For my instructional screencast, I chose to create an account with Tumblr. Tumblr is essentially a blog that works on Twitter or text-messaging speed, allowing users to share virtually anything (URLs, photographs, videos, music, quotes, chat logs, and text) with their peers. I have had many teen volunteers at the library tell me about this social media tool (and scoff at my lack of knowledge regarding it). It was relatively simple to sign up for and I could see how teens would enjoy the endless customization available at the website, as well as the ability to quickly make posts and share information with their friends.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Library Training Video
This video was by the 3M Company that produces Automatic Handling Machine Systems. These systems allow patrons to check in their own return items and have them immediately off their records.
While the video was indeed informative, I doubt that it would catch the eye or keep the attention of anyone looking for videos on the topic. There could have been an introduction to the library it was being used or just a brief introduction to what the video was going to entail, rather than simply the company's information. The lack of any dialogue, sound effects, or music, made it slow paced. While it was nice to see the machine working smoothly, as someone who works at a library who has an AHMS, the fact that there were only three sorting bins and a single pusher to sort the books made me want to see a larger AHMS training video, or at least contain a larger human element such as staff using the machine in the back room as well as the outside patrons using it.
To improve the video, I would have added dialogue or have a staff member interact with the "patron" to make it a more interactive video that actually has a customer service aspect. I also would have shown how the bins were separated from the machine and what happens to the outside check in station when the bins are removed.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Online Communities Challenges
Online communities, if created successfully, gathers a core of members that are active and interact with each other on a regular basis. Like the need for immediacy in instant messaging and social networking, online communities need regular updates in order to keep the interest of their users. One of the main challenges of creating an online community that is successful is ensuring that the target audience will actually be interested in the subject enough in order to create an account and log in day after day. Some subjects for online communities, I believe, are more successful than others. Those circulating around an individual's own work (writing / artwork / crafts) are very popular because users can show their individuality and comment on the work of others. Two such communities are DeviantArt and Flickr. DeviantArt allows users to create their own scrapbook of art as well as follow other artists and join 'groups,' quite like Facebook.
Online communities in libraries, I believe, require another special touch in that it has to be actively promoted at events that correspond to it, as well as through normal promotion such as flyers, bookmarks, and notices on the library webpage. Topics of interest would have to be polled either through circulation statistics, a survey, or another method such as recognizing that the teen book club is an extremely popular event and that there is call for a more often method of sharing book information with other people, rather than a weekly or biweekly grouping. The challenge with this is the same as with any online community, in that there is a need to create a strong user base of core members who will keep the ball rolling. While staff members can be part of this user-base, like other social networking tools in libraries, staff need to be sure that patrons feel able to give in their input and that it is not only a place for announcements rather than for communication between staff and patrons as well as patrons and anyone else who is interested in the subject.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
User-Generated Content in Libraries
--Where do you see user-generated content providing value for libraries and how could it be collected?--
What I see as being the most valuable user-generated content for libraries is the addition to library catalogs that enable patrons to add reviews of materials in the collection, somewhat like Amazon. This would provide both the ability of users to rate through 1-5 stars as well as write a review that would be approved prior to adding it to the catalog in order to ensure that it is "proper." Through adding user-generated reviews, patrons will feel like they have an impact on their libraries and that their opinions matter. This would also create a sense of community, in that the catalog could become almost like a social networking tool if reviews can be categorized through the reviewer's name. Thus individuals could "view" a reviewer's profile and the items that they have reviewed and which they liked and disliked. While I am unsure how it would exactly play out on a library's online public access catalog, the ability for library patrons to provide input and generate content that reaches out to fellow patrons not only improves the library's holdings, it also ensures that the library is the hub of the online community as well as the physical community.
Patrons could also provide tags for items that would work alongside the subject headings of catalog entries. While this could become confusing, it would allow for user-generated language to provide tags that catalogers may not have thought about. This is especially true for items that fall within multiple categories or have a specific jargon description. While I do not believe that tags will supplant subject headings, I do think that they could increase the richness of each item's record in the system.
