My Weekend is all Booked.

It will be interesting to see how social media evolves over the next decade and on. Libraries need to certainly be a part of the change to maintain their relevance.  As long as they keep abreast of changes and continue to come up with innovative ways to use social media to market the library they will be in good shape.

Hopefully, it won’t be like this:

Social Media can be a very positive and useful way for librarians to reach their audience. As we’ve seen/heard in the lecture this week and in everyone’s tweets and pins there are tons of hit and misses out there. I think what I would add to the discussion is that as long as libraries 1. Listen to their audience and 2. Keep intelligent thought behind the tool(s) they choose to use, they will see success. There are other issues to keep track of as well, but the two I listed above I’d call the “top tier”.

My neighborhood library, @BeavertonLib, seems to keep their focus on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The entire Washington County Cooperative Library Services also use Pinterest, Youtube, and SoundCloud. I have also found links to Goodreads, but they were a little bit harder to find. I commend them for not “throwing around social media for the sake of social media” (hence my comment for intelligent thought). I agree with what my classmates have said—incorporating humor is a bonus.

The most important thing a library can do to measure success is to have clear and succinct goals. 

Determine how to measure your success. Decide what actions you want to take to succeed in your goals. It is also important to continually redefine and alter strategies based on the stats measured. 

In addition to the “numbers” I think it is also important for libraries to look at the text of feedback they get. Whether it’s a Twitter comment or Facebook comment (or other).

Something that stood out to me in the readings this week:

Guide to monitoring social media conversations

http://www.socialbrite.org/2011/01/10/guide-to-monitoring-social-media/

 “4. Identify your critics & fend off crises. Your reputation could be jeopardized by criticism — warranted or not, true or not — taking place on the social Web. You need to swoop in and respond in a positive manner, correcting any errors of fact and demonstrating problem-solving abilities, before misperceptions harden into negative sentiment. This is also a critical step in warding off PR disasters. And your critics aren’t always wrong. Adds Liz Strauss: “Listen for the things that you don’t want to hear” and learn from them.”

- See more at: http://www.socialbrite.org/2011/01/10/guide-to-monitoring-social-media/#sthash.UHePq6rg.dpuf

This isn’t a library thing, but I’ve been impressed on how White House Black Market deals with negative criticism received about clothing items in their reviews. If a customer has something on the more extreme negative side to say (not for things like “item didn’t fit my body shape” or “jacket wasn’t dressy enough or casual enough”) they always respond with a professional positive spin. They acknowledge the customer’s complaint and provide a useful response. See example:

A key factor in libraries marketing social media tools should be tailored by their audience and the available staff to support the tools. The point “Think Big, Start Small” from the lecture is important to keep in mind. Choose your initial social media tools, set the consistencies in postings, and most importantly listen (or watch) how your public is reacting to the information. If they are not reacting or posting, then something needs to change. For example, my local library (http://www.beavertonlibrary.org/) pretty consistently uses Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. I think they could add to this to reach out to even more users.

It will be interesting to see if more libraries latch on to the ideas of viral marketing, as described in “Virality in social media: the SPIN Framework”. A supporting quote to some of what I was saying above, “When a message appeals to a consumer, the consumer therefore becomes a willing and receptive audience for the content. One’s willingness to distribute content, then is related to the sharability of the message.” (Mills) As another fellow student pointed out, tailoring social media tools to different audiences/clientele is key. “Viral marketing in social media is the uncharted wilderness of marketing theory, leaving brandmanaging pioneers to blaze trails so that others may follow in their footsteps and learn from their failures and successes.” (Mills)

The following article: “How libraries are using social media” is an excellent example of social media success.

  References:

Mills, A. J. (2012). Virality in social media: the SPIN Framework. Journal of Public Affairs (14723891), 12(2), 162-169. doi:10.1002/pa.1418

Dankowski, T. (2013) How libraries are using social media. American Libraries July 16, 2013

http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2013/07/16/how-libraries-are-using-social-media/

This question is an interesting question for libraries. Social Media offers many ways for libraries to connect with their clientele (patrons/students/faculty/staff) and to develop innovative ways to serve the public.

The ALA Bill of Rights ensures Intellectual Freedom and Privacy for patrons (obviously there’s more, but I’m focusing on these two.) Many (maybe even most) libraries limit the amount of information they track on patrons in order to avoid pressure from government agencies subpoenaing specific information in the name of national security. I came across an 11-year old article (written by a student in SLIS SJSU program no less) “Libraries and National Security: An Historical Review” by Joan Starr. It was very interesting to see how libraries have changed their tune over the years. During World War I libraries were very active in working with government agencies. “In addition to information restriction, military authorities also requested librarians’ assistant in patron surveillance. In the spring of 1918, military intelligence issued an order to remove from libraries any materials on explosives, as well as to report the names of requestors to the Army. Libraries readily complied, some developing innovative methods for reducing and monitoring access to the materials.” (Starr) Compliance continued throughout World War II and the McCarthy era.

Current practices are the opposite—the pendulum has swung on the other side entirely. One of our classmates described a situation of the parent of a teen wanting to know what books are checked out on the teen’s library card in order to avoid late fees/replacement fees, something that was denied to the parent.

The question remains, how much data to collect? It seems logical that tracking searches, circulation trends, etc. can assist in collection development, help patrons find additional information and help the library find direction in what sort of programs they should develop for their patrons. On the other hand, how much should librarians enter into the parental sphere in the name of intellectual freedom?

