Twitter Feed Comparison

For this task, the following two Twitter Feeds were investigated;

A twitter logo with a magnifying glass over it.

ALIA: https://twitter.com/alianational
Library of Congress: https://twitter.com/librarycongress

ALIA (Australian Library and Information Association) is the peak and pivotal governing body of Australian Libraries. In their own words, ALIA’s purpose is “To engage members in promoting a strong, future focused Australian library and information sector to advance access to information for an inclusive and informed society” (ALIA, n.d.).
The apparent goal and mission of ALIA is to provide all of its members (that is, information and library professionals within Australia), with the tools and resources necessary to maximise the productivity, efficiency, and engagement with their respective library services, as well as educate and engage with libraries in an evolutionary and educational manner.

I found the lack of posts on this Twitter feed extremely surprising. ALIA, at least throughout the course of my own professional library career, has seemed to be at the very forefront of communications. Although I am unable to find a source or reasoning, there is simply one post containing content regarding the 2024 symposium. I found this to be quite disappointing, however, I feel there would definitely be potential reasoning relevant to the recent updates and changes to Twitter (such as the takeover by Elon Musk), that may have driven ALIA to deplatform itself from the service.

In contrast to this, I was equally quite surprised with the content posted on the Library of Congress Twitter feed. The Library of Congress (LoC), serves as the research arm and department of Congress in the United States, and is officially recognised by all as the National Library of the United States. Furthermore, the LoC is at the frontline of setting various standards for libraries worldwide, such as subject headings, academic standards, metadata standards, and more.
What I found incredibly surprising is that before it had loaded, I found myself with the preconception that due to the nature of the LoC institution, there was a high likelihood that the content would be very academic, stuffy, and unrelatable. Much to my surprise, it’s an incredibly well maintained Twitter feed, with an incredibly informal, relatable, and fun approach to sharing LoC content and resources, such as involvement with famous musicians, various interesting and rare collection information, and more.
The language used on this Twitter feed is equally relatable and contemporary, and I found myself immediately scrolling through it, wanting to see more of what the LoC had posted and what they had available.

This to me is outright proof of the success of their approach to the Twitter feed, and the way they handle their social content posts and information delivery and communication on social platforms. It served to change my preconception about the type of organisation LoC is, and for the better.

References:

Australian Library and Information Association (n.d.) What We Do. Australian Library and Information Association. https://www.alia.org.au/web/web/about-us/what-we-do.aspx

Library of Congress. (2021). General Information. Library of Congress. https://loc.gov/about/general-information

Monnin, J. (2023). Where is Library Twitter Now? Alternatives to the Bird Site. Pennsylvania Library Association (PaLA). https://crdpala.org/2023/07/28/where-is-library-twitter-now-alternatives-to-the-bird-site/

Word Count: 459

One comment

  1. alanajs14 · January 18, 2024 at 7:21 am ·

    I do not have Twitter; however, it does surprise me about LoC and ALIA. I follow both of them on LinkedIn and they both post pretty consistently. Maybe ALIA found that their time and effort were better spent on other platforms. Or as you said because of the recent takeover. Regardless, what a great post 🙂