References
Tay, A. (2009). "Libraries and Crowdsourcing - 6 Examples." Musings about Librarianship.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Barriers to Internal Collaboration
With numerous tools available, such as del.icio.us and wikis, there are still possible barriers for effective internal collaboration within organizations. The main barriers are the comfort level of staff regarding technology and the workplace atmosphere, which includes the feelings of the management toward internal collaboration tools.
While an internal collaboration tool like wikis are a perfect technology for collaborating and combining the knowledge of multiple staff members, if the staff are not comfortable working with this technology, it will not be used to its full potential. However, this could easily be remedied through tutorials or technology classes that show staff how to use wikis and how it could help them. Similarly, if staff do not want to share their knowledge with one another and prefer to be the "go-to" person for specific questions, then this would also become a barrier to sharing organizational knowledge and allowing it to be available to all.
Regarding tagging tools like del.icio.us or simply having a set bookmark list available on all reference computers, a barrier could be the lack of a set number of tags that allow for easy retrieval. Staff participation could be another barrier, as some staff members who are more comfortable with technology would submit more links while others submit none. Again, showing the staff how the tagging and bookmarking works would erase most of this barrier.
Lastly, if management does not have positive feelings towards internal collaboration tools and do not believe it is a viable use of time, there will most likely not be a positive atmosphere in the organization for staff to add their knowledge to the wiki or del.icio.us links. Staff would have to do this out of office hours in their free time which is not conducive to having the majority of the staff participate.
---
Kelly, W. (2009). Corporate culture, not technology, drives internal collaboration. Retrieved from http://gigaom.com/collaboration/corporate-culture-not-technology-drives-online-collaboration/.
Wilding, G. AskNow's del.icio.us useful resources. Retrieved from http://www.nla.gov.au/pub/gateways/issues/91/story01.html.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Marketing Critique of San Francisco Public Library
Marketing Critique of San Francisco Public Library
The San Francisco Public Library system is comprised of numerous branches. These branches allow the SFPL to serve a large population and, similarly, their online presence allows for an even greater patronage.
What is the library doing to market themselves online?
The SFPL markets itself online through its main website, a Twitter page, a Facebook page, numerous blogs, and podcasts and videos of library programs. The main SFPL website is clean cut, informative, and eye-catching. Its Library Highlights section allows for patrons to browse through numerous events in a visual manner, while the library services, events, and hours are clearly stated and navigable. The library catalog itself is highly reminiscent of an Internet information search that blends into the layout of the rest of the main website.
The library’s Teen and Children’s pages are designed in a specialized fashion that targets their intended audience and shows an attention to detail and design. While the Kid’s website could be confusing to navigate to some, that the hyperlinks are incorporated into the actual background design is reminiscent of wallpaper in a child’s room and was most likely designed with that in mind. In comparison, the Teen website is clean cut and almost too simple, with few images or interactive elements that teens may appreciate, such as a scrolling message feed, chat features, or simply images of the latest movies or CDs.
SFPL’s Twitter page is active almost daily, providing important information on events and programs to its 1,366 followers. The language and jargon used is casual and avoids the formally polite phrasing of many librarians who use social media tools. The Twitter page does not, however, contain many conversations with or responses to patrons.
Similarly, the library’s Facebook page is often updated and has numerous comments and “likes” to each announcement. It has a staggering 6,379 likes. What stood out was the amount of Information on SFPL, which also includes a “status” of whether the library is open or not. The Facebook page’s Discussion section is a good attempt at creating conversation between patrons but has not been updated for months. The Poll section is important tool in order to receive patron feedback in a manner that is easy to both receive and provide. The Library’s Teen Services Facebook page makes many announcements which are image heavy but they do not update daily and only have 132 likes. What catches the eye the most is the photography folder of Teen Librarians, which consists of cartoon drawings of the SFPL’s young adult librarians. For the patrons who interact with these librarians, it must be fun to associate and recognize their favorite staff members.
