Reflection on Using Instagram

Description of the Activity Undertaken.

For this activity, I started using social media platform Instagram; focusing my uploads on potential activities that could be undertaken by information institutions. BookishBastet and Other Instagram Things is the blog post created about my Instagram experience.

What Did You Learn?

Instagram is a visual platform focusing on images on videos (Instagram, n.d.). The default aspect ratio for images is square though uploads can be edited to landscape or portrait presentation. Uploading and capturing images is simple enough and the filters and basic editing suite allow for nice effects and correction of some flaws. The main discovery option I used was hashtags. Each post is allowed a maximum of 30 hashtags to describe itself and capture peoples attention, and it is normal to see people using all thirty or close to it to attract attention. These hashtags do go through trend cycles which are important for libraries to be aware of due to the algorithm behind Instagram (Chacon, 2017).

How was the Activity Relevant to Your Professional Practice Working with Children and/or Young Adults?

Social media is now a prominent promotional tool for libraries, understanding how platforms work is an essential skill for librarians (Potter, 2012). Instagram is popular with younger generations, Millennials and Gen Z (for definitions of these terms see Robinson, 2017) with 59% of Instagrammers within one of these demographics (Mathison, 2018). As Millennials cease to be young adults the remain relevant to youth librarians as the parents of young children.

What Gaps in Your Knowledge Were Revealed and How Might You Fill Those Gaps?

My strengths are in words, stories, quotes. I tend to have the ideas for visual presentation, but the execution is not my forte. Practice in the creation of visuals may improve my skill. My preference would be to develop the skills within a role, with targets in mind and set goals.

There are still gaps in my knowledge that are specific to Instagram, tagging and effective use of filters. Both will take time and trial and error to improve. Though the tagging gap may be filled by further exploration on Instagram and extended reading on blogs. I know that Instagram tags go through trends I have not used it extensively enough to notice those changes, the precursors to them.

Discussion of New and Emerging Technologies in Relation to Your Chosen Activity.

While not a new platform having launched in 2010 (Instagram, 2018) the effective use of Instagram is still relatively new to libraries. There are 9 million monthly Instagram users in Australia making it the third biggest social network for Australians (Cowling, 2018), so definitely worth looking into. But for me this was not about Instagram, it was about the learning of a new platform, looking at a platform with a professional lens and how this can translate to other platforms.

The use of social platforms is ever growing in librarianship as libraries follow their patrons, with multiple books published dealing with the topic of how to best manage social media in a library context (Eden, 2016; Harmon, 2013; Mon, 2015). While all platforms are different with varying focuses and individual strengths and weaknesses they can all be learnt be spending time there and engaging with the interface and the community. An important factor in social media promotion is knowing your audience and posting targeted and unique content (Uribe-Mutal, 2016). Be that the young, fun imagery of Instagram, the multiform potential of Tumblr or the brevity of Twitter.

References

Chacon, B. (2017). 5 things to know about the Instagram algorithm. In Later. Retrieved May 25, 2018, from https://later.com/blog/instagram-algorithm/

Cowling, D. (2018, May 1). Social media statistics Australia: April 2018. SocialMediaNews. Retrieved from https://www.socialmedianews.com.au/social-media-statistics-australia-april-2018/

Eden, B. L. (2016). Marketing and Outreach for the Academic Library : New Approaches and Initiatives [Rowman & Littlefield Publishers]. Retrieved from: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Harmon, C. (2013). Using social media in libraries best practices [Scarecrow Press, Inc.]. Retrieved from: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Instagram. (2018). Our Story. In Instagram Info Center. Retrieved May 23, 2018, from https://instagram-press.com/our-story/

Instagram. (n.d.). What is Instagram? In Instagram Info Center. Retrieved May 23, 2018, from https://help.instagram.com/424737657584573

Mathison, R. (2018, 24 January). 23+ useful Instagram statistics from social media marketers. Hootsuite. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-statistics/

Mon, L. (2015). Social media and library services [Morgan & Claypool Publishers]. Retrieved from: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Potter, N. (2012). The library marketing toolkit [Facet]. Retrieved from: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Robinson, M. T. (2017). The generations: Which generation are you? In Career Planner. from https://www.careerplanner.com/Career-Articles/Generations.cfm

Uribe-Mutal, O. (2016, January 20). Social media for nonprofits. [Lynda.com online course]. Retrieved from https://www.lynda.com/Facebook-tutorials/Social-Media-Nonprofits/426766-2.html

BookishBastet and Other Instagram Things

I want to start this post with a confession. Instagram is not a new platform but it is new to me. As a social media user I’ve never really seen the appeal of it, when I use social sites I like there to be a mix of formats. Something I think Instagram lacks. As an art supporter, I have spent time admonishing people online for not giving credit where it is due and that is an issue with Instagram. And the art exhibition put on by Prince (Contrera, 2015) made me doubly wary of it.

