The data is in: Announcing our top 10 articles from Newslet for 2022!
Our libraries newsletter is a labour of love, and at this time of year, we like to take a look back to find out exactly what you enjoyed the most from our 21 Issues over the past year.
As always, we are impressed by the great articles and resources created by and for library and information professionals. And it’s always interesting to see how the areas of interest (as well as the needs) of the sector ebb and flow.
In our 2021 top hits, links to librarian learning and CPD were popular, as well as more feel-good features such as beautiful libraries and quizzes.
During the Covid-19 lockdowns, dedicated library staff looked for new ways to reach out to their communities, and this enthusiasm for outreach appears to have continued into 2022. Articles about marketing and social media dominate our top 10, as library folk look for new and innovative ways to connect with patrons.
So, from approximately 320 articles featured in Newslet this year, which ones have made it into our most popular list?
Our top 10 most clicked articles in 2022 are:
10. Library logs and library privacy – Dorothea Salo
Privacy is always a hot topic, particularly with library and information staff. This article, from librarian Dorothea Salo’s blog, takes a critical look at library logs and is a real eye-opener as it exposes some of the risks that holding certain data can pose to patrons.
9. Social Media in Libraries: Best Practice From the Austrian National Library – ZBW MediaTalk
In this post from ZBW, staff from the Austrian National Library’s social media team share how they have successfully used Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to increase engagement with the library and its many collections.
8. Emerging Jobs in Libraries – EveryLibrary
Articles on LIS careers are always of interest to our readers and this post from nonprofit library advocate EveryLibrary reports on the career progression of information professionals and considers some of the newer roles in libraries.
7. Choosing a Theme For The Library (or Classroom) – Don’t Shush Me!
This post from high school librarian Kelsy Bogan contains some sound advice for ensuring that your library theme is accessible for your target audience.
6. How Gen Z is using TikTok to search for information and what it means for information literacy – Information Literacy Group
Another article about social media, and this time Elizabeth Brookbank considers the implications of students using TikTok to search for information.
5. Exploring the World of Data Science: A Primer for Librarians – Information Today, Inc.
Our readers like to learn, and explainers and how-to’s are popular. This article by Larissa Pack is a great introduction to data science for information professionals.
4. World’s best new public library found – Systematic Library & Learning
Who doesn’t love a beautiful library? We certainly do and our readers do too. This article, reporting on the winner of the IFLA Public Library of the Year Award, was the fourth most popular item in Newslet in 2022.
3. Instagram guidelines for libraries – Ned Potter
We have more library marketing in the top three and in this popular post, Ned Potter shares the University of York Instagram guidelines that helped them increase their reach by over 1000% in one year! Powerful stuff.
2. 7 top tips for publishing awesome library newsletters – Artefacto
We are chuffed that part one of our advice for newsletter publishing has come second in the list of most read articles. In the latter part of this year we celebrated publishing our 200th edition of Newslet and in this blog post we draw on what we have learned over the years to provide you with our top tips for starting your own library newsletter.
1. The real impact of #BookTok on library circulation – Booknet Canada
At the top spot, and most clicked by our readers in 2022, is another article about social media and marketing, this time how TikTok is impacting library circulation. This post take a deep dive into the data to find out how #BookTok trends are influencing Canadian library patrons’ borrowing habits.
***
Huge thanks to all the contributors and everyone who continues to publish and share their ideas, concerns and ways to help other library and information professionals.
We will continue to share this awesome content with our subscribers in 2023 so, if you’re not yet signed up, head over to libraries.newslet.org and subscribe to receive a fortnightly dose of library nourishment.