Library Revolution

I must say that it is pretty awesome to see so many laptops out here at CIL as folks are click-click-clicking away, blogging the sessions live. I know that I am going to be very thankful for these many posts as I try to organize my thoughts on the conference in the next couple of weeks, and for getting a little insight into the goings on during sessions I did not attend. So thank you very much to my live blogging colleagues!

But while I will be blogging this conference, I won’t be doing the live blogging thing. Why not? you might ask (and someone did this morning). Here are my reasons for putting it off until later… and it (mostly) has nothing to do with procrastination.

• I like to be light on my feet… and let’s face it, lugging around a laptop, no matter how small, could get pretty annoying. At least, it would for me. Plus, my laptop bag doesn’t coordinate well with my shoes.
• I love those little side conversations I have with the other session attendees, and I feel like I’d be missing out while focused on my computer. I definitely would have missed out on a great conversation this morning about marketing library services.
• Some might say I like the sound of my own voice a little to much. I like to interject my own comments, asides, tangential thoughts, and ramblings into the commentary I offer on programs I’ve attended. And I wouldn’t have enough time to give my unsolicited opinion if I were trying to do it all on the spot. I’d hat for everyone to miss out on that.
• Call me a slow processor. When a lot of information is thrown at me all at once, I like to take a little time to digest and review before commenting and editorializing.
• Plus, did I mention that my particular laptop isn’t very “fashion forward”?

So if you see me furiously taking notes this week, be assured that I’m jotting down all manner of facts, observations, asides and snarky comments so that I can later synthesize these into a little more of a coherent, well thought out product. For me, it’s more fun to do that… and it sure helps me write up conference reports for my boss in the end!

 Share

I bet she will.

I certainly read her post about the “Top three things that will make me read your blog.”

Her criteria in short:

 1. Give good head(line)

2. Name your blog well

3. Don’t update too often

Her advice is very practical: think about what you read if you’re going to write.

We all only have so many hours in a day, and only precious little of that time can be devoted to blog reading. Whether you’re writing on behalf of your organization, blogging a conference, talking about professional issues, or discussing your top American Idol picks, if you want people to take the time to read your posts, it’s worth thinking about why you read the blogs and posts that you do.

Of course, not everyone finds the same thing important. For me, the headline thing is really important. There is so much being written out there, that even among the blogs I really like and follow consistently, I usually only really read the items where the headline jumps out and grabs my attention. I’m  not as particular about the other criteria Jennifer lists… for me, I don’t really mind the “too many posts” thing so much, and while a good name might interest me at the beginning, it’s not necessarily going to make me a permanent reader.

For me, I guess my “What makes me reaad your blog” list goes something like this:

1. Grab me with the headlines! Like I said above, you could have the best content in the world, but if the headlines don’t draw me in, I may never know.

2. I love “scannable” posts.  If I can get the gist of what you’re saying with a quick scan, I’m more likely to read the whole thing. Bullet points rule!

3. Comments. An interesting discussion will always draw me in! So encourage comments and discussion as much as you can, even if it means being a bit of a troublemaker sometimes.

And, of course, one of my favorite resources for tips on how to blog effectively is Problogger. Check out their tips on effective blog writing and promotion as well as their excellent blogging blog. They definitely offer great tips and food for thought.

 Share

OK, OK. I posted earlier about a great post I read today on encouraging blog readers to subscribe. What was the great suggestion I got form the post? Where did I find the post?

It was from Problogger – here is the post.

The suggestion? Create a sense of anticipation on your blog.

The idea stems from a very practical question:

Why do People Subscribe to Feeds?

Problogger’s answers to this question?

“they think that the blog might produce content that they’ll want to know about at some point in the future…

…People will subscribe to your blog if they think that it will enhance their lives in some way in the foreseeable future.”

Which leads to another, perhaps more valuable question bloggers might want to ask themselves:

“instead of asking ‘how can I get people to subscribe to my blog’ a better question to ask is: ‘how can I convince people that I will write something tomorrow, next week or next month that they just can’t miss out on.’”

