Social media as a tool to disseminate library contents. Case study of the JFK Library Twitter account

After describing the use of social media services (SMS) by JFK Library, we specifically study the use of the Twitter account @JFKsaid, created initially to commemorate the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s election as President of the United States of America. Our central research question asks how the JFK Library uses this Twitter account to disseminate digitalized documents (video, audio, text and photo) stored in its archives. Our findings show that Twitter is rarely used as a link to the JFK Library website and also that the number of video documents broadcast is insignificant when compared to the dissemination of audio files or photos. Even though, the use of Twitter by the JFK Library is focused largely on the self-referential task of commemorating President Kennedy and his legacy, our study confirms Twitter’s considerable potential as a medium for disseminating knowledge and sharing information and documentation.