The number of blogs published by the SFPL staff are numerous (21 in total), with the majority being specific branch blogs and only a handful consisting of specific subject blogs such as the Filipino American Center Blog and LGBT Resources Blog. While having so many blogs is rather staggering and looks good as a whole, they may not be updated as often due to spreading the staff so thinly between 21 blogs. Instead, they could have had a main blog for the entire system, including branch-related announcements (perhaps with accompanying photographs or caricatures to identify the branch) and events with separate subject-related blogs.
The SFPL also has a number of podcasts and videos of the events that occur at the branches, such as author visits, book readings, and branch openings. The podcasts revolve around book readings and panel discussions.
What are they doing right in their marketing efforts?
The SFPL system is reaching out through multiple social media tools as well as through its traditional website and media collection. The Kids’ library page especially shows that the library is marketing towards its youth population through the design of the website and the interactivity, even in the main categories that it chooses to embed into the front page.
Both Facebook and Twitter provide information in a timely and easy-to-access manner as well as provide a professional and modern face of the library online. Similarly, the blogs discuss interesting and important aspects of modern life, targeting audiences that may need extra support or information or even stories about people who are experiencing the same issues.
Providing specialized and targeted information is what the SFPL system is doing extremely well, in that their blogs and their Facebook pages target specific audiences and cater the announcements and news to them. This is especially important for those of differing generations who may digest and search for information in different ways. For example, the teen Facebook page is designed differently than the SFPL main Facebook page, in that it is more graphic heavy with briefer announcements.
Where are they falling short?
While the SFPL system does reach out with social media tools, it does not appear to be creating much conversation with its patrons, current or future. One of the greatest strengths of social media tools like Facebook and Twitter, let alone blogs, is to create conversation and dialog between patrons and library staff, or even patrons and other patrons. Conversation can also include comments, which the Facebook page does have, but the Twitter page seems to lack. For a previous research paper, the American Eagle Outfitters Twitter page was researched and there were many tweets along the lines of “@customer: Those jeans look great!” or “@customer: I agree with you regarding that event.” While they may appear banal messages, it shows interaction between staff and customers in a manner that is conversational and sounds like dialog between individuals in a face-to-face encounter.
The blog effort, as previously mentioned, could be condensed into fewer but more often updated blogs. Keeping a high level of activity, which includes keeping up-to-date with recent vents in the world and respective communities is especially important to a library that serves such a broad populace.
What do you think of their branding efforts? Have they build a strong and consistent brand online?
While the SFPL does have a few items that they could work on in order to strengthen their online branding efforts, what they do have at the moment is a strong and consistent foundation for its brand name. With the Facebook and Twitter pages already up and running, it is only a simple step to improve their outreach and marketing. Their blogs provide a human voice of their staff along with the extremely humanized (through caricatures) teen librarian population. By making their staff identifiable through blog posts and rosters, SFPL shows the diversity of their members as well as the population they serve.
If the library hired you as a social media marketing consultant, what would you suggest to them?
If hired as a social media marketing consultant for the SFPL system, I would firstly congratulate them on their outreach thus far and state their previous accomplishments. Then I would recommend a redesign of their Teen website in order to make it as individual and eye-catching as the Kids page. Providing a Teen Facebook page does not allow the website page to be less impacting.
Regarding the Facebook and Twitter pages, I would attempt to increase conversation between patrons and staff members either by increasing the number of Discussion threads or polls, as well as changing the tone of the announcements into one that prompts response. Questions such as whether or not the patrons enjoyed the finished event and would want more of the same type or if the patrons enjoyed reading / watching / listening the newest release of a book / DVD / CD. In Twitter, I would prompt proactive interactions with patrons, either through searching for people discussing libraries or asking for events that the SFPL sponsors. Tweeting directly to these people creates conversation and shows that the library is fine with open and direct dialog. By doing this, it shows that anybody could Tweet the library and get a response, which opens up the option of the SFPL’s Twitter account as another reference source. This could, however, cause the Twitter page to become deluged so it would be important to create a balance between announcements and discussion in order to ensure that the announcements continue at the same pace.
