ABSTRACT

This paper aims to identify how public libraries used Twitter in the initial months after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Content analysis was performed on a dataset of 9,450 tweets published by 38 public libraries in New York City between December 2019 and April 2020. The study showed that 85.5% of the tweets published by NYC public libraries were related to regular library communications, such as announcements of library service updates, book recommendations, suggested readings and activities, celebrations of specific occasions or individuals, and notices of upcoming events. Meanwhile, 14.5% of the tweets published from January/April 2020 were directly and explicitly related to COVID-19. NYC public libraries posted details of the remote library services available during the closure, as well as comforting and socially supportive messages, and provided information about the financial, health, and food-related support available to the community. The findings suggest that during the pandemic, NYC public libraries mostly continued to conduct business as usual and, in doing so, may have brought a valuable feeling of normalcy to the communities they serve during those problematic and strained days.

摘要

本文旨在确定公共图书馆在 COVID-19 大流行爆发后的最初几个月中如何使用 Twitter。对 2019 年 12 月至 2020 年 4 月期间纽约市 38 家公共图书馆发布的 9,450 条推文的数据集进行了内容分析。研究表明，纽约市公共图书馆发布的推文中有 85.5% 与常规图书馆通信有关，例如公告图书馆服务更新、书籍推荐、建议阅读和活动、特定场合或个人的庆祝活动以及即将发生的事件的通知。同时，2020 年 1 月/4 月发布的推文中有 14.5% 与 COVID-19 直接且明确相关。纽约市公共图书馆发布了关闭期间可用的远程图书馆服务的详细信息，以及安慰和社会支持信息，并提供有关社区可获得的财务、健康和食品相关支持的信息。调查结果表明，在大流行期间，纽约市公共图书馆大多继续照常营业，这样做可能会给他们在那些有问题和紧张的日子里所服务的社区带来一种宝贵的正常感。