The Strategy of Using Social Networks in the Arab National Archives: A Descriptive and Analytical Study

Document Type : Original Article

Author

قسم المکتبات جامعة طنطا

Abstract

In recent years, Archives have used large-scale social networks for
multiple purposes to enhance the role of users and followers’ participation by
receiving their suggestions that support the development of information services
and Archives' activities. Although the use of social media (Facebook, YouTube,
Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Flickr, Templer, …) is a relatively new phenomenon
in Archives compared to libraries and other information centers, National
Archives have sought to adopt strategies to use social networks to increase
communication and interaction with users and to identify their views in the
development of information services provided, including interactive content
creation and distribution of content related to archival documents.
This study aims to identify the uses of social networks in the Arab
National Archives, the availability of specific and declared strategies for their use,
the analysis of their characteristics (objectives, content, …etc.), the social
platforms used by archives and the training of staff who manage and update the
content of National Archives on these platforms. The study relied on the
analytical descriptive approach to describe the use of Arab and foreign archives
for social networks and the content analysis methodology to analyze the
characteristics of national archives’ strategies for the use of these networks.
The study included (12) Arab National Archives; in addition to (5) Foreign
Archives (USA, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, France) to benefit from their
strategies in using social networks. Among the most important proposals of the
study is the need to develop a social media strategy in the Arab National
Archives, to diversify the archival content on social media and to form a social
media teamwork responsible for planning and implementing the Archives'
strategy for social media. The study suggests also that the National Archives start
an advanced strategy focused on the context, depth and quality of the use of
social media. In addition, they should develop a marketing plan, focusing on a
few social platforms to improve the presence of the Archive in the community and
to raise awareness of its role. The social media teamwork in the Archive should
ensure that the Archive updates the content of its social platforms regularly  especially those with a large number of subscribers and followers, and
participates actively in the conversations of followers and users of the Archive’s
social platforms. They should archive models of users' participation on what is
published and shared concerning the archival content on social platforms,
especially on important national events.



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