Using social networks for library funding advocacy: A discourse analysis of the 'Save the Miami-Dade Public Libraries' Facebook campaign.

摘要

In July 2013, the social media Facebook campaign, Save the Miami-Dade Public Libraries (SMDPL) sought to influence the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners to reverse proposed budget cuts and maintain existing library funding levels. In this study, I examined the SMDPL campaign by conducting a discourse analysis of Facebook discussions that included posts, comments and any artifacts referenced such as other websites, mainstream media, public official memoranda and public documents, among others. I examined the expressions of value and the policymaking process using Moore's Creating Public Value Theory.;This study found that Creating Public Value offered an examination of public institutions as subsets of public sector governance. The study found that discourse is an element of the public value created that resulted in expression of public value outcomes and operational capacity for communities. However the study also found that public library advocates missed opportunities to demonstrate rather than assert, specific public library values. Information sharing using social network sites can be important sources of what a community values in their libraries and their public sector institutions. Future research could examine how these values influence the actions of public officials and the discourse can become a source of examining what all types of communities' value in libraries.