A sense of anticipation.

How can libraries create this on their blogs? How can they not only reach out to potential readers and library users, but also keep them coming back for more??

I am eagerly waiting for the followup posts on this topic – Problogger promises to follow this idea with some practical tips. How’s that for building anticipation??

 Share

I saw a great post today that discussed an element of blogging that really helps encourage readers to subscribe to a blog. This great suggestion is something simple to comprehend, but much harder to implement, especially in the case of library blogs. But it’s something really worth considering  - how would this work for library blogs?

What is this wonderful suggestion?

Where did I read it?

Perhaps I will tell you in an upcoming post…

 Share

One thing people ask me pretty often id how I find the time to “do it all.” Well, the short answer is that I don’t. None of us do. But I do put a lot of effort into making time for the important things. Which means prioritizing.

So during these last few weeks, I haven’t posted much… there were just too many other important things to take care of. Hopefully things wills start to calm down a little, now, though, and I’ll get to put blogging back on my “things to get done” list without going completely crazy.

To summarize what’s been going on with me, here are a few of the highlights of the last two weeks for me:

Long Island Economic Trends Forums: OK, so speaker Martin Cantor was a bit of a blatant name dropper (it was pretty funny, actually). But he gave a very interesting talk about the economic trends he sees on Long Island’s horizon. It wasn’t all doom and gloom, either. And the really important part, I think was that it was real food for thought in terms of where we can imagine libraries fitting in with the economic landscape of this area. Some of the reports he referenced can be found here.

Suffolk County YA Librarians meeting: This was the first time I’ve attended a YA librarian’s meeting (as I’m not a YA librarian), and it was so much fun! It was considerably more spirited than the meetings I’m accustomed to, including salsa music and mango chutney (thanks, Barbara!) I was there to do a presentation about some of the new and exciting OPAC features that are going to be introduced for the county soon (shhh… it’s top secret!). The feedback I got from this group was so positive and constructive, which made it such a pleasure. Plus, I’ve since heard from a number of the people who were at the meeting that day – folks who sought me out to work on other projects or ask questions they might otherwise not have asked. One of the great things about my job is that I get opportunities like this to connect with the folks out in our libraries. It’s fun when I get a chance to do that with new groups and people I didn’t know before!

Helene Blowers: Helene came to visit SCLS last week and gave two excellent presentations to the staff and directors of our libraries. I can not even begin to say how awesome it was to hear her speak… and even more awesome to hear the buzz that has resulted from those talks. Most awesome of all was the chance to meet Helene… I hope our paths cross again soon!

Sharon Cates-Williams: I also got a chance to hear the Suffolk County CIO and Commissioner of the Department of Information Technology speak about the WiFi Long Island project. I have to say I’ve been really skeptical about the whole project, both in terms of feasibility and sustainability. But her presentation sure did sound convincing. Maybe too good to be true… or is that just me being a cynic? Hey, if they can make it work, make it affordable, and keep it going, then I’m all for the idea.

Feedback: I love getting feedback on the projects I work on, and these last few weeks have been really great for that. Thanks to everyone who has been so great about giving me positive, constructive commentary, especially on the OPAC design I’ve been working so hard on. I love the feeling of getting somewhere… and often the best way to make progress is to get involved in a good feedback cycle.

Facebook app: After much playing around and with great thanks to everyone who helped me out on this one (especially Lou at SCLS and Graham at Reyerson University), the Suffolk County Catalog Search application for Facebook is now available. With over 43,000 members belonging to the Suffolk County network (not to mention all of the other networks Suffolk residents belong to!), I thought it would be a real shame not to have an app. So now we do, and folks are starting to add it to their profiles…

So that’s some of the stuff I’ve been doing. And, of course, there’s work. You know, the regular day-to day stuff that you do all the time, so it doesn’t seem to count… but it has to because it takes up all of your time. And there’s the whole sick toddler screaming his lungs out because his ear hurts and he wants to play with the toaster and I’m the meanest Mommy ever and where is Daddy??? And of course, the Holidays, which means shopping, errands and ten million office parties. Plus that whole birthday thing.

