Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Harnessing Yik Yak For Good: A Study Of Students’ Anonymous Library Feedback, Mark Robison, Ruth Connell

Library Faculty Publications

This study explores academic libraries’ potential uses of the mobile application Yik Yak, with particular focus on patrons’ anonymous feedback about library services and spaces. Over a 232-day period, the authors observed the Yik Yak feed for their university and recorded all yaks related to the library. A content analysis of the 249 library-related yaks found six distinct purposes that these library-related yaks served, from the perspective of the patron, that are of interest to the library: asking questions about library services; reporting problems with library spaces; reprimanding violations of and encouraging adherence to library policies; sharing compliments about library …