{"id":81,"date":"2026-07-25T04:23:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T04:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedtea\/?p=81"},"modified":"2026-07-25T04:32:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T04:32:08","slug":"wild-card-reflection-4-participatory-service-through-wechat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedtea\/2026\/07\/25\/wild-card-reflection-4-participatory-service-through-wechat\/","title":{"rendered":"(WILD CARD) Reflection #4: Participatory Service through WeChat"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the Wild Card Blog Choice, I decided to revisit Module 4 on participatory service and transparency. In \u201cRevisiting Participatory Service in Trying Times\u201d written by Michael Casey over a decade ago, he discussed the major struggles of libraries with regards to maintaining relevance, connecting with the community, and dealing with budget cuts (Casey, 2011). I find this article applicable to the post-COVID aftermath that introduced us to new normals such as Zoom University, remote work, and digital dependency. In times like now, it makes me wonder how libraries can stay connected despite these new global workflows.<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/span> Photo by Adem AY<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cTechnology doesn\u2019t solve our problems, but it can be a conduit to making change and promoting progress\u201d (Stephens, 2016, p. 81). Casey, in the aforementioned article, mentions Facebook as a major platform for announcements and events but not truly for direct interactions with the audience. WeChat, on the other hand, is a predominant digital platform that originates from China used for several social purposes such as sharing posts through the \u201cMoment\u201d page, direct messaging, blogging, money transfer, and other related services (Wang, 2017). I mention WeChat because, at Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library, that seems to be the primary app that patrons use; despite the library not having an official account on WeChat, the literacy department is heavily promoted through this social media platform on the learners\u2019 \u201cMoment\u201d pages.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unbeknownst to me (and other library staff), our ESL programs<\/a> have been inadvertently attracting quite the amount of learners through WeChat, and we know this through quarterly technology surveys completed by students. It truly feels that technology has extended beyond the reach of the library, and the learners themselves have become passive hosts of our ESL programs (Stephens, 2016). In a post-COVID world, it is refreshing to see new ways for communities to participate in structures of change, and WeChat is something that libraries with high Asian immigrant populations can look into. To end on an interesting note, one learner has divulged to me that they have chats dedicated to \u201crating\u201d staff and volunteer teachers, much like \u201cRate My Professor\u201d… terrifying.<\/span><\/p>\n

References<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Casey, M. (2011, October 20). <\/span>Revisiting participatory service in trying times\u2014a TTW guest post by Michael Casey.<\/span><\/i> Tame the Web. <\/span>https:\/\/tametheweb.com\/2011\/10\/20\/revisiting-participatory-service-in-trying-times-a-ttw-guest-post-by-michael-casey\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Stephens, M. (2016). <\/span>The heart of librarianship: Attentive, positive, and purposeful change. <\/span><\/i>ALA Editions. <\/span>https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/s\/gc9ecokb972xgil\/HeartofLibrarianship.pdf?dl=0<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Wang, Y. (2017, March 9). <\/span>How WeChat grows into a huge part of our life.<\/span><\/i> DSM News. <\/span>https:\/\/annenberg.usc.edu\/communication\/digital-social-media-ms\/dsm-today\/how-wechat-grows-huge-part-our-life<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the Wild Card Blog Choice, I decided to revisit Module 4 on participatory service and transparency. In \u201cRevisiting Participatory Service in Trying Times\u201d written by Michael Casey over a decade ago, he discussed the major struggles of libraries with regards to maintaining relevance, connecting with the community, and dealing with budget cuts (Casey, 2011). … Continue reading “(WILD CARD) Reflection #4: Participatory Service through WeChat”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":845,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reflection-blogging"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/845"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81\/revisions\/92"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu\/hyperlinkedtea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}