The Reference Librarian, 52:146–151, 2011
Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0276-3877 print/1541-1117 online
DOI: 10.1080/02763877.2011.527607
Making Twitter Work: A Guide for the
Uninitiated, the Skeptical, and the Pragmatic
VALERIE FORRESTAL
S. C. Williams Library, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ
This article highlights the advantages of librarians and libraries
establishing a professional or institutional presence on Twitter.
This basic introduction to the web service also discusses innovative
ways to shape your Twitter account into a successful professional
development, reference, and outreach resource.
KEYWORDS emerging technologies, Library 2.0, marketing,
microblogging, outreach, social media, Twitter, Web 2.0, web
services
Regardless of what enthusiasts and detractors touting Twitter’s boom or
doom may say, the service continues to grow at a steady pace (Weil 2010).
According to a recent Pew Internet study, one in five internet users is now
using online status updating services, such as Twitter (Fox et al. 2009).
However, despite its popularity, many continue to poke fun at the ram-
pant “navel-gazing” and banal status updates, such as the oft-cited “what I
had for breakfast” posts (Johnson 2009).
How have so many in the library community found value in such a
mundane application? The answer may lie in sheer numbers. As of sum-
mer 2010, the Twitter directories WeFollow and Twellow list 996 and 7,977
librarians using Twitter, respectively (http://wefollow.com/twitter/librarian
& http://www.twellow.com/category_users/cat_id/1059), and one estimate
places the number of library Twitter accounts at approximately 830 (Brown
2010). These numbers are rough at best, but even conservative estimates of
the activity of librarians and libraries on Twitter make the time investment
worthwhile. In fact, the author of a recent study on measuring influence
Address correspondence to Valerie Forrestal, Communications and New Media Strategies
Librarian, S. C. Williams Library, Stevens Institute of Technology, Castle Point on Hudson,
Hoboken, NJ 07030. E-mail: valerie.forrestal@stevens.edu
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