Picture Perfect Transforming the Library Tour with Instagram Elizabeth Marcus, Undergraduate Experience Librarian, Western Carolina University,

What Type of Library Do You Work At?

Which Social Media Platforms Does Your Library Use?

The Challenge Traditional library tours did not engage first-year students at the point-of-need.

The Idea Colleague shared information from ACRL conference. Lauren Wallis, author of Do-It-Yourself Library Instruction blog.

(Pew Research Center, 2015) The Data

The Activity 1.Divide class into small groups. 2.Assign each group a task(s) (e.g., find the best study spot). 3. Provide minutes for exploration. 4. Return to instruction space to review photos. Librarian may add new information at this time.

Activity Tasks A poster about the library’s classification system A room you can reserve to practice group presentations A book in the general collection about careers in tourism A DVD you would like to check out. A book in the reference collection about Africa Something you would not expect to see in a library Meet a library staff member and ask what they do. Instagram an item related to their job duties. (Do not take their picture unless they volunteer.) A gigantic children’s book A charging station Where to print in the library A sign with Hunter Library’s operating hours A very large world map

Lessons Learned Security settings on students’ personal Instagram accounts often prevent photo viewing. Fix: Use library’s Instagram account.

Lessons Learned Students are hesitant to log out of their Instagram account. Fix: Ask instructor to prepare students before library visit.

Lessons Learned Activity is challenging with small classes. Fix: Confirm number of students and willing smartphone users

Lessons Learned Vague tasks are confusing (e.g., find something fun). Fix: Ask students to find a specific object, person, or location in most cases.

Assessm ent Formal vs. Informal

Assessm ent

Student Feedback 148 Total Responses

How Could The Activity Be Improved? Top 4 Responses 1.Increase number of tasks for each group 2.Allow more time to explore the library 3.Add greater variety of tasks 4.Make tasks more challenging Assessm ent

In Your Library Ideal Activity for Teen Library Programs Teaching Moment for Other Demographic Groups Apply for Technology Grants

Thank You! Visit Hunter Library’s Instagram Page at Questions? Contact Information Elizabeth Marcus Phone:

Photo Credits 1. Library Tour Group- e7d491bbd3d8/79cc19f5-c445-43a3-a3de-55bad27a11a0image6.jpeg 2. Laptop Typing Instagram Phone- header.jpg 4. All other photos in this presentation are from Hunter Library’s Instagram page-

Works Cited Duggan, Maeve. “Mobile Messaging and Social Media – 2015.” Pew Research Center. August Available at: social-media-2015/. Lenhart, Amanda. “Teen, Social Media and Technology Overview 2015.” Pew Research Center. April Available at: technology-2015/. Wallis, Lauren. “#selfiesinthestacks: Library Instruction with Instagram.” The Innovative Library Classroom. Radford, VA. May 13, Conference Presentation. Available at: instagram?related=1