Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library

One of Paul Wellington’s first library experiences was not a pleasant one.

Growing up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, his parents occasionally took him to the Milwaukee Public Library, but it wasn’t a big part of his life.

“In high school, I distinctly remember visiting a branch after school,” recalls Paul. “I was not allowed to use a computer since I didn’t have a library card. I felt very unwelcomed, with little interest in returning. But little did I know libraries would become a big part of my life just a few years later!”

If you pay attention to library social media, you have seen Paul’s work. He is currently the social media specialist for the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library (CHPL), working on the team I used to lead!

Paul’s work received national attention earlier this year when he posted this now-famous TikTok showing how holds are gathered at the library. The post has, as of this publication, a whopping 3.7 million views, 599,000 likes, and has been shared nearly 25,000 times.😮

@cincylibrary

No books were harmed in the making of this film. #CincyLibrary #CincinnatiLibrary #Library #Fyp #LibraryTiktok @belitskaydi

♬ original sound – Cincy Library

“I came across the idea when I saw a duet of a woman mimicking the person in the original video on TikTok,” explains Paul. “The next week, I proposed the idea to staff at a branch, with the realization that finding a volunteer was a long shot. Surprisingly, Kelwin (the Cincinnati Library staff member in the TikTok), agreed to mimic the person in the video. Cue the hilarity!”

“I thought the clip would receive a few thousand views, and I was really shocked at how quickly it went viral, including on other social media platforms.”

Paul Wellington

“Some other posts that have performed well are the Taylor Swift visit and Pedro Pascal as libraries posts. I shared the Taylor Swift TikTok a few days before she visited Cincinnati, and I hopped on the Pedro Pascal trend after seeing a post from Vancouver Public Library.”

Working for a library was not Paul’s first career choice. He originally pursued a degree in architecture at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. During the spring of his first year, he got a job as a circulation aide at the Milwaukee Public Library.

“I was promoted to Circulation Supervisor at a branch in 2016,” says Paul. “During the height of Covid in 2020, physical circulation was slow, and I asked to assist the Marketing department with Facebook and Instagram. I loved managing social media, which eventually led to my current position as the Social Media Specialist with CHPL.

“My favorite part of managing social media for CHPL is thinking of creative ways to promote the library, whether it’s through humorous text, videos, or memes,” shares Paul. “My least favorite part, and this is something I’ve started recently, is editing captions for our YouTube videos. While very tedious, it’s important that CHPL makes its content accessible to everyone!”

I can say from experience it is difficult to manage social media for a library like CHPL, which has 41 locations and serves a population of 800,000 residents county-wide. Paul has the library’s five strategic priorities, which are guiding principles for deciding what he posts on social media.

“Within these priorities, I focus on promoting the library’s events, services, and resources,” explains Paul. “Each day I share 4-6 posts on Facebook and Twitter, and 1-2 posts on other platforms (Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads), so there are plenty of opportunities to promote the library offerings.”

“I would say one key to success is capitalizing on social media trends and events in your local community. If you’re able to incorporate the library into this type of content, you’re setting yourself up for success.”

How does Paul resist the urge or the demand to post about every program or service the library provides?

“The most common requests for social media posts are events, and the library has hundreds of them each month,” says Paul. “A large number of our events are recurring storytimes and book clubs, so I tend to promote other unique events. Library staff understands this process, and I rarely have to deny a requested event promotion.”

Paul spends a lot of time on social media, (go figure!) looking for inspiration. His top four favorite libraries to watch are:

And Paul has one big piece of advice for anyone working on social media for a library.

“It is important to understand the demographics for each platform. For example, CHPL’s Facebook followers have an older demographic, while Instagram consists of a large number of Millennials.”

“Content that works on one platform may not work on another. You can still share the same event, service, or resource across all library platforms, but consider the text and the way it’s presented (photo, graphic, meme, or video).”

More Advice

Turns Out, There’s One Social Media Platform That Really, Really Works To Promote Your Collection to Gen Z and Millennials! Here’s How To Take Advantage of This at Your Library

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