









































15

Content Creation vs. Curation
Strategies for Theological Library Social  
Media Coordinators
Anne Marie McLean, Reference Librarian and Outreach Coordinator,  
Pitts Theology Library, Emory University

ABSTRACT In 2017, the position “Social Media Manager” ranked no. 42 in 
CNNMoney/PayScale’s “Top 100 Careers with Big Growth,” the increased 
evidence of which we see today as organizations introduce a digital pres-
ence in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The title “Social Media Man-
ager” might not be explicit in the job descriptions of theological librarians; 
however, this critical “other duty as assigned” if improperly managed can 
constitute an overwhelming amount of time and work. This paper will dis-
cuss drivers behind social media fatigue and burnout, distinguish between 
a content creator versus curator, and suggest strategies to establish the 
latter as an equitable and efficient model for social media coordinators in 
theological libraries.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic forced organizations to estab-
lish strong social media presences, managers and coordinators of 
digital marking content were on the rise. In 2017, the position “So-
cial Media Manager” ranked number 42 in CNNMoney/PayScale’s 
2017 “Top 100 Careers with Big Growth” (Braverman 2017). During 
the global pandemic, consumers increasingly sought to connect with 
brands in new ways through social sharing platforms from home 
(Sutherland 2020). For academic libraries too, social media became 

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16  ATLA 2022 PROCEEDINGS

a critical microphone to announce policies, explain service changes, 
promote resources, and stay connected to students, faculty, staff, and 
community members.

Interestingly enough, when an online search was conducted on 
June 2, 2022, for mentions of “social media” in job descriptions, the 
American Library Association (https://joblist.ala.org) boasted 28 
matches, while Atla (https://www.atla.com/jobs/) identified none. 
However, where there is content, there is a coordinator, so it’s fair 
to assume that social media falls under “other duties as assigned” 
for many librarians or other staff in theological libraries. For those 
who juggle a variety of duties, this seemingly trivial two-word assign-
ment has the capacity to lead to stale outreach, workplace burnout, 
and information overload.

Thus we come to the concept of social media fatigue, which “refers 
to a host of negative emotional responses to activities on social net-
working sites, such as tiredness, burnout, exhaustion, frustration, 
disinterest toward communication…” as defined by Han Zheng and 
Rich Ling in their article “Drivers of Social Media Fatigue: A System-
atic Review” (2021). In fact, the concept showed its face in a variety 
of scholarly articles and contexts. In a review of Sarah Roberts’s Be-
hind the Screen: Content Moderation in the Shadows of Social Media, 
Natalia Kovalyova (University of Texas at Austin) observes that the 
author’s “interviews with content moderators unearth several com-
mon themes across locations…: precarious work, pervasive stress 
and burnout, job insecurity, [and] disparity in status and treatment” 
(Kovalyova 2020).

However, we don’t have to look at academic literature to identify 
these sentiments. In the “Libraries & Social Media” Facebook group, a 
simple post search for “social media burnout” spoke for itself (names 
and accounts shall remain anonymous):

“I have recently taken over our Libraries Social Media and I feel 
like I am drowning!”
“How do you all avoid burnout with handling social media? I’ve 
been at it almost 5 years, and I’m in a rut. Is it just me?”
“I don’t have ‘Facebook’ magic (yes actual phrased used). Please 
don’t stroke my ego by asking me to ‘do your thing, you’re so 
good at it’ because you think I can produce the response you 
want. I am a marketing staff of one. This year has stretched me 
to my limits.”

https://joblist.ala.org
https://www.atla.com/jobs/


PAPERS  17

This gradual depletion of creative energy portends stale or repeti-
tive content, missed deadlines, and burnout in the workplace. The 
strategy this paper proposes to combat the above originated with a 
suggested curation model from the Pitts Library’s Head of Public Ser-
vices in early 2019. At that moment in time, the library’s social media 
accounts were split between departments—Instagram for Special Col-
lections and Facebook/Twitter for Public Services. In efforts to ensure 
timely, consistent content across platforms, account management 
was consolidated to the Reference Librarian and Outreach Coordi-
nator (RLOC). The Head of Public Services encouraged the RLOC to 
act as a curator of social media content rather than the sole creator.

But what is the difference between a content curator and creator? 
The term Content Creator originally traces back to YouTube’s first 
designation of its users as “Creators,” but is now understood as an 
overarching term for digital creators (“Let’s Define Influencer and 
Other Content Creator Terms” 2017). Content creators consult with 
subject specialists and bring together images or video, branding, and 
words that effectively deliver a message. Creators might take time 
to make several versions of the same content to release periodically 
or to present as alternative design options. Creators work project by 
project to meet specific needs of the institution or employer at that 
moment in time.

The trouble arises when a content coordinator is hired under 
one pretense and then pushed into also taking on content creation 
without the time, resources, or expertise to do so. One Twitter user 
effectively sums up the problem in 180 characters or less:

“Companies hir[e] social media managers and expect them 
to do photography, videography, graphic design, copywriting, 
brand strategy, monitor metrics, host YouTube, make tiktok 
dances. The work of an entire marketing team.” (June 22, 2022)

This onslaught of responsibilities not only poses a risk to employee 
wellbeing, but also limits the entire institution’s social media brand 
and voice to one person’s views and experience. The content quality 
suffers as a result, and it is also unlikely that any time is left for the ac-
tual curation of content buried in today’s age of information overload.