As a library professional and as a member of society my personal preferences are not always going to be something I can do. Instagram is a site that more organisations are moving on to for promotion and outreach, following their patrons on to the popular platforms.

What is Instagram?

Instagram was in October 2010 hand now has 800 million monthly active users globally (Instagram, 2018) Instagram is a free photo and sharing platform with a mobile focus (Instagram, n.d.-c). Initially mobile only, web viewing was introduced in 2013 (Instagram, 2018). As of 2012, it has been a Facebook owned company (Kevin, 2012). Instagram has a reputation as being young and vibrant something encouraged by their regular updates and focus in interactivity.

The main exploration option is hashtags, Instagram allows up to 30 on a single post anything can be a hashtag available for exploration (Instagram, n.d.-b). There are limits hashtags hidden temporarily for reasons of inappropriate content (Instagram, n.d.-a) and there are trends that will need to be kept in mind. These changes in hashtag usage are instigated by trendsetters and can’t be taught they have to be experienced.

Finding accurate usage statistics for Instagram is difficult. There are some conflicting pieces of information about who is using it and little data exists for the youngest demographic. Though it is widely acknowledged that it is a platform favoured by the young, with 59% of Instagrammers in the US being under 30 (Mathison, 2018). More locally there are 9 million Australians using Instagram monthly (Cowling, 2018). 

Libraries and Instagram.

As previously stated Instagram isn’t new it is just new to me and there are plenty of libraries on Instagram. There are varying types of libraries on Instagram from school libraries aiming to keep families involved and up to date (Melbourne High School Library, 2018; Mitchell High School Library, 2018), to public libraries (Eastern Regional Libraries, 2018; Los Angeles Public Library, 2018), to academic libraries (Melbourne University Library, 2018; University of Glasgow Library, 2018) to elite institutions (my phrasing for special, state and national libraries) (Library of Congress, 2018; Melbourne Cricket Club Library, 2018; State Library Victoria, 2018).

There is also professional literature on libraries and Instagram. Wallis (2014) used Instagram in an innovative manner in her academic library, to introduce the University of Montevallo college library to students by way of an interactive guided tour fashion. The session is a modern take on the scavenger hunt I’m sure we have all done or at least witnessed. Hopkins, Hare, Donaghey, and Abbott (2015) used Instagram as an example of a place for participatory culture in libraries.

And of course, as Instagram is a social media site there are plenty of social media posts with best practice and tips (Cribbs, 2017; Jones, 2017; Techavanich, 2015). Because we librarians are nothing if not a friendly and helpful bunch.

My Time on Instagram.

My first problem when creating an account was to create a name, with the popularity of Instagram coming up with names that have not already been used is difficult. My name of choice @bookishbastet is a reference to the book nature of the account and Bastet, the Egyptian deity associated with cats. For a professional organisation, a name could be used, if I was creating one for professional use rather than the experience I would use a different name.

Who to follow. I chose to follow some of my preferred performers. Largely because I knew their social media interactivity with fans was high, one in particular, Mike Shinoda, has a visual creative streak and announces album and tour information through hand-drawn pieces, perfectly suiting Instagram (Shinoda, 2018). Then I went looking for library organisations for inspiration as much as professional interest. I am also following multiple hashtags #librariesofinstagram, #bookstagram, #books, #reading being the most professionally minded.

Creating posts. My strength is in the word, not visual imagery, the primary trade of Instagram. I settled in trying to use a few different things that a library might, with the exception of my first post, a fireplace from a restaurant in eastern Melbourne that made me wish for a book. My posts focused on young adult and junior audiences. The junior selection is aimed more at the parents of children, the minimum age for Instagram is 13 years old (Instagram, n.d.-c). The posts are book stacks, recommendations and a promotional poster for a story time. I had a couple of other ideas one for a book face but couldn’t find a book I liked enough to do it with. The other was a mini display ‘libraries more than just books’, finding the space and material to action it proved impossible.

