Library Revolution

OK, here’s another one I had read, nodded at in agreement, then forgotten about until Bloglines randomly spit it back out at me again.

It’s a post from Library Nation discussing the way the image of the library fits (or doesn’t fit) with our own self image. It references Seth Godin’s post on the way self image and being able to identify with a business or product heavily impacts on buying decisions. I love Seth Godin’s work, so I was really excited to see his comments discussed so nicely in a library-related blog!

Here’s the deal, folks. Libraries have a pretty big image problem. I think we all realize that. But I don’t think many librarians have a good sense of how deeply that image problem may be impacting the amount of “business” we’re getting from our customers.

It’s not just that the patrons coming in the door need to be better informed of what services we have to offer. It’s also that the community as a whole need to be presented with a better image of what the library is and how that can fit with who they are. That’s a much taller order.

Let me put it this way. Most of my friends and family are not library users. Why not? As a group, they are educated, intelligent people who read, watch movies, need and use information, enjoy educational and social activities, and don’t like spending a whole lot of their hard earned cash on these things. So why don’t we see them at the library?

Because libraries are for the poor, the old, and children.

At least, that’s the gut feeling a lot of the people I know, and it doesn’t fit with their own sense of personal identity.

Now before anyone jumps all over me for this, of course I don’t really think this is who libraries are for. And when the people I’m talking about actually think about it, they don’t really believe that either. But it’s the gut impression that many people get when libraries are mentioned – the impression some folks get when they are not thinking real hard about it. It’s an asset to the community as a whole, but not for me. They don’t envision themselves as library users, so they never get so far as to walk in the door and see what the place is really all about.

So what are we doing about it???

If you only read library blogs, think twice. One of my favorite categories of “non-library” blogs is the marketing blog. Marketing blogs give great insight into the psyche of our patrons and they always seem to clue me in to the ways that the business world is/can/should be tapping into their markets. Invaluable advice for libraries, IMO. I count 14 marketing blogs in my aggregator as of today. Tomorrow there will probably be more.

Take Drew’s Marketing Minute. If this post isn’t applicable to LibraryWorld, then I don’t know what is. Drew talks about the customer of the future and the likelihood (certainty??) that online social networking is here to stay! He asks the important question:

If the 17-34 year olds are already engaged in social media, do you suppose they’re going to unplug when they hit 35,40 or 50?

And he doesn’t even get into the possibilities for the generation after that! I mean, they’re starting ‘em really young these days…

So I have two very disjointed points:

1. Social Networking isn’t a fad that’s going to disappear next year. So how are we going to go about adapting library service  to appeal to a populace that loves their online networks? And how will we address their needs?

2. Read some marketing stuff today. You’ll be a better public servant and library professional for it.

I love the idea of a readers advisory blog for a public library. There are a lot of these blogs out there, and some of them really seem to have met with some success. One of our local libraries gave a presentation at the LILC about theirs – and I was mostly very impressed by what they have done. But there was one big thing that left me… well, puzzled.

The presenter kept referring to their strategy of using a single “corporate persona” on their blogs. In the case of their reader’s advisory blog, they had invented a young person named Hunter to be the voice of their blog. Every staff member contributing to the blog signs in and writes as Hunter.

The presenter explained her library’s justifications for adopting this strategy. She cited the necessity of creating a professional “feel” to the blog, as it was representing the organization. She spoke about the desire to present a consistent tone from post to post and throughout the blog, especially as a way to keep the readers from “getting confused.” She also cited the need for many staff members to be able to contribute (this one I simply didn’t get. How many blogs out there have multiple contributors???) They also seemed to have a lot of concerns about preserving the anonymity of the librarians.

I understand wanting to sound “professional” and the anxiety that may come from representing your organization in a public forum. We always want our organization to come across well in the public mind, especially when we’re talking about a high profile service based profession like ours. But I would be inclined to encourage contributing bloggers to follow a set of loose content guidelines in their posts and trust them in their own sense of professionalism.

One of the main strategies driving corporate blogging is the trend towards presenting organizations with more “human” faces. Blogging is a great way for companies to seem less corporate, less distant from customers, and to become more of something that the customers can identify with on a personal level. Companies are finding out that customers are looking to deal with “kinder, gentler” organizations with a certain level of transparency. Imagine that! People want to deal with other people, not just big, scary corporations!

This is a strategy that I think libraries could easily use, since most users already have some sort of personal connection or association with library use. So let’s take advantage of this connection and help it grow by letting our blogs take on real, authentic, human personalities our users can identify with. Maybe that means taking a true multi-user approach where contributors all have their own voices – an approach I really don’t think folks would find confusing at all, especially in the context of the larger blogosphere!

