The Importance of Using Booktok and Bookstagram for Librarians, and How You Can Get Started!

Librarians and libraries alike always lament the lack of young adults and new adults in libraries. We usually get kids up until high school and then lose them until they themselves have children years later. Many of these individuals do not know the resources the libraries have, have preconceived notions about who librarians are, and generally do not even consider the library as a place to go.
But these trends are starting to slowly change with the addition of libraries and librarians on social media, who are promoting the ideals of librarianship, facts about book bannings, book talks, and so much more. While in library school, I was instructed to make a tiktok account for booktalks. My classmates and myself were fascinated by the intricacies of social media and the amazing tool that can be used to attract this age group. Since 2022, I have created 2 successful social media accounts with over 1200 followers, in which I promote reader's advisory, booktalks, banned books, and so much more.
In this session, librarians will learn the benefits of social media and how librarians can promote diversity, inclusivity, and begin to understand books promoted on these channels. Librarians will get tips and tricks on how to start their own social media accounts, find their niche, and learn about the community in which they would like to target. In addition, librarians will discuss privilege in librarianship and publishing and how using social media can help librarians understand the trends in self-published/amazon published books, that are often more diverse and popular in these communities.