:Librashley

First of all, let me say that I’ve had a great time reading all of your blogs this term: it was great to see people’s different opinions about various social media tools. Thank you, also, to everyone who has been commenting on my posts. I really loved the thoughtful feedback that you all left each week! Congratulations to those of you, like me, who are in their final term at FIMS. I can’t believe that after I finish my last couple of assignments my time here will be done! To those of you who still have time left: hang it there(!) & I hope you get some great courses next term.

Without further ado, here are my concluding thoughts…

Change of heart?

I don’t really think my view of social software has changed that much. I’m kind of a social software junkie, so I’ve been appreciating its usefulness for a while now. However, perhaps my perception of what social software can do has been broadened. I do have more awareness of what is out there, and the potential that exists for it.

Favourite tools

I really like blogs, but I think they can have a bit of a niche audience aspect to them. You would really have to clue in to who is visiting your site and what they want to read for a blog to be successful and worth the effort it takes. But if you can? Then I think some library magic can occur.

One of the really easy ways libraries can be interactive with their website content is through mashups, whether it be creating a unique RSS feed, adding widgets to their site, etc.

I think Twitter is a simple way to connect with patrons. I’ve sort of had a drawn out epiphany over the past week or so, as I’ve been following LPL on Twitter (@londonlibrary), and I’ve seen how while they do promote library events and news, they also really act as the community hub they profess to be. I have to say it kind of warmed my geeky librarian heart as I saw LPL tweeting about community events – things that matter to the city. I felt really positive about the library, seeing them act out that value and mission statement that I’ve so analyzed in other classes.

I kind of dug all the tools we looked at, though I think they have some very different uses. For instance, I see wikis working very well as an internal staff hub, but for the public? Not so much. All of the mobile web stuff makes me a bit nervous when you look at it from the haves versus have-nots angle of things, but I can still see its usefulness, especially in academic libraries.

Distance Ed.

This distance course experience has been pretty cool… I’ve taken online courses before, through Fanshawe, but it was a very different experience (very little interaction between people; mostly just submitting your assignments online). I hated the fact that I couldn’t come to any of the weekly chats (night classes!), but despite that fact I felt like we did create our own online community over the past 14 weeks. I know it was required, but it was cool to see everyone’s comments on people’s posts, and see conversations happen in that way. The fact that we so easily adapted to this type of communication proves, I think, that social software can work in libraries.

Summary

This course has been interesting and eye opening in some ways. I really wanted to see how social software could be used in libraries, and what types of things are happening out there in the field, and I got to experience that, through reading the articles and viewing the case studies. The case studies were definitely one of the coolest parts of the course: seeing what other libraries are doing, seeing what to aspire to and what to avoid doing. I appreciated analyzing these tools in a library context, rather than just viewing them as things I use for my book blog or for pleasure. I think that all the information we’ve been presented with is great, and there are definitely some articles and thoughts I want to hold on to and show to people who are skeptical about libraries using social software. What I’ve affirmed throughout this course is that social media and libraries are not an automatic fit. But if you can see a use for one (or more) of these tools? Don’t be afraid to use them, because you just may be able to reach a whole new patron group for your library, or connect to your current users in a whole new way.

Thanks for reading, everyone! This has definitely been an interesting and fun course. =)

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http://www.twitter.com/CamelotTeens

Introduction

For my final project I decided to create a prototype of a library service on Twitter. This library account is aimed at teens (ages 12 – 18), and is based on the fictional Camelot Public Library (CPL), a library system with 6 branches in a midsized Canadian city.

Right after our project proposals were due, I discovered that the group project in Week 9 aimed to do pretty much the same thing, so I hope to add to and complement the work they have done.

I decided to focus on teenagers for this Twitter account because I have a deep interest in youth services. I feel like teens are increasingly being recognized as an important part of the library, but the growth in this direction is slow. There is still a huge stigma around being a teenager, and teens are often ignored in libraries. In creating this Twitter account I have attempted to promote teen services in the public library and show how teens should feel like the library is a place for them as well.

Why Twitter?

