Freak Out, Geek Out, or Seek Out: Emerging Trends, Transformations and Change in Libraries
by David King
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Catherine Kane, Library Assistant at Libraries NI
1 year ago
Anu Järvi, kirjastonhoitaja at Yleinen kirjasto / Public library
1 year ago
Satapon Yosakonkun, informationist,Information Specialist at STKS/Thailand National Science and Technology Development Agency
3 years ago
Boonlert Aroonpiboon, Academic Officer at STKS, NSTDA - Thailand
3 years ago
ibox2000, Consultant
3 years ago
Moqub M, Product researcher at TU Delft Library (Netherlands)
3 years ago
Kelley Minars, Web Services Librarian at UT HSC Libraries
3 years ago
Buffy Hamilton, High School Librarian at Creekview High School
3 years ago
Jaakko Sannemann, Librarian at Espoo City Library
3 years ago
Freak Out, Geek Out, or Seek Out: Emerging Trends, Transformations and Change in Libraries
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floppy disks (my kids once asked me “what’s a floppy disk, dad”? I stared at them a sec, then realized they had never seen one. Time flies!)
wristwatches (don’t wear one – that’s what my iPhone’s for! and the computers I stare at all day)
VHS Tape and VCRs (yep – still have these, too)
Beepers (iphone again – the beeper is no longer needed)
Film Cameras (haven’t had one for years)
typewriters (interestingly, my 9-year old has one … ONLY because Molly [the American Girl Kit who lived in the 1940's] had one, and my mother-in-law still had an old one in a closet. Yes, a typewriter was an odd present for a 9-year old, but she loves it!)
walkmans & discmans (haven’t had one in years)
dialup (My library serves a whole county – Topeka has broadband, the county is pretty spotty)
DVDs (I still use these, and we still watch DVDs. But that’s now. They’ll be gone in 10 years time, I’ll bet).
Faxes? TV? Where do you get your news?
What’s changing in your world?
How about in libraries?
bring in drinks
Read for free
Buy cool stuff
Kids programs!
That’s not a good thing.
do IM & txt
connect with people in twitter, myspace, facebook, etc
visit websites (even reserve a PC at my library’s website)
search library content
email
oh yeah - I can use it as a phone, too...
your patrons are all like you, possibly even moreso - they want to talk to you when they have a question ... phone, im, txt, etc
if they’re not on their phone, they’re online - at work or at home. with email, IM, txt, etc all ready to go
are you ready to meet them and provide services in those spaces?
Now let’s think about technology changes in libraries...
1. historically, technology in libraries hasn’t moved terribly fast
There have been some changes - parking lots, fiction, telephone reference! Electricity! Copy machines!
Since the PC was born, techie change began to move faster
today's emerging digital & web technology changes have made library techie change move extraordinarily fast!
Myspace – founded 2003, Youtube – 2005
New Library jobs:
Senior Librarian for Innovation and Design
Digital Branch Manager
Digital Strategies Librarian
Immersive Learning Librarian (aka Gaming Librarian)
Emergent Technologies Librarian
- We need to learn how to deal with change - because change will happen whether we like it or not
- this pres will help - show problem, discuss transitions and resistance to change, give some best practice things to do to deal with change
multimedia: youtube... pics, video, audio - not just text
social: to participate, you have to friend/be friended. share. blog/twitter/facebook/friendfeed/flickr
public: global reach, anyone can listen/respond. CEO apologies? United Breaks Guitars?
mobile: the web is in my pocket. twitter/facebook works because of this. Direct upload to youtube.
decentralized: website isn’t the only place to go. Facebook!
2-way: not an article/brochure. It’s the start of a conversation.
public: global reach, anyone can listen/respond. CEO apologies? United Breaks Guitars?
That’s hard = you need to think before you leap.
Let’s take a look at some of these emerging trends
or to just the content they want
all original content that our staff is creating for our community
It’s allowing us to combine content from different areas - like a librarian’s restaurant review and a book from the catalog - into a single article.
like an email reader - but for RSS feeds
Many ways to subscribe to feeds - depends on tool used
now to my slide - how would you have left a comment about a kid’s program 5-7 years ago in your library?
Just my perspective as DBM - but this is a very different model from a traditional website. So an example of a library making these types of changes.
... and we realized that if we pull this off, we’ll be running two libraries!
community manager - interesting new job in corporate world - answers tough questions - bad comments, spam, complaints, works with staff and public
scans horizon - watches for new stuff, works to incorporate it in the branch
executive editor - watches content, makes suggestions, edits, teaches writing, etc...
long range planner - not day-to-day stuff, but strategic planning
evangelist - evangelizes digital branch in local community, in library - what we’re doing, what you can do, why you’d want to visit, etc
manager - it’s also a dept in the library... all the usual manager stuff
info sup - all about finding info online and surfing to other websites
virtual reality - mimicking real life...
Doesn’t this sound like real life? Real interactions, real business, will be happening in our digital branch.
Doesn’t this sound like real life? Real interactions, real business, will be happening in our digital branch.
electronic resources
someone else’s content that we simply arranged nicely
Now:
RSS feeds - subscribed to, read when you’re ready to read
original content from librarians to their own community
and user-generated content... read that PATRON...
