Social Network Policy Development of National Library of Thailand

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to study 1) the current status of the use of social networks by the National Library of Thailand; and 2) the policy development for the use of social networks at the National Library of Thailand.

This research was a qualitative study, and the key informants were 18 directors and 25 social network administrators at the National Library of Thailand and 11 of its branches, totaling 43 people. The main source of information consisted of the social network policy documents from national libraries in 8 countries. The research instruments were a data record form and an in-depth interview. Data analysis used inductive content analysis.

The research results were as follows: 1) the current status of the use of social networks by the National Library of Thailand, both at the center and all branches, is that an official policy on the use of social networks has not yet been established. However, there are guidelines for operations in its vision and mission, and there are guidelines, agreements, and procedures for using social networks that directors have assigned librarians to operate in accordance with the fulfillment of the national library's mission. The central National Library and all branches use social networks at the organizational level and have similar methods and procedures for using social networks. The social network platforms that the National Library of Thailand mainly uses are Facebook and LINE. The librarians were responsible for the use of social networks in the library. Most of the content published and shared on social network platforms is in the form of infographics. Most problems related to social network use are technological skills and an unstable internet network. 2) The policy development for the use of social networks of the National Library of Thailand comprised of six components:- scope of the policy, objectives of the policy, guidelines for using social networks, inappropriate behavior and use, violation of the policy and penalties, and monitoring and evaluation.