I believe that Twitter is a great way for libraries to communicate, yet many people seem wary of it. Hopefully the creation of @CamelotTeens and this post will address some of the issues that people have with Twitter. Twitter is the perfect tool for libraries because it is easy, simple, and quick. It allows librarians to connect with patrons cheaply and more regularly than ever before. Clearly Twitter is not the answer for every library, but in Camelot Public Library’s case, Twitter was a good option because they are in an urban area, with a good number of people online.

Because Twitter is web-based, it is easily accessible wherever you’re online, whether from a desktop computer, a laptop, or a smart phone. According to a PEW study, 75% of teens own a cell phone (source), and a quarter of those teens say that they use their phone to go online (source). These factors allow for relatively easy mobile access of Twitter by this age group. @CamelotTeens can easily reach out to teens who might not usually feel like the library is for them and/or who do not normally visit the library in person.

Through following, @ replying, and even chatting through hashtags, simply using Twitter can create an online community. Participation in this type of community can also be anonymous, so if a teen has a comment or question about the library (or even about other issues, like school or health) they can ask without feeling singled out or nervous. Though this anonymity might make some librarians nervous, it will likely benefit the creation of an open dialogue between librarians and teen patrons. These types of online exchanges may even translate to in-person communication if teens start feeling connected to the library.

Promoting, Maintaining, & Good Practices

Promoting

One fear is that this Twitter account may not receive the type of audience that merits the time spent keeping the account updated. Earlier this year there was a report from PEW which indicated that teens are not Tweeting (source). This type of report is concerning, and it is something to consider. However, from using Twitter for my book blog I know that there are a lot of teens out there using Twitter. Just look at the amount of times that something to do with Justin Bieber is a trending topic. I’m sure there are people of all ages who are fans of Justin Bieber, but it is likely that preteen and teenage girls make up the majority of his fanbase. Therefore, there are definitely teens using Twitter. Whether this is a large percentage or not is still unclear, but connecting Twitter-using teens to the library in this easy way could be very rewarding.

With this in mind, it is clear that some sort of strategy needs to be in place to promote @CamelotTeens and get people using it. CPL will place a widget on the teen page of their library website so that anyone who visits the teen section will see the Twitter feed’s latest updates. Promotion of the Twitter account will occur on the website, on CPL’s Facebook page, and in-branch. There will be signs announcing the Twitter account in the teen area of each branch, as well as on the library’s announcement bulletin board. The @CamelotTeens name will also be added to any literature that goes out about teen services or the collection, such as bookmarks, brochures, event posters, et cetera. CPL will also sync the tweets from @CamelotTeens to their Facebook page so that non-twitter users can see the content, and be more aware of what is being posted.

Maintaining

It would be nearly impossible for one person to keep up the Twitter account by themselves, so tweeting for @CamelotTeens will be the primary responsibility of the three teen librarians who decided to start the account. These teen librarians will take turns generating content for the account, though any other CPL librarian can post an item at any time. Any staff member (from library assistants to pages) will be welcome to forward interesting links by email or tweet it at the library for them to post or RT (retweet). CPL will be sure to continue finding relevant and interesting people to follow, so that they can RT links or information to their followers. This information will be useful, fun, or both, and RTs help to create content for the feed. Making tweeting a shared responsibility will help make this easy service even easier.

Good Practices

I’ve labeled this section “good practices” instead of “best,” because I don’t think it’s possible yet to have best practices, as I don’t think there have been any concrete studies done on this topic. A lot of the communication on Twitter simply requires common sense and keeping your patrons’ needs in mind. With this in mind, one good practice CPL has adopted is to make sure that there is a new tweet from their account at LEAST every three days. This will ensure that teens remain engaged with the library and see it as a current place. The tone of librarians on Twitter should remain professional when representing their library, however there needs to be some personality to your Tweets or no one will want to follow you.

One good practice that has come to my attention is “Twitter Search.” This feature of Twitter allows you to search for a certain word that has been posted within a certain radius of a location, and even subscribe to an RSS feed for the search. This allows you to reach out by @message to people in your area who have mentioned the word “library,” for example. Is it ethical to contact people randomly like this? If you’re over-zealous and spamming people, then no – you’re likely to get a bad reputation for the library if you do this. But if you’re conscientious about the information you’re putting out there, I believe contacting people directly is a great way to communicate. If people want to ignore your tweet to them, they can do so easily.