Prompting patrons to submit media and ensure a Web 2.0 experience is important, especially in trying to make the library’s online presence more than just the online face of the library. Making announcements about library events is not enough. If enough communication occurs between patrons and staff and the patrons themselves, the library can become a hub of the community both online and offline.
The San Francisco Public Library system is comprised of numerous branches. These branches allow the SFPL to serve a large population and, similarly, their online presence allows for an even greater patronage.
What is the library doing to market themselves online?
The SFPL markets itself online through its main website, a Twitter page, a Facebook page, numerous blogs, and podcasts and videos of library programs. The main SFPL website is clean cut, informative, and eye-catching. Its Library Highlights section allows for patrons to browse through numerous events in a visual manner, while the library services, events, and hours are clearly stated and navigable. The library catalog itself is highly reminiscent of an Internet information search that blends into the layout of the rest of the main website.
The library’s Teen and Children’s pages are designed in a specialized fashion that targets their intended audience and shows an attention to detail and design. While the Kid’s website could be confusing to navigate to some, that the hyperlinks are incorporated into the actual background design is reminiscent of wallpaper in a child’s room and was most likely designed with that in mind. In comparison, the Teen website is clean cut and almost too simple, with few images or interactive elements that teens may appreciate, such as a scrolling message feed, chat features, or simply images of the latest movies or CDs.
SFPL’s Twitter page is active almost daily, providing important information on events and programs to its 1,366 followers. The language and jargon used is casual and avoids the formally polite phrasing of many librarians who use social media tools. The Twitter page does not, however, contain many conversations with or responses to patrons.
Similarly, the library’s Facebook page is often updated and has numerous comments and “likes” to each announcement. It has a staggering 6,379 likes. What stood out was the amount of Information on SFPL, which also includes a “status” of whether the library is open or not. The Facebook page’s Discussion section is a good attempt at creating conversation between patrons but has not been updated for months. The Poll section is important tool in order to receive patron feedback in a manner that is easy to both receive and provide. The Library’s Teen Services Facebook page makes many announcements which are image heavy but they do not update daily and only have 132 likes. What catches the eye the most is the photography folder of Teen Librarians, which consists of cartoon drawings of the SFPL’s young adult librarians. For the patrons who interact with these librarians, it must be fun to associate and recognize their favorite staff members.
The number of blogs published by the SFPL staff are numerous (21 in total), with the majority being specific branch blogs and only a handful consisting of specific subject blogs such as the Filipino American Center Blog and LGBT Resources Blog. While having so many blogs is rather staggering and looks good as a whole, they may not be updated as often due to spreading the staff so thinly between 21 blogs. Instead, they could have had a main blog for the entire system, including branch-related announcements (perhaps with accompanying photographs or caricatures to identify the branch) and events with separate subject-related blogs.
The SFPL also has a number of podcasts and videos of the events that occur at the branches, such as author visits, book readings, and branch openings. The podcasts revolve around book readings and panel discussions.
What are they doing right in their marketing efforts?
The SFPL system is reaching out through multiple social media tools as well as through its traditional website and media collection. The Kids’ library page especially shows that the library is marketing towards its youth population through the design of the website and the interactivity, even in the main categories that it chooses to embed into the front page.
Both Facebook and Twitter provide information in a timely and easy-to-access manner as well as provide a professional and modern face of the library online. Similarly, the blogs discuss interesting and important aspects of modern life, targeting audiences that may need extra support or information or even stories about people who are experiencing the same issues.
Providing specialized and targeted information is what the SFPL system is doing extremely well, in that their blogs and their Facebook pages target specific audiences and cater the announcements and news to them. This is especially important for those of differing generations who may digest and search for information in different ways. For example, the teen Facebook page is designed differently than the SFPL main Facebook page, in that it is more graphic heavy with briefer announcements.