So how do we distinguish content curation from creation? Several 
definitions have emerged in the past few years, but Joyce Kasman 
Valenza and others in ALA’s Library Technology Reports define social 
media curation as “activities that leverage the power of social media 



18  ATLA 2022 PROCEEDINGS

to collect, organize, share, and interpret content to tell a digital story 
for a particular audience” (Valenza, Boyer, and Curtis 2014). Valenza 
goes on to explain that “Social media curators make sense of the vast 
flood of digital content. They deliberately and continually scout, iden-
tify relevance, evaluate, classify, organize, aggregate, personalize, 
and add value to content” (Valenza, Boyer, and Curtis 2014). Rather 
than having to produce the content that constitutes the “vast flood,” 
content curators use their creative power to wrangle and help make 
sense of it in an institutional setting. This includes but is not limited 
to retweeting, sharing, moderating, editing, and assessing content. 
While content curators are still working with “flexible and virtually 
limitless containers” in this model, they aren’t having to contribute to 
those containers while also curating (Valenza, Boyer, and Curtis 2014).

The definition sounds ideal, but what does this mean for social 
media coordinators on the ground? The first “rule” this paper pro-
poses for content curation is don’t curate in isolation. This is not 
to suggest that one conducts their work in a busy Starbucks setting, 
but rather takes into account existing content and potential partners 
that curators can capitalize on. For example, instead of attempting 
to address every major holiday or week of recognition, find existing 
content and share or recycle it within your own institutional con-
text. For example, Pitts Theology Library might not take the time 
to post about Denim Day (www.peaceoverviolence.org/about-us), 
since its larger affiliate institution, Emory University, runs an orga-
nized campaign every year accompanied by suggested content. The 
same can be said for major academic events such as convocation or 
commencement—Candler School of Theology is sure to cover these 
events, so why not share and attribute their content as a baseline for 
library posts? Other collaboration partners might include profession-
al guilds like the Society of Biblical Literature, academic publishers, 
local churches, formal social media committees, other theology li-
braries, or even yourself! Identifying evergreen content published by 
your institution in the past can go a long way when you need a quick 
template for finals reminders or a fun tidbit about Aldersgate Day.

While the first rule encourages content curators to share and re-
use existing content, the second adds a bit of finesse by strongly sug-
gesting you both attribute content and make it your own. As mas-
ters of bibliography and citation, source attribution for theological 
librarians is self-explanatory. While we might not insert a footnote 
into a Facebook post, an informal “mention” of the source by “Quote 



PAPERS  19

Tweeting” or a share with comments acknowledges the original cre-
ator, maintaining a mutually beneficial partnership while allowing 
for slight alterations to transform the content. This, in turn, will as-
sure that other content managers treat your posts with the same 
care and consideration.

The third rule is to be cognizant of new and developing content 
and trends. Social media curation can be both proactive and reac-
tive—the reactive a key strategy and challenge for staff in smaller in-
stitutions with fewer staff and resources devoted to communications. 
As anyone in a social media role already knows, scheduling con-
tent is an excellent strategy until the next big “thing” hits, whether 
that’s weather, breaking news, a trending hashtag, or policy changes 
and updates. In these cases, curators must proactively seek out this 
content and react to it prudently. This could be something as big as 
communicating university shutdowns for a global pandemic, or as 
trivial as finding a connection between the highly debated 2015 gold 
or green dress and resources on church vestments (BBC News 2015). 
Challenges that come with this “reactive” element of social media 
curation are negotiating institutional responses to a large-scale event 
in addition to maintaining a healthy work/life balance. The former 
arises when a polarizing event or issue calls for an institutional re-
sponse, for example a Supreme Court decision or a humanitarian cri-
sis. Curators must caution against preemptively publishing a reaction 
that might contradict an existing or forthcoming statement from the 
institutional hierarchy. Inconsistent messaging can confuse readers, 
highlight disparities in the institutional network, and even call for 
disciplinary action in high-stakes cases. The second challenge is just 
as tricky to navigate. Content curation itself calls for boundaries and 
a guaranteed work/life balance for coordinators; however, social me-
dia does not stop at the end of the workday. Strategies for address-
ing content that falls outside the normal business week should be in 
place to ensure employee wellbeing, whether that be assigning other 
moderators during off-hours or instating a “no-post” policy outside 
of Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Rule number four, and perhaps the most challenging, is establish 
a method for internal collaboration. Internal collaboration refers 
to shared work of the immediate staff of the library or organization 
as opposed to external affiliates or partners. The Reference and Out-
reach Librarian at Pitts experimented with methods over the course 
of four years, gaining insights from both successes and failures. The 



20  ATLA 2022 PROCEEDINGS

first attempt sought to create a shared Excel sheet or calendar with 
mapped-out content in hopes that staff would take initiative to sign 
up for content creation for a special event or resource. This approach 
failed for several reasons, the first resting on the assumption that 
employees would actively take on extra work with little or no incen-
tive. Designated communications or social media committees often 
fail for the same reason—staff members already buried in their 
own job duties find little to no benefit to a one-sided quid pro quo. 
In addition, the reactive nature of social media discussed will likely 
disrupt a set content calendar, so even if the posts were written and 
ready, they might not appear at the designated time and throw off 
the entire planner.