Another best practice has to do with privacy. It’s pretty simple: try and make patrons aware that your conversations are public record. Perhaps you should create a social media policy for your library that involves something like this. Besides that, it again comes down to using common sense. If a conversation on Twitter becomes too personal in nature you can direct the patron to email you directly about that issue, problem, et cetera. This is especially recommended if there are complaints or negative remarks about the library. It’s good to encourage an open dialogue, and to allow users to contact you in a more thorough way.

Conclusion

Coming up with this prototype was a lot more difficult than I initially anticipated. When you’re using Twitter for fun, you can pretty much post whatever you want, but representing an institution brings a whole new set of challenges. You need to make sure what you’re posting is appropriate and hope that mention of certain books or movies doesn’t offend anyone who is reading the feed. It was also difficult to try and think about what types of links were good to post, and whether teens would find them interesting. I think if you were tweeting as a librarian in real life it would be much easier, because you’re in the situation already and you know what types of programs are coming up, and what things the library most wants to promote. It’s clear to me now that it’s a lot harder to promote programs in 140 characters than it is to just chat with friends or post about your day, though it is doable. In a way, I liked the tweets I had to shorten to 140 characters more after I re-worded them than I did before. When you’re stuck with a character limit you’re forced to be concise and informative.

If anything, I feel more confident now about the library’s use of Twitter. I think that if libraries can build up a good-sized following, they can do a lot of good informing teens (or even adults) about what the library has to offer them. Through the tweets I have posted on @CamelotTeens I have promoted specific programs, promoted the collection, promoted the library in general, and have tried to connect with teens. You will see that I have used my book blog Twitter account (@BookLabyrinth) to interact with the Camelot Public Library and emulate a patron/librarian exchange.

I do believe that Twitter and social networking sites can create online communities and educate people about the library, even changing people’s opinions about the library. These online communities can also bring people into your real life community centre, whether it be from the promotion of a program or just by providing information about the library in general. If you’re willing to put aside a little bit of time to build up your online presence, your library will surely benefit.

Check out the CPL Twitter prototype: @CamelotTeens

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Hello everyone!

I’m going to be taking my 2nd blog holiday this week.

Hope you’re all hanging in there with assignments and the like! =)

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I thought it would be easier to break up my case study responses into a different post again this week, since I’m all for keeping things simple and readable.

The City of Seattle blogging policy is the type of policy that makes me go “ack!”… I mean, who, besides the people writing it (and possibly the people blogging for the city) would read that?? It’s so long, and from what I read of it (no, I did not actually read the whole thing), it looks really boring and jargon-ese with “blog” in quotation marks. Blech!

Multnomah County’s policy for users is a lot more manageable. I like that they have a definition of social software, and while “Rules for commenting” is a bit daunting, at least they’re trying to protect their users (and themselves) in a simple way.

I have to say, I like DePaul’s approach. Their front section is simple and easy to read through, and the links take people to the next applicable section. It’s all about providing important information in a useful way, and I think putting it all on one page would have been a mistake. I really like that they broke it up in a simple way like that, and even the click-through pages are broken up nicely with use of colour and bolding.

One thing I don’t get that I saw in several of these policies is that “off topic” comments would be deleted. In some ways I think this is counter-intuitive to the whole “create a community” aspect of social media. I can understand deleting offensive comments and things that are clearly spam, but who decides what “off topic” means? What if someone is new to social media and they don’t know where to post a comment or concern? Are you going to ignore this person and delete their comment just because it doesn’t exactly correlate with the post it’s posted on? What if a post’s topic reminds the user of something of a different topic and they post about it in response? Is this off-topic? Are you going to remove their response? This doesn’t really sit right with me, and I guess it’s something to think about.

Overall, I like to see short and simple policies that provide meaningful information for people.

