According to a recent survey, librarians frequently “self-censor” their posts about local, state, and national political issues more than is required by policy or law. If that self-censorship is getting in the way of libraries fulfilling their public education mission and civic engagement work, it has to be confronted and changed. This EveryLibrary webinar discussion with Dustin Fife and Mary Naylor Stephens on Thursday, February 15th was a deep-dive into their research findings, and was sponsored by Kixal. Visit http://everylibrary.org/webinar-libraries-social-media-politics-know-post/ for more information and a link to the video archive of the event.

1. Libraries, Social
Media, and Politics:
Do You Know What
to Post?
Dustin Fife & Mary Naylor Stephens
#thepoliticallibrarian

2. Tweeting?
Use #thepoliticallibrarian
Ask questions for
panelists using the
Q&A window
Share ideas with other
participants in the chat
window
This webinar will be
recorded, archived,
and shared via email.
Send technical
questions using the
Q&A window and we
will do our best to
assist you.
You do not need to
raise your hand to
ask a question

3. John Chrastka
Executive Director, EveryLibary

4. ● First Nationwide PAC for Libraries
● Set up as a c4 rather than a c3
● 75 Election Days for public libraries
● Dozens of school librarian / library
direct actions
● $255+ million in stable tax funding
● Pro Bono Approach
About EveryLibrary
Building voter support for libraries

5. everylibrary.org - professional facing
information about library activism
action.everylibrary.org – petitions and
email campaigns for libraries
SaveSchoolLibrarians.org – direct action
in schools and districts
SaveIMLS.org – fighting to preserve
IMLS funding in the federal budget
One Million Americans for Libraries
Building voter support for libraries

6. The Political Librarian is dedicated to
expanding the discussion of, promoting
research on, and helping to re-envision
locally focused advocacy, policy, and
funding issues for libraries.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/pollib/
For questions and submissions:
dustin.fife@everylibrary.org
Building voter support for libraries

7. everylibrary.org | facebook.com/everylibrary | @everylibrary
312-574-0316 | info@everylibrary.org
Building voter support for libraries

8. #thepoliticallibrarian
Libraries, Social Media,
and Politics: Do You
Know What to Post?
Dustin Fife
Western State Colorado University
Mary Naylor Stephens
Utah Valley University

9. Brief introductions
Two academic librarians with public library experience surveyed
librarians about how frequently institutions posted to social media, if
they knew their parent institutions social media policies, and if/when
they did post did the post about:
● Events in the library
● Library initiatives
● Political concerns for the library
● Political concerns for the community
● Political concerns for the nation

10. Who Responded
Libraries responding by type
● public libraries (61.79%)
● academic libraries (24.89%)
● school libraries (6.11%)
● special libraries (2.4%)
● archives (0.66%)
● prisons, military, independent
consultancies, for profit
companies etc (4.15%) https://mrlibrarydude.wordpress.com/2013/08/
19/the-library-in-lego-form-aka-the-absolute-
last-post-i-will-write-about-lego-librarians/

11. Education and Job Duties
Degree level and Job Duties
● 77.73% had a library
degree
● 65.25% have direct access
to the institutions’ social
media
● 51.64% supervise staff in
some capacity
http://clipart-library.com/college-degree-
cliparts.html

12. Poll #1
#thepoliticallibrarian

13. Findings: personal use of social media
Frequency of use
● 59.47% use social media multiple times a day
● 33.41% use social media daily
● Only 0.45% never use social media
● 72% state that they post about politics on their personal account
at monthly or more
Social media platforms
● Facebook
● Twitter
● Instagram
● Pinterest
● Snapchat
● Linkedin
● Goodreads
● Reddit
● Tumblr

14. Findings: institutional use of social media
Frequency of use
● 17.08% post multiple times a day
● 42.37% post daily
● 33.03% post weekly
Social media platforms
● Facebook
● Twitter
● Instagram
● Less common but mentioned
○ Google +
○ Pinterest

15. Poll #2
#thepoliticallibrarian

16. Public Service Announcement
WE ARE NOT
ATTORNEYS AND
THIS IS NOT
LEGAL
ADVICE!!!!!! https://www.smithandeulo.com/smith-eulo-
law-blog/criminal-defense-lawyers-seminole-
county-florida/

17. The Laws that Bind US
Two Questions
● Are we artificially creating hurdles for
libraries and communities?
● Is it okay for us to talk about our own funding
concerns if they are up for a vote?
https://wall.alphacoders.com/by_sub_cat
egory.php?id=212731&name=Question+
Mark+Wallpapers

18. Federal, State, & Local Laws
○ Federal Laws / The Hatch Act:
is it a gag order?
○ State Laws
○ Local Laws

19. Ambiguity Reigns Supreme
Question 19 asked, “Does your library allow you
to post on the institutional account about a local
issue such as an upcoming ballot initiative for
library funding?”
■ Yes: 26.95%
■ No: 29.91%
■ Maybe: 43.11% (which seems to
be the catchall “I’m not sure”)

20. An important distinction
There is an important difference between providing
information and advocating for passage or failure
Part of our jobs as information professionals is helping people
learn how to use and navigate information provided
● Ex. Financial Planning Week
○ Books on display
○ Financial planners giving a presentation/workshop
○ Pathfinders for term definitions and valuable
software
https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/
news/2017/11/17/tax-proposals-
state-treasurer-lafayette-parish-
ballot-saturday/874789001/

21. Poll #3
#thepoliticallibrarian

22. Best practices
First and foremost...
○ It is the responsibility of
administration to know the legal
framework and implications
behind all activities in the library.
○ Policies should reflect all
relevant laws.
https://research-methodology.net/role-of-
administration-in-management/

23. Best practices
● All people with direct access to social media posts should
○ Know about the social media policy
○ Where the social media policy is located
○ Know the generals and be familiar with the specifics of the
social media policy
● Have a social media schedule and planning calendar
○ Include library priorities
○ Include patron community priorities
■ Which may include political topics!

24. Best practices
● Examples
● Specific Examples
● General Examples
● More Examples
● Lots of Examples
● Maybe one more extra
Example
http://nlpx.net/archives/404

25. Institutional and Professional Mission
● Missions vary among
institutions
But…
● We do all share similar
professional goals and
ethics
What happens when we abdicate
our professional and ethical roles?
https://ropindreams.com/about-
us/our-mission

26. The Political Librarian
Libraries, Social Media, and Politics: Do Library
Professionals Post about Politics on Institutional
Social Media Accounts?
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/pollib/
The Political Librarian is dedicated to expanding
the discussion of, promoting research on, and
helping to re-envision locally focused advocacy,
policy, and funding issues for libraries.

27. Questions?
Dustin Fife
dustin.fife@everylibrary.org
Mary Naylor Stephens
mary.naylor@uvu.edu
#thepoliticallibrarian

28. Next Webinar: April 11, 2018 (2:00 PM EDT)
An Organizer’s Tale: Mobilizing Allies for
Union Negotiations in Libraries
Emily Drabinski (LIU Brooklyn) will discuss
lessons learned through fighting for a fair
union contract. More than anything, making
political change requires mobilizing people.
http://bit.ly/TPLorganizer
#thepoliticallibrarian

29. everylibrary.org | facebook.com/everylibrary | @everylibrary
312-574-0316 | info@everylibrary.org