Are We the “Parents at the Party?”: Assessing the Use of Multiple Communication Channels with Today’s Students

In an age of pervasive social media and constant connection to the digital world, colleges and universities – and therefore libraries – find themselves questioning how best to reach our students. Naturally, we experiment with a variety of methods, from chat and text reference to Facebook and Twitter accounts and more, resulting in scattered communication channels. The question then becomes: Is it beneficial to send your message out through a wide array of channels, thereby casting the widest net? Or is this actually counter-productive because students then lack a central channel for receiving communications from the university?

The Survey

Last spring, I surveyed our students about the Law Library’s communication channels –  everything from our Twitter feed and Facebook page to our digital sign,