Well, hopefully things will calm down a little in the next few weeks, and my priorities will get another chance to shift. I’m well overdue for a good rant.

 Share

I saw this tool on several blogs, so I thought I’d try it out on my blog and find out the reading level I’m writing at.

Actually, I’m pretty pleased with this. As a former writing teacher who has long tried to hone my writing style, there is one thing that I have definitely learned. The simpler the language, the “tighter” I can make my pieces, the better my writing is. Pare it down whenever possible.

 Share

Copyblogger had an interesting post yesterday about indirect selling. (Read the article!) The main idea is that blogs promoting products and services (such as your library’s blog) are the most effective if they aren’t always in heavy sales mode. As the article points out,

“…if you spend all your time relentlessly pitching your wares, you’ll find that you alienate a good portion of your prospective audience.”

Using a set of “prospect awareness categories” first introduced back in 1966, the article gives some  sound advice and strategies for reaching different parts of your readership and “sell” your business (or library) to them in a more subtle way. I thought this was an approach that lent itself particularly nicely to public library bloggers, who often grapple with the challenges associated with communicating with a widely diverse potential audience.

The bottom line, though?

“The blogs that attract audiences in the first place offer valuable content—it’s as simple as that. While pitching relentlessly from your blog may work for a limited group of Internet marketing types, it likely will ruin your blogging effectiveness for most businesses.”

Got that? Offer valuable content. Maybe that’s easier said than done (OK, definitely that’s easier said than done!). But it’s key. If your blog isn’t worth reading, no one will read it. And that doesn’t convert your effort into use by your community of the services you’re trying to promote. Then it’s just all a big waste of time.

 Share

Check out this interesting list of “Good Reasons Not To Blog” (found via)

Here are some of my favorites (but be sure to peek at the full list):

(2) Is afraid of harsh or challenging comment posters, or discussion of real issues, i.e., blogocombat.

(5) Has no interesting stories to tell about how your products have solved problems for users, how your company got started, or lessons learned along the way.

(6) Is fearful of “losing control of the message” — which is probably a non-differentiating, feature-driven, “we-oriented” message that’s boring and alienating customers anyway.

(7) Has no need of media coverage by trade journalists who search blogs for news items, controversies, and emerging trends.

(8) Is not willing to spend a fair amount of time (several hours per week) writing blog posts, replying to comment posters, and contributing comments to other blogs relevant to your industry or audience.

(13) Believes in commanding and controlling, rather than engaging in conversations with the public.

(20) Cannot commit to being truthful, transparent, and trustworthy, by displaying corporate values and goals in a public forum.

Do any of these remind you of your library?

Then maybe you should stop wasting your time.

 Share

Thanks to Helene for posting about the National School Board Association’s report, CREATING & CONNECTING//Research and Guidelines on Online Social — and Educational — Networking.

What I find very interesting is just how much of the activity reported has to do with creation of content. Whether that’s blogging, uploading pictures or music, creating characters, sending suggestions and comments… whatever. This is an age group that is actively creating and disseminating content… That’s something we knew already. But It’s nice to see it in writing.

 Share

Can I even say how much I love the PLVD Director’s Blog?

What a thought provoking post (one of many great ones!) about the astounding changes we’re seeing in the information world and they way libraries fit in.

“Many librarians will argue that understanding and adapting to changing customer needs has always been a core part of what we do, and to some extent I agree. I also believe, however, that the shift in the relationship between people and information that is being driven by digital technologies is analogous not to the introduction of video cassettes but to the development of the printing press and the accompanying explosion in the availability of the written word. I’d hate to see librarians as the scribes of our day….”

I love seeing a library director sort of “thinking out loud” like this for all of her community to hear and possibly join the discussion.

 Share