What did work for Pitts’s Reference Librarian and Outreach Co-
ordinator was developing individual relationships and workflows 
with different members of staff to ensure a steady stream of con-
tent. Mass emails or announcements are often ignored with the as-
sumption that “someone else will do it.” Reducing communication 
to one-on-one settings guarantees that the desired content contribu-
tor/creator is clear. This can be done a variety of ways, from writing 
a personal email to catching a colleague in the hall to congratulate 
them on winning the coveted staff award. These suggestions can be 
enhanced with the acknowledgement of what you need: subject ex-
pertise. Reaffirming your role as the content curator and your col-
leagues’ unique specialties and talents develops trust and respect 
in creator-curator relationships. The promise that the creator will 
be acknowledged and their expertise showcased puts a cap on the 
bargain, ensuring an equal exchange of work and recognition. This 
paper suggests that setting firm deadlines with helpful reminders 
and offers for support, in addition to providing post-publishing re-
ports (e.g., number of likes/shares, positive comments), will further 
strengthen internal collaboration between colleagues.

The final rule for content curation success is to advocate for the 
tools you need to be successful. It may be the case that your supervi-
sor or director is unaware of what tools and resources a coordinator 
needs to make the institutional social media presence worthwhile. 
Below are just a few suggestions for your content curation toolkit:

1. Shared storage: Content curation requires a place to store 
said content, and high-resolution images, audio, and video 
files call for a substantial amount of storage space. Check 
with your IT department to see if there is an exception to 
the capped storage on your hard drive, or an option to use 



PAPERS  21

an external backup. In addition, take advantage of any 
cloud sharing resources providing by your institution as 
places to share and store large files, whether that be Share-
Point, Hightail, Google Drive, OneDrive, Box, Dropbox, etc.

2. Social media aggregators: These are tools that allow us-
ers to collate posts and updates from a variety of different 
social media feeds, with special features allowing for an or-
ganized view of posts in a particular category, tag and share 
notifications, and advanced analytics. New options come 
out every day, but a few existing platforms include Walls.io, 
HeyOrca, Curator, and Hootsuite. As trends change and de-
velop, the most important goal is to find a tool you’re com-
fortable with and use it to its full potential.

3. Networking and professional development: As with 
any profession, it is necessary to work with fellow ex-
perts in the field to share ideas and establish connections 
in social media curation. One might attend events like 
the Library Marketing and Communications Conference 
(www.librarymarketingconference.org/), join a Libraries 
and Social Media Facebook group, or take courses for cer-
tificates in graphic design, digital marketing, or other tan-
gential topics. Networking and professional development 
might require funding, so work with your institution to 
affirm its importance and acquire the financial assistance 
it calls for. If institutional funding isn’t an option, take 
advantage of free resources online like YouTube how-to 
videos, listservs, blogs, and more!

4. Time: Just as with teaching, the time it takes to prepare and 
curate content for publication is disproportionate to the ac-
tual event of “posting.” It can take an entire business day to 
align blog, social media, and newsletter content featuring 
only three points or containers. Content solicitation alone 
can take weeks, given its complexity and the capacity of the 
contributor/creator. Set boundaries with your supervisor 
or work them into your job description sooner rather than 
later; that way you’ll have precedent to fall upon and to re-
assess as the eb and flow of work changes. Designating one 
day for social media curation, limiting platforms, or setting 
a two-week deliverable for content will protect you from 
overworking to meet unrealistic expectations.

With these suggestions in mind, this paper acknowledges certain 
limitations. The feasibility of these recommendations will vary from 

http://www.librarymarketingconference.org/


22  ATLA 2022 PROCEEDINGS

institution to institution. Staffing and resources might be limited due 
to budget constraints or employee contracts, leaving a coordinator no 
option but to both create and curate content. Funding may limit the 
professional development opportunities or software subscriptions 
available. The dynamic nature of technology might present a wrench 
in the entire model (what if, for example, there emerges one domi-
nant publishing platform, leaving content duplication unnecessary?). 
In the best-case scenario, advances in technology will make content 
curation easier, but there is no guarantee. In the meantime, content 
curators must emphasize their work’s importance, collaborate effec-
tively with others to maximize efficiency, set clear boundaries, and 
advocate for the resources they need to succeed in curating an insti-
tutional presence against the backdrop of a dynamic, digital world.

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Braverman, Beth. 2017. “2017 Best Jobs in America.” CNNMoney. 
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Kovalyova, Natalia. 2020. “Behind the Screen: Content Moderation 
in the Shadows of Social Media.” Information & Culture 55 
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“Let’s Define Influencer and Other Content Creator Terms.” 2017. 
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