My local library seems to limit the amount of big data that is saved. I can only see what books I’ve checked out currently, but not a history. Searches on the online catalog will show me what titles I’ve looked at during my session and I can turn off that feature at any time. They use Polaris, so I don’t know if this is a limitation of the software. I must admit that I wouldn’t mind seeing more “suggestions” based on my searches. I like this feature in Amazon. The use of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter seems to be solely used to promote library programs and events. I think they could take it to the next level. Incidentally, they are hiring someone to work on this aspect of the library! (I may apply, but I actually don’t quite have all they are looking for.)

I think the basic key to maneuvering the questions of “big data” and use of social media for libraries is education and information. What this actually means should be determined by the needs of the community.

My Tumblr post is 2 days late—I actually had trouble writing on this topic. I’ve rewritten this post many times and have had to reign in my ramblings. Hopefully this final version has retained some focus.

References

Libraries and national security: An historical review by Joan Starr

First Monday, Volume 9, Number 12 6

December 2004

I think the development of social media has enhanced the arena of online education and is going to continue to develop it to new levels. Lectures can be watched repeatedly on You Tube. Students and parents alike can use Khan Academy to supplement the teaching of certain subjects taught in school. Twidicate allows Teachers to utilize the benefits of Social Media yet keep it a “walled garden” for purposes of the class. Online discussions, whether facilitated through Blackboard, Canvas, Facebook, Twitter, etc. allow for students who wouldn’t necessarily lead discussion in class to participate in discussions in a more comfortable way. (Although, the aspect of forum discussions instead of face to face interaction with instructor and peers can be alarming for the students who rely on facial expressions and body language.)

Issues of plagiarism are often mentioned as a detriment to the benefits on online learning and the internet. I would argue that the problem of plagiarism has always been present. A fictional example, I remember, a long time ago, going through my mother’s old books from the 1950s and 1960s. She had a collection of stories on ‘Dobie Gillis’. One of the stories I read followed Dobie’s antics as his girlfriend helped him search for old papers in the library so that he could copy the work and turn it in as his own. Consequently the Professor was impressed with his paper and entered the essay into a contest of some sort. Dobie was forced to follow through with the lie, and it turned out that the man judging the merits of the essay was the original author that Dobie plagiarized. I know this is a fictional story, but between this fiction and some observations in Patrick Scanlon’s “Student Online Plagiarism” makes me think that plagiarism hasn’t necessarily increased. Scanlon cites two studies that were done 30 years apart. I’m paraphrasing here, but basically about the same percentage of students in 1963 and 1993 admitted to plagiarism. It may be easier and quicker to plagiarize due to the internet, but it is also easier to get caught!

I think I went off on a bit of a tangent there, but I do believe social media is the way to add “human” elements to online learning. The ability to repeat videos assists the learner in the subject matter, but the ability to Tweet observations, ‘like’ a comment on Facebook as well as make additional comments is how to connect students/instructors/professors just as easily as in the lecture hall.

The use of social media in libraries is a great way to reach out to patrons instantly. A single tweet, facebook posting, Instagram photo, can communicate more effectively than any way that libraries have engaged in communications before. Using a variety of social media platforms enables the library to reach patrons of all ages. St. Louis County Library has used Pinterest in a great way to provide suggested readings to their teen audience: https://www.pinterest.com/STLCoLibrary/ (I would have loved that as a teen).

 My best friend from college invited me to join Facebook in 2008. Since then I practically live on Facebook, especially once I upgraded to a smartphone. This may sound like I have hundreds or thousands of friends, but the reality is anything but. My friends list is under 200. I use Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family all over the country. I love how Facebook has enabled me to do things like: follow my cousin’s first pregnancy in Maryland, ask my uncle what wine we drank at his son’s wedding, posting photos, videos of events almost as fast as they happen (much to the delight of grandparents) and keeping up with my friends and their families.

I haven’t had the opportunity to use Facebook in a professional setting. I’ve been a stay-at-home mom and with the exception of short-term contract positions here and there, I’ve only been in libraries as a patron.

My other social media delight is Pinterest. I believe this same friend who invited me to join Fb also sent me the Pinterest invite. I have yet to pin something original. I am all about re-pinning. I love spending early mornings with a hot cup of coffee and guilt-free “Pinterest-surfing”. I’ve found wonderful ideas that I’ve used for parties. I’ve found great recipes and fantastic geek humor.

Twitter scares me. Why? I don’t know. Scare is probably the wrong word—it intimidates me. I have not latched on to it in the same way as Facebook and Pinterest. I have hopes that this class will help—for who better to explain things than librarians? I only joined Twitter originally to help promote a Kickstarter Project for an Independent Game Developer. A friend of mine in LA is a former casting agent for TV and is very active on Twitter.  At one point she posted on Facebook stating that if there was anything we wanted to have reach a large audience (a cause or anything like that) she would be happy to retweet. At the time she had over 100,000 followers (probably more now). So I pinged her about the Kickstarter project. I created an account—tweeted the link to her and she then retweeted.

Greetings from Beaverton, OR. My name is Julianne. I’ve posted a photo of the Beaverton City Library--my favorite library in the entire Portland Metro area. I’m excited for this class and to get more comfortable with Tumblr and Twitter (I’m more of a Facebook and Pinterest gal). This is my second semester in the Post-Master’s Program and I should finish in December. My plans for the summer include this class and the Web Usability class (LIBR 251).