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Assessment

It’s clear to me that assessment is necessary when it comes to social media. When it comes down to it, I think when you consider the ease of use in social media and how flexible it is, it makes sense to jump into it. But when I think assessment is necessary is the time once you’ve jumped into social media and are asking the question: “What now?”. Once you’ve put your best efforts forward, it’s important to see what’s working and what isn’t. Social media is all about connecting with users and creating an online community, so there’s no point in putting hours of effort each week into something that isn’t getting any response. This doesn’t mean that what you’ve done/created is useless, but maybe you need to approach it from a different angle or promote it in a different way. These are the things that assessment will tell you. It’s so important to find out what your patrons like, and see what they’re responding to, because all these efforts are to promote your services to them and get feedback from them in return.

Site analytics and the built-in features of many of the web 2.0 tools (e.g. Likes, Friends, Followers, Comments) are great ways to see who is engaging with your efforts, and which posts, links, etc. are getting the most hits. Before watching the slide show today I would never have thought to do a usability test for a social media profile, but I think it makes sense… it would be great to do a survey or interview that incorporated usability testing into it, to see if what you’re doing makes sense, and if it’s interesting to your patrons.

Policies

I’m generally not a policy person. I tend to roll my eyes at policies, because so often they seem ridiculously obvious and yet restrictive and bureaucratic at the same time. However, I can appreciate the need for policy. Without policy, there would probably be anarchy in a lot of areas, so I agree with Sharlyn Lauby who said that social media is just a different form of media: an extension of what is already happening in businesses. If this is the case, then it’s clear that some kind of policy needs to be put into place. Social media is just a new way of communicating with patrons, so if you have policies regarding how you interact with patrons in person, then a social media policy simply makes sense.

Jami Haskell mentioned that when developing a policy, his library wanted to “address appropriate use as well as provide guidelines for content moderation.” While going too far in these areas might create a policy that isn’t helpful for anyone, I think these are important things to address. When creating a social media policy I think that Sharlyn Lauby’s “10 Must-Haves…” article would probably be of great use. It contains a lot of the things we’ve been talking about since the beginning of the course, including the ideas of authenticity and community.

Conclusion

Things like policies, missions, visions, etc. can take a lot of time to write. They’re complicated to figure out, but I think they’re worth it in the end. If you can provide something simple and readable for patrons and staff, you’re doing a good job. Policies are useful when they’re presented with thoughtfulness as guidelines, instead of strict rules.

Assessment, too, obviously has an important place in libraries. If you’re assessing programs and other services the library is offering, then it only makes sense to consider what social media is doing for your library as well. You’ll never be able to offer the best experience to your users without stopping to ask them their opinions.

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Can you guys believe that it’s week 11 already? I know I can’t! It’s insane to think that in 4 weeks the term will be done, and I, along with several others of you, will be done the MLIS program!

Introductory Thoughts –

I’ve been looking forward to this RSS/mashups week, because it was one of the things I wanted to learn about at the beginning of the course. I’ve been using Google Reader to keep up with blogs and sites for a couple of years now, and I LOVE it, but I really didn’t know how RSS could be used in libraries. When I  to began to understand what mashups are, and how RSS technology is used in many different ways besides just using a reader to aggregate content, I also began to see the value of this tool in libraries.

For a basic introduction of what RSS is and what it can be used for, I thought the 7 Things You Should Know about RSS article did a good job. I like how these “7 Things…” articles give practical case study-like example at the beginning, and then go into the specifics of the tool.

Melissa Rethlefsen’s screencast gave some good ideas about how RSS/mashups can be used in libraries, and because this video goes through direct steps about how to use some of the programs/tools, I think it could be a good practical tutorial for those wishing to use this technology.

Case Studies –

I want to like the Dublin City PL’s portal, because in a lot of ways I think it provides really good content. My problem with it is that it’s so busy… there’s almost too much information, and I find it hard to concentrate on. I feel like you have to look at every section to find what you want, because it’s not quite self-explanatory. Does that make sense? I like the model of what they’ve done, but by cleaning it up a little I think it could be even better.

It doesn’t surprise me that Hennepin County PL has used RSS so freely. I’m pretty sure this would be an awesome place to work, because they use all kinds of cool technology, and seem to be successful at it. While this initial RSS page is kind of an eye sore, the content itself and the idea are great. I like how they’ve created RSS feeds for practically everything under the sun, and explain in simple terms how to use the technology for those who may not be sure.

