A risk-focused social media governance framework for African academic libraries

Abstract

Globally, the use of social media has become the norm across various industries, organisations, and sectors, including academic libraries which have also benefited in different ways. The use of social media is indispensable in the academic library, especially in the African region’s academic library sector. However, such usage has engendered various risks and necessitated organisational adaptation and adaptability to the preponderant changes in the world of social media. However, there appears to be a deficiency in the academic library sector’s management controls to address social media challenges and risks. It is precisely against the afore-stated background that this study sought to develop a comprehensive risk-focused social media governance framework for use in African academic libraries. The study adopted a mixed method research approach with a sequential design, in which the quantitative phase was first conducted to generate complementary information relevant to the subsequent qualitative data collection phase. Accordingly, quantitative data were collected through an online questionnaire, two focus group discussions were utilised for the generation and clarification of anomalies found during the initial quantitative phase. The target population of the study consisted of thirty (30) purposively sampled academic librarians who work directly or indirectly with social media, from the Standing Conference of Eastern Central and Southern Africa Library and Information Associations (SCECSAL). Descriptive statistical analysis was applied for generating the quantitative findings, while thematic analysis was applied for the qualitative findings. A key finding of the research is that the risks of using social media in academic libraries span reputational, compliance, content (highest rated risks), human or social, and technical risks. The study further established an overall lack of integrated social media risk management in academic libraries. Risk management should play an important role in academic libraries in the SCECSAL region, regardless of geographic location. Social media risks and challenges can be mitigated and addressed through a social media governance framework, such as the framework developed in this study. Based on its findings, the study recommends that academic libraries should regularly review and evaluate their social media roles and responsibilities to reduce the impact of challenges on practice; that academic libraries adopt social media risk management practices and incorporate social media risk management in the overall risk planning register; and that academic libraries invest in social media training and skill development to enhance staff competency, knowledge, and skills relevant for managing the risks associated with social media. The study recommends that library associations incorporate social media risk management into their social media guidelines, principles, and standards. Further research should be undertaken to pilot the risk-focused social media governance framework in each SCECSAL country to test its feasibility and identify areas for refinement.