Social Media Guidelines

Library & Archives Social Media Guidelines

The following is a document to be used as guidelines for the Trent University Library & Archives staff who post on social media as representatives of the Trent University Library & Archives (TULA). The guidelines are to be used in association with the following accounts:

Archives

Bata Library

Digital Scholarship

Durham Library and Learning Centre

MaDGIC

With these guidelines we wish to represent the Library & Archives and Trent University in a positive, inclusive, and respectful way through social media outreach. Our intent is to share accurate and informative resources and information with our community members by providing content pertaining to the Library & Archives and other information that would be of interest to the broader University community.

  1. The staff of TULA will post on topics that are relevant to services, resources, spaces, and programs relating to the Trent University Library & Archives.
  2. A link to the Library & Archives Social Media Guidelines will be available on the Library & Archives website and each social media page to inform community members of its policies.
  3. It is the responsibility of the Social Media Committee members and TULA to create a respectful and inclusive environment by communicating with a friendly tone and refrain from posting content (images and text) that may be perceived as inappropriate or harmful to members of the University community.
  4. Concerns or complaints regarding any social media posts or comments from a member of the Library or Trent community should be directed to the Social Media Committee. If the post does not follow the standards or guidelines created by the social media sub-committee, it will be removed.
  5. Care and consistency should be taken when creating captions for social media posts. The tone of posts should represent one that is personal, smart and conversational; outlined by the Marketing and Communications Department tip sheet. 
  6. Members of the Social Media Committee will share other university departmental posts that may be of interest to students who follow the library accounts and correspond with our policy and guidelines.
  7. The Social Media Committee should be advised of any new Library social media accounts created to allow for sharing, following and to know it is an authentic Library account.
  8. Staff of TULA should not post anything that is confidential or does not meet the standards of FIPPA (Freedom of Information Protection and Privacy Act). If you are unsure if it meets the criteria, ask a supervisor or member of the committee, or consult the FIPPA legislation.
  9. Verbal Permissions should be obtained prior to taking and posting photos of students or community members. A photo release form has been made available through the Marketing and Communications Department if written approval is needed.  
  10.  Staff of TULA should consult the communications resources provided by the Marketing and Communications Department for official Trent University branding, logos, templates, and letterhead. 
  11. Staff of TULA should consult with a manager prior to posting content that belongs to another source to ensure proper copyright measures are taken. This includes original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, in addition to sound recordings, performers’ performances, and broadcast signals. For more information on the use of the Fair Dealings exception to copyright please see the TULA Copyright Section of the webpage. 
  12. All social media posts should be made accessible by following AODA legislation.

 

Sharing Social Media Posts Policy

Bata Library and Durham LLC will sometimes share posts that are relevant to the library or address student success and promote learning. Any sharing that takes place will be at the discretion of the library. The libraries will only share to Instagram stories upon request, and will not be shared across on other platforms or reposted on our accounts.

The libraries will not share posts that promote specific events, contests, unless decided otherwise at the discretion of the library.

Last revised on: 03/31/21

Note that this policy will be reviewed annually and amended as needed.