What Cambridge PL has done with their Hot Titles Carousel is interesting. It takes that marketing/branding concept to a different level online, and creates a new and different way of browsing. I like it!

Conclusion –

One idea that I had for libraries to use RSS, which Hennepin County PL actually does, is to create feeds for different subjects. This might work best in an academic library, but public libraries could take advantage of it as well. It would be great to point students or patrons to 1 source for history, music, or astronomy, and say “Here’s a collection of reputable web sources that will be updated automatically.” Again, I think a lot of public library users might not have any clue about what RSS is or what it can do for them. Introducing patrons to RSS in this way could be a great learning experience.

RSS is used in a lot of ways that I didn’t even consider… mashups allow websites to show updated content, whether it be about announcements, events, or to aggregate different blogs that your library has. Even widgets from sites like Goodreads or LibraryThing are using this technology, which I guess I knew, but I never thought about. When you consider this, there are a lot of simple ways you can use RSS to keep your library patrons up to date, whether it be about new acquisitions or about the events occurring at your library.

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Cloud Computing

Cloud computing seems like it could be quite useful on many different levels. I like the idea that Google Docs could be used in a library instead of having to worry about expensive licensing fees for Microsoft Office. I think a lot of people are probably unaware of what tools like Google Docs could do for them, and libraries could promote their use. I do worry about losing documents and what happens when the Internet goes down. That’s why it’s always important to have a back-up plan, whether you’re backing up your hard drive files online, or your online files on a hard drive. It all becomes a bit confusing, but I can see where promoting this type of technology could be useful for libraries… they could even keep documents like “how to” for APA, MLA, Chicago style formatting on a doc format, making it easy for patrons to access these things and save them to their own accounts. Google Docs might also be useful for librarians who are collaborating in a situation that requires something less formal than a Wiki.

Mobility

I feel sort of torn when I think of the mobile web and its application in libraries. One point which Rebecca made in her blog post, and that I was thinking about as well, is the digital divide. So what about the “mobile divide”? There are, of course, people who don’t even have a cell phone, let alone a smart phone. I’ve been fascinated with QR codes for a while now, and I think they’re quite cool and innovative… I never thought before about libraries using them, but I love the idea of using them to connect with item locations/call numbers. Even the example from the slideshow about having QR codes alongside a display with added value content is so innovative and awesome.

But what about those people who don’t have the mobile capabilities that these technologies require? I think it could lead to people feeling left out, like the library doesn’t have anything special to offer them, etc. That’s why I’m hesitant about mobile apps in the library. But when it comes down to it, I think you just need to keep in mind that web 2.0 shouldn’t be the whole focus of the library. It’s a great way to offer services and get people engaged, but you still need to think about the people who are actually coming into your physical library and engaging with you in person.

I think as long as this is kept in mind it’s okay to think “outside the box,” because there are some great ways smart phones can be used, as the discussion about augmented reality brings up. The DCPL iPhone app is one example of an extremely pragmatic way libraries can get involved. I think this would be especially useful in an academic library.

Conclusion?

Overall I think both these technologies are usable in libraries, but I’m not quite as enthusiastic about their uses as I am about some of the other 2.0 tools we’ve discussed so far. I do think that they’ll become more necessary as smart phones become more prominent and people continue to explore the Web in new and different ways. But I think libraries should probably master having a good website in general before worrying about the mobile web.

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Hi everyone! Hope your reading weeks were productive… mine was to an extent, but I am still finding the need to take a blog holiday. I look forward to blogging again next week. =)

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Generally, I am all for libraries being present on social networking sites. I think they can provide a lot of great opportunities for librarians to connect with patrons, as this week’s slideshow showed us. For me, whether a library should or should not be on a site like Facebook or Twitter comes down to the same thing I’ve been talking about since the beginning of the course. Is there a purpose for that social software use? Will the page be updated with meaningful content? If so, then I think the use of the tool is valid.

