Providing Library Information Services through WeChat: A Study of Project 985 University Libraries in China

Huang, Jie; Guo, Jinchi

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/101405 Copy

Description

Title

Providing Library Information Services through WeChat: A Study of Project 985 University Libraries in China

Author(s)

• Huang, Jie
• Guo, Jinchi

Issue Date

2017

Keyword(s)

• WeChat
• Information science
• Empowerment
• Hyperconnected societies

Abstract

The application of the popular mobile social media platform We- Chat in library and information services in China was examined. Thirty-two out of a total of thirty-nine university libraries of Project 985 had established official WeChat accounts by the end of 2015. The study explores the use of WeChat from six aspects, including basic profile information of an account and interactivity of WeChat public account. Through analysis of the data and comparison with the results of previous research, the study indicates that the library WeChat platforms have improved in many respects, including official account authentication and self-service through WeChat, since the beginning of WeChat application at university libraries in November 2012. Although the library WeChat accounts have become a more effective tool in general, improvements are still needed to provide maximum benefit to library users in an effort to empower users, especially younger ones.

Publisher

Johns Hopkins University Press. The School of Information Sciences at Illinois. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Series/Report Name or Number

Library Trends 66 (2). Fall 2017

ISSN

0024-2594

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/101405

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2017.0031

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Copyright 2018 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

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