The value co-creation of users’ participation in brand activities for academic libraries in China

Abstract

[Purpose] The article analyzes the value co-creation of users' engagement in branding activities in academic libraries in China, which plays an important role in the promotion of library services. [Methods] Through network research, telephone and email consultation, our team 哈has obtained information about 121 branding activities of 42 representative Double First-class universities' libraries in China. After summarizing and classifying these data, case studies are carried out. [Findings] These brand activities mainly fall into five types: research, information literacy, reading promotion, aesthetic education and cultural inheritance. Users assume the role of content provider, event organizer and publicity linkage, which promotes the activity to show three trends: the change of activity promoter, the increase of users’ autonomy in content production, and the diversification and complexity of situations, which have unique value creation in four contexts: society, university, library and individual. [Practical Applications] To demonstrate the overview of users’ engagement and branding activities in Chinese academic libraries, and to provide reference for improvement and refinement. [Originality Statement] This article is the result of the author's research and has not been published or presented elsewhere.