One discussion that kept popping up in the articles is privacy. Now, privacy is a very hot topic in libraries (rightly so), but I don’t think it’s quite as relevant to this particular conversation as people think. Should libraries be putting on workshops about privacy in online environments? Sure, it sounds like a good addition to regular computer classes. And should we monitor our social networking pages and remove any sensitive data people may have put in a public space? Yes, probably. But the fact is, if people want to be friends with or follow the library, they will. If they don’t want the library involved in their social networking experience, then they won’t do these things. It becomes the user’s choice whether they want to give the library access to their online space. So maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see the big deal about privacy in this context. Should we not do something which could potentially reach a lot of people just because a few people might be offended that the library wants to build this type of community? I, personally, don’t think so.

Perhaps I’m optimistic about libraries and social networking because through my book blogging I’ve heard of a few libraries doing a really good job engaging their patrons online, whether it be through advertising for events or hosting contests, etc. The Facebook page of Hennepin County Library is a good example of a library communicating with their patrons on a social networking site. They respond to their patrons, they pose questions, and they provide relevant and up to date information. This is a great use of social networking for libraries, because like Meredith Farkas states, “it’s what you do with it that matters.” Should you have a Facebook page just because it seems to be what other libraries are doing? No, of course not. As we’ve seen with other social technologies, it’s not at all useful to have some kind of profile and then leave it to die in the WWW graveyard — that just reflects poorly on your institution. It’s all about connecting and being open to feedback. Like this week’s slideshow and some of the articles suggest, make sure you’re open to feedback and be sure to create some points of debate within your posts. Let people suggest books to order right on Facebook, or ask your patrons what type of programs they’d like to see on Twitter. I have a feeling that if you advertise your social networking profiles widely and engage people in such a way, you could generate some good discussions. I even think that these these online encounters could translate into some meaningful in-person exchanges.

What are your thoughts about libraries building community through social networking? Do you agree with me, or am I way off base?

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Let me start this entry by saying that I looked at this week’s topic before the slide show was posted, and the first thing I did was to Google “folksonomy.” It turns out that I’m actually very interested in this subject, yet I had never heard it described that way. Wikipedia describes a folksonomy as “a system of classification derived from the practice and method of collaboratively creating and managing tags to annotate and categorize content.” In other words, a folksonomy is “collaborative tagging, social classification, social indexing, and social tagging.”

I’d like to share a passage with you; one which I found both powerful and interesting. It comes from Ellysa Kroski’s article:

The wisdom of crowds, the hive mind, and the collective intelligence are doing what heretofore only expert catalogers, information architects and website authors have done. They are categorizing and organizing the Internet and determining the user experience, and it’s working. No longer do the experts have the monopoly on this domain; in this new age users have been empowered to determine their own cataloging needs. Metadata is now in the realm of the Everyman.

I thought this statement was powerful, because to me it means open access, easier searching, more sharing, and many more really great things. But it also made me wonder… certainly there are some examples of social cataloguing which have worked. LibraryThing for Libraries, for example, seems to be a success, mostly because it draws data from all of LibraryThing’s users. Ann Arbor District Library, however, relies on data entry from their patrons. Generally, I am all for this. However, I wonder how useful a tag like “hermione granger” would be, outside of those people searching for all the books about that particular character (and if they were doing that, wouldn’t they search for “Harry Potter” instead?). I can see how OPACs with patron tagging and reviews are a huge bonus for helping readers’ advisory move online, and I even believe that they can be of great help when researching… but I also believe that these things are an added value.

Can consensus (or: a grassroots driven shared vocabulary) arise from collaborative tagging? I believe it can. Centralization of vocabulary does not have to come about from a strict classification scheme with controlled language. But there are a lot of times when this isn’t the case. Using different terms and language to describe the same thing can be wonderful, taking away the bias which strict classification schemes often impose. However, they can also be messy and complicated. That’s why, while I’m all for social classification, I don’t think that traditional cataloguing will stop any time soon. Controlled vocabulary can be stiff and difficult to search around, but it still provides some stability and hierarchy within library catalogues. When you mesh controlled descriptors/subject headings with tagging, I think something very interesting occurs. Maybe my opinion is too “on the fence,” but I think folksonomies can be amazing things, and they are especially useful for cataloguing on the web. If they are treated as an addition to traditional taxonomies, and added to traditional catalogues as a layer, patrons will be able to enjoy the freedom of natural language vocabulary and the wisdom of crowds, while still having access to a hierarchical, controlled way to search for information.

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