Where are they falling short?
While the SFPL system does reach out with social media tools, it does not appear to be creating much conversation with its patrons, current or future. One of the greatest strengths of social media tools like Facebook and Twitter, let alone blogs, is to create conversation and dialog between patrons and library staff, or even patrons and other patrons. Conversation can also include comments, which the Facebook page does have, but the Twitter page seems to lack. For a previous research paper, the American Eagle Outfitters Twitter page was researched and there were many tweets along the lines of “@customer: Those jeans look great!” or “@customer: I agree with you regarding that event.” While they may appear banal messages, it shows interaction between staff and customers in a manner that is conversational and sounds like dialog between individuals in a face-to-face encounter.
The blog effort, as previously mentioned, could be condensed into fewer but more often updated blogs. Keeping a high level of activity, which includes keeping up-to-date with recent vents in the world and respective communities is especially important to a library that serves such a broad populace.
What do you think of their branding efforts? Have they build a strong and consistent brand online?
While the SFPL does have a few items that they could work on in order to strengthen their online branding efforts, what they do have at the moment is a strong and consistent foundation for its brand name. With the Facebook and Twitter pages already up and running, it is only a simple step to improve their outreach and marketing. Their blogs provide a human voice of their staff along with the extremely humanized (through caricatures) teen librarian population. By making their staff identifiable through blog posts and rosters, SFPL shows the diversity of their members as well as the population they serve.
If the library hired you as a social media marketing consultant, what would you suggest to them?
If hired as a social media marketing consultant for the SFPL system, I would firstly congratulate them on their outreach thus far and state their previous accomplishments. Then I would recommend a redesign of their Teen website in order to make it as individual and eye-catching as the Kids page. Providing a Teen Facebook page does not allow the website page to be less impacting.
Regarding the Facebook and Twitter pages, I would attempt to increase conversation between patrons and staff members either by increasing the number of Discussion threads or polls, as well as changing the tone of the announcements into one that prompts response. Questions such as whether or not the patrons enjoyed the finished event and would want more of the same type or if the patrons enjoyed reading / watching / listening the newest release of a book / DVD / CD. In Twitter, I would prompt proactive interactions with patrons, either through searching for people discussing libraries or asking for events that the SFPL sponsors. Tweeting directly to these people creates conversation and shows that the library is fine with open and direct dialog. By doing this, it shows that anybody could Tweet the library and get a response, which opens up the option of the SFPL’s Twitter account as another reference source. This could, however, cause the Twitter page to become deluged so it would be important to create a balance between announcements and discussion in order to ensure that the announcements continue at the same pace.
Prompting patrons to submit media and ensure a Web 2.0 experience is important, especially in trying to make the library’s online presence more than just the online face of the library. Making announcements about library events is not enough. If enough communication occurs between patrons and staff and the patrons themselves, the library can become a hub of the community both online and offline.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Tagging Content
What are some of the weaknesses of tagging for making content more findable?
While tagging content in order to make it more findable does seem like a good idea, especially with the advent of and overarching Facebook photograph "tags" mindset, there are some problems that can turn up when tagging is not monitored. One of the main weaknesses of tagging is that of jargon and word choice, in that there are so many different words that could be used to describe one single item. For example, if someone finds an article on the usefulness of social networking tools in libraries and tags it under "Facebook," someone who searches for "social networking tools" may not find it. Similarly, instead of using a too-specific tag, an overly general tag could also result in missed search results. Because there are so many possible word choices for items, it is possible to not be able to find what you are looking for or only find a limited amount of search results.
Another weakness of tagging is that individuals could mis-tag items either through misidentification or in an attempt to attract attention. While malicious tagging could be easily monitored by an active community, quite like malicious editing of open-wikis, misidentification could cause more problems as it would require more time to identify that it is indeed incorrect and to correctly identify it.
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