The part of the presentation that really didn’t sit well with me was the fact that the presenter kept referring to the idea (and I am definitely paraphrasing!) of keeping a level of anonymity for the blogging librarians, preventing those pesky patrons from bothering them because of the blog. This really bothered me, because I really firmly believe in blogging as a way to open lines of communication between libraries and patrons – crating the means for a conversation that goes both ways. Blogging, for me, is all about community building. It’s about reaching out to people who you hope will reach back. And encouraging them to reach back.

In order to do that, you need to be approachable. In fact, in order to be an effective public services librarian, you need to be approachable. Anonymous, in my opinion, is not approachable. It really doesn’t do much to encourage communication with your customers. Doesn’t the adoption of a single corporate persona bring us right back to the old newsletter/press release broadcast model of corporate communication – you know, the one where communication means talking to, but not necessarily with your customers?

I don’t want to sound like I am bashing the particular readers advisory blog being discussed at the conference. I think most of what they were doing with it was so terrific. And it’s obviously a success for them. I just wonder about this one aspect of the project, which is an aspect I see reflected in many “official” library blogs. Is a “corporate persona” the right way to go when trying to engage your customers? Could taking a different approach help a reasonably successful blog then become something remarkable? Could opening up communications help an already wonderful library (and this one is!) reach new heights in the hearts and minds of their community?

Many companies have found out the hard way that hiding behind a made up corporate persona when blogging not only doesn’t work as well as they thought it would, but they can even backfire. Required reading for any libraries considering organizational blogging: Naked Conversations.

Another great part of the “Electronic Communication” session at the LILC was Ellen Druda’s presentation on AIM Reference services (Hi Ellen, I know you’ll read this!).

Ellen talked about her library’s experimentation with providing a IM Reference service. This isn’t a new idea in LibraryLand by any means, but it is one that the public libraries of this area have been slow to embrace… or even to explore.

One of the really interesting points that she brought up was when she talked about the success they had when they handed out information about this new service in the local schools. I thought this was a great idea for reaching a demographic that will be likely to actually use this particular service.

Too often, I think libraries fall into the trap of treating their newsletter as the be-all and end-all of communication with their patrons. Of course, there are about a million things wrong with this assumption. Many people (like me!) throw out the newsletter with the rest of the junk mail (GASP!!!). Newsletters are not a good way to actually engage your patrons in a real conversation. Newsletters appeal only to a limited amount of your potential users… and probably only the ones who already use your library.

I don’t mean to bash on the newsletter. It’s a great way for libraries to reach some of their customers regarding some of their services. But we need to think outside the newsletter and not let our marketing efforts end there. What Ellen’s library really did right was to assess their new service, decide on a target population who was likely to make use of it, and aimed their marketing at this demographic. And it worked!

Another trap public libraries tend to fall into is trying to make all of their services “be everything to everyone.” All too often I see potential new library services/programs/initiatives get the axe before they even get started because it doesn’t appeal to a wide enough audience. Children’s programs are the big exception, of course. Nobody complains that the three-year-old storytime won’t appeal to 8-year-olds. Of course not – that program isn’t for them!!

If only we could take that attitude more and target some of our services towards some niche audiences – without ignoring the needs of those patrons to whom those services won’t appeal (a delicate balance we all deal with)? And without trying to make specialized services appeal to everyone? Sometimes great ideas get killed that way when the real essence of the project gets diluted in the name of appealing to a broader audience.

Ellen’s library didn’t sacrifice traditional reference services when implementing their new AIM service. And they didn’t try to foist it on people who were not interested in it – including disinterested staff members. They put the service in place for the patrons who wanted it, and then brought the service to selected portions of their potential users. And they got a great response!! Good for you! I hope this is a good example for other libraries thinking of implementing new services that might not appeal to everyone.

And the title of this post? Ellen commented on how often the get the question “Are you a robot or a real person?” LOL!

One of the great presentations I saw at the Long Island Library Conference yesterday was one showcasing Lindenhurst Library’s podcasting project, presented by director Peter Ward. I thought it was a great example of a library experimenting with the possibilities of becoming a content producer, not just a repository and access point. They use podcasts as a way to distribute library programming and create new audiences for library services, as well as reach out to the community in a unique way.

As a former musician, I was particularly intrigued by the chamber music they have recorded (performed by young, local musicians). This was a great example of how anyone can be a content creator these days… even if you’re not that good. J

I wonder if this general trend might mark a sort of renaissance for amateur musicians… Accomplished amateur musicians were really prevalent in the nineteenth century, and sort of faded into oblivion as access to music created by “real” (professional) performers became easier and easier. It became a case of music consumption being associated with recordings, which were expensive and difficult to make, produce, and disseminate. But recordings are easily consumed. Therefore, it was left to professionals to make the recordings so that everyone else could consume music… And the popularity of amateur music making declined steadily. I know it’s much more complex than that, but that’s the gist of how things went in the 20^th century.

(But I digress!)

