fairly general advice, it would, perhaps, be best read alongside some other titles in the Tech Set series which provide more detailed information about particular technologies.