Birdi, B. orcid.org/0000-0002-0002-7989 and Jones, R. (2024) Is libraries' use of social media ethical? A phenomenographic investigation of Twitter (X) use at the Bodleian Libraries. Journal of Documentation, 80 (6). pp. 1660-1689. ISSN 0022-0418
Abstract
Purpose
Social media (SM) has been heavily criticised in recent years for its damaging effects on societies globally. Tasked with empowering those same societies, libraries’ continued use of SM is considered ethically contentious.
This article presents the findings of a University of Sheffield study that investigated the perceived ethical tension between libraries and their use of SM by aiming to establish whether:
1. libraries’ use of SM is ethically motivated; 2. ethically informed; 3. and compatible with codes of ethics in the Library and Information Science (LIS) sector.
Design/methodology/approach
A phenomenographic approach was employed to gather and analyse the data for this study, drawn from the transcripts of seven online interviews with Bodleian Libraries staff who used Twitter, now X, in a professional capacity.
Findings
Three categories of description were identified among participants: 1. Collectivist conception 2. Settled conception 3. Questioning conception
The categories are bound by a shared context of conceptualisation made up of a small set of internal and external influences discussed in the interviews which affected all participants to varying degrees.
Originality
The findings were used to support the following determinations: 1. Libraries’ use of SM is ethically motivated. 2. Libraries’ use of SM is ethically informed, in part.
Due to lack of evidence, no determination was made about whether libraries’ use of SM is compatible with codes of ethics in the LIS sector.
Recommendations for LIS professions and professional bodies are offered based on these determinations.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 The Author(s). Except as otherwise noted, this author-accepted version of a journal article published in Journal of Documentation is made available via the University of Sheffield Research Publications and Copyright Policy under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
Keywords: | Libraries; librarianship; ethics; social media; Twitter; X; phenomenography |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Information School (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 11 Jul 2024 11:47 |
Last Modified: | 25 Feb 2025 11:48 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Emerald |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1108/JD-11-2023-0246 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:214500 |