Building participative library services: the impact of social software use in public libraries

The purpose of this paper is to examine the adoption of social software in public libraries and to explore its impact.

This research uses a qualitative methodology and took the form of open‐ended interview questions using an e‐mail format. The research uses Rogers' diffusion of innovations theory as a framework.

This research found that participants consistently described social software as a means to deliver a library service that truly reflected their users' wants and needs. Participants indicated that social software would help achieve this goal in two ways. Firstly, participants felt that social software enabled users to interact with the library in the ways they wanted to. Secondly, the participative elements of social software made it easier for users to provide feedback on all aspects of the library service. The study also revealed that while social software is not currently being used to its fullest extent in public libraries, public librarians are exploring the meaning and potential of this new technology.

This paper advances the discussion on social software by providing concrete examples of its impact in practice. It is a resource for public librarians considering the potential impact of implementing social software in their own library which will allow them to learn from the experiences of others.