The main issue I found with Instagram was the default aspect ratio for images is square and severely cropped in an odd fashion on my device. While editing to different aspect ratio is an option it is fiddley and my phone and pudgy fingers did not enjoy the experience. I didn’t experiment much with the filters another aspect of Instagram that garners some attention. When I wanted to use them everything I tried felt a little off, possibly more my own sensibilities than any the actual appearance of the image. I didn’t do anything with videos at all, unable to find a valid reason to use it that wouldn’t be better suited to another platform.

I chose to use Instagram knowing that it may be useful for my future time in libraries, school libraries use the platform to inform parents of goings on, public libraries to reach who they can. It was a gap in my knowledge that needed to be filled and it had been a long time since I had learned a new social platform. While it is unlikely that I will continue to use it I do see the appeal.

References

Contrera, J. (2015, May 25). A reminder that your Instagram photos aren’t really yours: Someone else can sell them for $90,000. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2015/05/25/a-reminder-that-your-instagram-photos-arent-really-yours-someone-else-can-sell-them-for-90000/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.fde9e8e8f05c

Cowling, D. (2018, May 1). Social media statistics Australia: April 2018. SocialMediaNews. Retrieved from https://www.socialmedianews.com.au/social-media-statistics-australia-april-2018/

Cribbs, B. (2017). 12 must follow library Instagram accounts. In Rivistas. Retrieved May 25, 2018, from http://www.rivistas.com/12-must-follow-library-instagram-accounts/

Eastern Regional Libraries. (2018, May 25). yourlibraryerl. Instagram. [Instgram profile]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/yourlibraryerl/?hl=en

Hopkins, P., Hare, J., Donaghey, J., & Abbott, W. (2015). Geo, audio, video, photo: how digital convergence in mobile devices facilitates participatory culture in libraries. The Australian Library Journal, 64(1), 11-22. doi: 10.1080/00049670.2014.984379

Instagram. (2018). Our Story. In Instagram Info Center. Retrieved May 23, 2018, from https://instagram-press.com/our-story/

Instagram. (n.d.-a). How can't I search for certain hashtags? In Instagram Info Center. Retrieved May 23, 2018, from https://help.instagram.com/485240378261318

Instagram. (n.d.-b). How do I use hashtags? In Instagram Info Center. Retrieved May 23, 2018, from https://help.instagram.com/351460621611097

Instagram. (n.d.-c). What is Instagram? In Instagram Info Center. Retrieved May 23, 2018, from https://help.instagram.com/424737657584573

Jones, G. (2017, 23 February). 12 insta easy Instagram library & literacy promotion ideas. YALSA. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2017/02/23/12-insta-easy-instagram-library-literacy-promotion-ideas/

Kevin. (2012, April 9). Instagram + Facebook. Instagram Info Center. [Blog Post]. Retrieved from https://instagram-press.com/blog/2012/04/09/instagram-facebook/

Library of Congress. (2018, May 25). librarycongress. Instagram. [Instgram profile]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/librarycongress/?hl=en

Los Angeles Public Library. (2018, May 25). lapubliclibrary. Instagram. [Instgram profile]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/lapubliclibrary/?hl=en

Mathison, R. (2018, 24 January). 23+ useful Instagram statistics from social media marketers. Hootsuite. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-statistics/

McPherson, C. (2018, May 25). bookishbastet. Instagram. [Instgram profile]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/bookishbastet/?hl=en

Melbourne Cricket Club Library. (2018, May 19). melbcclibrary. Instagram. [Instgram profile]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/melbcclibrary/?hl=en

Melbourne High School Library. (2018, May 25). melbhslibrary. Instagram. [Instgram profile]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/bookishbastet/?hl=en

Melbourne University Library. (2018, May 25). unilibrary. Instagram. [Instgram profile]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/unilibrary/?hl=en

Mitchell High School Library. (2018, May 25). mitchell_hs_library. Instagram. [Instgram profile]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/mitchell_hs_library/?hl=en

Shinoda, M. (2018, May 25). m_shinoda. Instagram. [Instgram profile]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/m_shinoda/?hl=en

State Library Victoria. (2018, May 25). library_vic. Instagram. [Instgram profile]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/library_vic/?hl=en

Techavanich, K. (2015). Libraries of Instagram. In Public Libraries Online. Retrieved May 25, 2018, from http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2015/06/libraries-of-instagram/

University of Glasgow Library. (2018, May 25). uofglibrary. Instagram. [Instgram profile]. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/uofglibrary/?hl=en

Wallis, L. (2014). #selfiesinthestacks: Sharing the Library with Instagram. Internet Reference Services Quarterly, 19(3-4), 181-206. doi: 10.1080/10875301.2014.983287

Disabilities

Okay so chances are this post will insult someone. I will attempt to write as tactfully as possible, but it isn’t easy.

