'Follow us on Twitter': How public libraries use dialogic communication to engage their publics.

Public libraries that practice effective dialogic communication are more likely to build trust with their communities. Applying principles of dialogic communication as a theoretical framework, this study examines how public libraries in Canada and the USA use Twitter to build long-term positive relationships with their publics. Content analysis of 28,788 Twitter messages sent to and from thirteen library @names revealed that libraries tend to employ the 'dialogic cluster' principles more often than the 'technical and design cluster' ones. However, 'technical and design cluster' messages were more likely to be retweeted. The number of followers was found to be positively related to the frequency of trust messages that the Twitter users send to a library @name. The authors discuss communication practices to actively engage publics in dialogic communication on Twitter. • Principles of dialogic communication are used to explore library use of Twitter to build relationships. • Dialogic communication is important in building library-public relationships. • Trust is a key dimension of library-public relationships. • Twitter is an effective tool to facilitate dialogic communication. • Effective dialogic communication results in a growing number of engaged followers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]