International Journal of Library and Information Studies Vol.8(1) Jan-Mar, 2018 ISSN: 2231-4911 UGC Approved/Jr.No.64344 --- http://www.ijlis.org 444 | Page Use and Usage Patterns Of Social Networking Sites Among Library Professionals In Graduate Colleges Of Bangalore City Nataraju N Research Scholar and Librarian Vedavathi Govt. First Grade College Hiriyur, Karnataka, India. E-Mail: tanu.natarajun@gmail.com Dr. K R Mulla Librarian Vishveswariah Technological University Belgaum, India Abstract - The paper describes the use and usage patterns of social media and social networking sites in higher education libraries. The purpose of this paper is to study the users of social media in higher academic institutions and to determine the awareness about social media among librarians of higher academic institutions. The social media is a paradigm has led to the development of some of the successful practises among the librarians and leads to the delivery of information to the end users. The result shows that, social media are widely used for the development of institutional reputation and dissemination of information among the users and the social media applications and sites are gaining importance in the Indian scenario also. Keywords: Academic Libraries, Social Media, Social Networking, Karnataka, Computers. Introduction: Due to the advent of technology and communication media the usage of computer networks and smart devices are increasing. The technology has brought revolution in the field of education and in particular library science. The libraries are the first and foremost adopters of any technology and techniques. Social media are computer-mediated tools that allow people to create, share or exchange information, ideas, and pictures/videos in virtual communities and networks. Social media is defined as a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0 and that allow the creation and exchange of user- generated content. Social media depend on mobile and web-based technologies to create highly interactive platforms through which individuals and communities share, co-create, discuss, and modify user-generated content. Social media has been broadly defined to refer to the many relatively inexpensive and widely accessible electronic tools that enable anyone to publish and access information, collaborate on a common effort and to build relationships. The existence of social media is growing vigorously, the academic institutes are adopting the social media in large scale and the students are also using these media for their study, recreation, entertainment and for sharing of information among themselves. The social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Wikis and WhatsApp are used by almost everyone for collaborating, networking, sharing and generating knowledge and content and all these are features are great impact and value in higher education.