This post is about disabilities. The legal definition of disability under Victorian Law is:

“"disability" in relation to a person means— (a) a sensory, physical or neurological impairment or acquired brain injury or any combination thereof, which— (i) is, or is likely to be, permanent; and (ii) causes a substantially reduced capacity in at least one of the areas of self-care, self-management, mobility or communication; and (iii) requires significant ongoing or long term episodic support; and (iv) is not related to ageing; or (b) an intellectual disability; or (c) a developmental delay;” (Victorian Government, 2018, p. 5)

As far as I am aware libraries in Australia are required by law to cater to the physical disabilities such as those in a wheelchair, providing ramps and enough space between objects for movement. And many libraries are now keeping audiobooks catering to those who are blind or visually impaired. But what about everything else? I technically have a disability. My epilepsy can limit my ability to function day to day and does make me susceptible to a myriad of other more problematic conditions (due to one of the causes of it). Some library patrons may have issues with noise, with space, with communication with library staff. How can libraries help? As with all other things, patience and training help. Understanding and finding out what people need from you to help them. For the deaf community if there is a large population maybe training in sign language. Keeping pen and paper or a tablet device for written communication is always helpful. This is another form of diversity where representation is extremely important, not just the obvious physical and sensory forms but the intellectual and mental. You can never be certain what your community’s make up is, and this isn’t something that you can easily ask without discomfort.

I’m going to list some disabilities and leave is to people to research any that may impact those around them professionally or are of interest. Provided with links to House with No Steps information with information about them. There are loosely four categories of disability.

• Intellectual – An intellectual disability may mean difficulty communicating, learning, and retaining information. They include Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, and developmental delays.
• Physical – physical disability may affect, either temporarily or permanently, a person's physical capacity and/or mobility. They include MS, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, brain or spinal cord injury, epilepsy, and muscular dystrophy.
• Sensory – sensory disabilities affect one or more senses; sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste or spatial awareness. They include autism, blindness, and hearing loss.
• Mental illness – a mental illness affects a person's thinking, emotional state and behaviours. They include bipolar, depression, schizophrenia, and eating disorders.

Cut has a series challenging the preconceptions of people about others. In the episode Guess my Disability three people are asked to do just that guess the disabilities of the people they are talking to. The disabilities come from all four loose types of disabilities sensory, physical, intellectual and mental illness. These range from the obvious physical one is in a wheelchair caused by Spina bifida, one has PTSD, one Tourette’s. It is a wonderful clip for the humanity.

I do want to add that some of the most impressive characters I’ve read disabled. John Matthew from J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood is one of my all-time favourite characters and he is mute. Born mute and he has grown to find ways to communicate with those around him. Including the love of his life, Xhex, his mentor, Zsadist and his adoptive father. This is an adult novel, but John Matthews story Lover Mine (Ward, 2010) is possibly one of the cleverest pieces of formatted writing I’ve read because J.R. Ward had to write his muteness in.

References

Cut. (2018, April 6). Guess my disability: Lineup: Cut. [YouTube Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGQ2yBXm8pM

Types of intellectual disability. (n.d.). In House with no Steps. Retrieved May 25, 2018, from https://www.hwns.com.au/Resource-centre/Types-of-disabilities/Intellectual-disability/types-of-intellectual-disability

Types of mental illness. (n.d.). In House with no Steps. Retrieved May 25, 2018, from https://www.hwns.com.au/Resource-centre/Types-of-disabilities/Mental-illness/types-of-mental-illness

Types of physical disabilities. (n.d.). In House with no Steps. Retrieved May 25, 2018, from https://www.hwns.com.au/Resource-centre/Types-of-disabilities/Physical-disability/types-of-physical-disabilities

Types of sensory disabilities. (n.d.). In House with no Steps. Retrieved May 25, 2018, from https://www.hwns.com.au/Resource-centre/Types-of-disabilities/Sensory-disability/types-of-sensory-disabilities

Victorian Government. (2018). Disability Act 2006. Retrieved from http://www8.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/da2006121.pdf

Ward, J. R. (2010). Lover Mine. New York, NY: New American Library.