Now media production is nearly as easy and access able as media consumption, and is certainly becoming more and more a part of the culture. So I wonder if the proficient amateur musician (or photographer, or filmmaker, etc. etc. etc) is staging a comeback. We are now all empowered to produce and disseminate content, rather than just consume it, and already we are seeing many examples out there of people getting really good at it.

So I think that we need to really think about the role libraries can play – or should play? – in this new age of the proficient amateur producer of content. And I think it’s important for us to think about the ways in which libraries themselves can fit in the role of content producer. Finally, I wonder what trends will develop when it comes to the issue of libraries possibly having a role in preserving this content down the road?

At Lindenhurst, the library is serving as a platform for disseminating user-generated content and is creating and disseminating content of their own making. They are building links in their community by podcasting information about the schools, local performances, and local interest content. Well done!

I was asked to recap the video posts I’ve put up over the past month. So here they are:

LR Film Festival Part I: No Cookies in the Library

LR Film Festival Part 2: Waste of “Time”

LR Film Festival Part 3: Shirlington Rocks!

LR Film Festival Part 4: No Book For You!

LR Film Festival Part 5: 24 hr book machine

LR Film Festival Part 6: 1946 Librarians

LR Film Festival Part 7: Thought and Searching

LR Film Festival Part 8: Short Pencils

LR Film Festival Part 9: RSS in Plain English

And one more for good luck:

I think there are some interesting lessons to be learned from all of these library-related videos… and from the many, amny other ones that are out there and that I love but didn’t post about. It’s so important to think about the way libraries and librarians are portrayed and how they portray themselves in the media. How are we being seen by our potential customers, and how does that impact of user expectations?

I’ve heard it said (by non-library professionals, mostly) that libraries have it made because everyone knows them and knows what they have to offer. I have to say, however, that making that assumption is a huge mistake. The image of “what a library is” is very strong, true. But how many of our potential customers really know what we have to offer? Talking to real people about this (both library users and non-users alike) might surprise you… I think that very few community members know what it is we do, what their expectations can be and what to demand of us.

… or costly, or even time consuming to create a web presence for your organization and its services. This is something I try to explain to librarians all of the time, and usually get a blank stare or a glazed over look in return.

Look, I know that the Internet is a big, bad place that can seem completely overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be if complicated isn’t what you need.

Seth Godin, (whose books and blogs I totally love) posted a very common sense approach to building a web presence for small local businesses. Read it.

Now, how can libraries put this sort of approach to work in promoting themselves and their services, programs, and so on? Come on, it’s not that great a stretch.

And the best part is that Seth’s suggestions are cheap, easy, and quick. So I don’t want to hear any excuses, OK?

There was an interesting post on the site DadLabs today. It’s a bit long, but the gist of it is that we parents put up with all sorts of crap in an effort to foster a sense of community in our kids.

Libraries talk a good game about being community centers, and in many ways, they are. But sometimes I think that libraries could do a little more to reach out to their communities… I’m not talking about regular outreach or publishing a newsletter, but really going out there and participating in the local community. And doing it in such a way that community members feel like they can participate in the library without going through a lot of crap. More community involvement and visibility can only be a good thing for patrons and the library alike, right?

Let me tell you a story. My husband, son and I recently attended a huge parade in my community. We had heard from our neighbors that this was THE event to be at, and they were right. The local paper reported the next day that more than 40,000 people attended, and that didn’t count all of the people actively participating in the 3-hour plus event (we left after 3 hours and it was still going strong as far as the eye could see!)

Who was there? Local businesses, 7 fire departments that I counted, the schools, local civic organizations, charity groups, musical groups, local politicians, regional politicians, and state politicians. Chuck Schumer was there, schmoozing with everyone he could shake hands with. The local media was out in force. It seemed like everyone who lived in the area was either in the parade or by the side of the road, where people were tailgating with big campers, picnicking, and socializing with their neighbors.

As someone new to the community, it really gave me a sense of belonging and I learned new things about the area where I live. (Who knew the Gyro Palace was so popular? I’ll have to try it!) We left the parade feeling like we had really been able to participate in something that gave us a sense of local identity, and it was great, especially for bringing that sense of community to our son.

But I left with one question: Where was the library?

I came upon this video via Tame The Web’s post about it. Awesome.

Here are the top 5 things I love about this video.

1. Community: So I only counted three times the word “community” was actually used… but it is obvious that this is a community center reflecting Shirlngton’s unique flavor.
2. Art: I love how the art, including the artistic design and architecture of the building is featured. Way to make the library matter as both a space and a place! I also love how the focus on art includes “state of the art!”
3. Technology: The only scene featuring heavy shots of books is more about technology and patron empowerment than it is about books and reading.
4. Activity: This is such an active video! Everything from the camera work to the bustle of the patrons portrays the library as a living, breathing entity – an exciting place to be part of!
5. Priorities: This video and its dissemination was obviously important to the library and its administrators. Time, effort, and money were put into it as a priority in publicizing the library, along with its new library and ongoing mission.