But.........
normal “go to the catalog” search
catalog search from our website
myspace catalog search
facebook catalog search.
More places to search = meeting our customers in their favorite hangouts on the web
It expands our reach
Old way - one place to go, just a list with links
Popularity - good place to start.
Subject Guides (content arranged topically) - good place to start
More ways to access databases = more choices for patrons
1. let’s you subscribe to parts of our website
We’ll be creating useful, fun content - from book reviews to how to get a job to fun things to do in Topeka
You can revisit the page - but a better way is to let the new stuff come to you!
And - you can do this using our digital branch
All on our digital branch.
But this isn’t our only door in our digital space!
We use this via normal IM, a widget embedded on our website, and through a widget embedded in our catalog.
between our staff and our customers
also customer to customer!
Outpost pages - sites that feature our content but are outside of our normal website.
Dump relevant content, make relevant tags, point back to your site!
Most of these have comments, too!
Examples are:
which leads me to...
A goal is to create a weekly videocast of what’s going on at the library - other libraries have done a similar thing.
Book reviews are a great thing to do
promos of events, promos of new stuff or hidden services or unique collections
one to many AND one to one communication, on a very public platform.
Be focused - follow people in your community
answer questions, send out cool stuff (not everything), and LISTEN!
Our twitter goals:
1. push important stuff about the library - events, new services, cool materials
2. connect with other Topeka twitter users - comment, answer questions, etc
Library director has one, too.
we’re connecting with topeka people, KS people, government (state capitol), local media.
interact with patrons
If you get stuck, you can quickly ask a librarian for help!
This is a way to start and continue conversations in our digital branch.
What are our goals?
We want to share the community happening inside our library and outside our walls.
We want to tell our stories to our county, and help the community tell their stories.
That’s what our digital branch is all about!
Creating a more social, more community-driven digital presence helps us tell our story, and helps topeka tell us their stories!
Toyota Prius - is it a car? Is it a game? Smart Car, Mini Cooper, etc
mp3s and ipods... white earbuds in cities
YouTube - who watched a YouTube video this week? - 2005...
So - web 2.0 is also a powerful trend happening in many industries right now - including ours! Why should we...
5 reasons:
I’m talking sites your grandmother uses!
Anyone using the web has experienced some 2.0 tools and services, whether they know it or not.
Here are some examples...
ebay blogs - similar
personalized lists. All this = personalized, community-driven, participatory services and tools... and participatory experiences.
Authors can have blogs now.
Again - participatory, community-driven, personalized services and tools. In their case, make you feel closer to the author and other readers... you’ll want to read (hence, BUY).
Oh, well you might think - sure, David, that’s your world. You don’t know our patrons in Hawaii.
Let me introduce you to one. Roxanne Darling.
Reason 2? You can be the example, the leader in your community. Teach others to do new things.
Here’s an example - from a small town in Wisconsin
So - pretty small library in a pretty small town.
We are now running 2 blogs out of LPL, Blogging LPL is sustaining an average of roughly 3,000 hits a month and rising ... Flickr is the BEST marketing tool, I post photos daily and use them in our blogs, the local paper has used some of them, I’ve been interviewed on the radio because of flickr and now run a biweekly column in the Sunday edition of the Manitowoc Herald Times entitled Library News. The TR City Manager has noted the flickr account in his weekly newspaper column and during televised City Council Meetings. Taking those traditional networking tools - radio, television, and newspaper and aiming them at our Internet Networking devices - MySpace, flickr, etc. just sort of happened and is totally cool!
http://tametheweb.com/?s=jeff+dawson
What’s that mean? People come to the library to socialize - hang out. Attend things. Start conversations - with each other, and with library staff.
Anyone experienced that at your library?
No difference at your digital branch! Here’s one example...
1. Tanya wrote a great review of a band’s CD
2. patron comments, saying what a great review - I’ll go buy it based on the review alone
3. Another staff member comments, saying you can actually check it out!
4. Yet another patron writes, saying Tanya’s writing makes her want to check it out
Do you see what’s happening here? Tanya started a conversation - it was continued by both patrons and staff members. Tanya connected with our community!
- my library mails holds
- those are our digital branch patrons
- they use the library more than anyone else... yet we hardly do anything for them, market to them, etc.
businesses, the “normal” people, etc
- attend meetings and share.
- Take your game night “on the road”
- introduce them to the library! Ask!!!
even in the trend watching and techie areas
you already do this in other areas of the library - why not 2.0?
it’s not techie!
Who thinks blogging is techie?
Do my type in a box thing
library isn’t seen as relevant in normal everyday community (oclc studies show that)
How can we be relevant in our communities? it’s up to you to make us relevant. Physically AND digitally.
Here are some slides on being relevant...
If you don’t ... if your library stays the same. Will it still be here in 20 years?
this is how we operate online. Why? sometimes we share too much info - it’s that detail thing.
And sometimes we don’t look at online services as the same as physical library services. I’m a branch manager. I have staff, a collection, and patrons. At my library, we really work in 2 libraries - the physical one and the digital one.
that whole “I don’t do telephone ref” thing...
Do you do this online? In Twitter? Facebook? An anonymous blog?
Are you sure it’s anonymous? Twitter tracks zipcodes, friends of friends who get the stream, etc... Not a good thing.
In the corporate world, people have been fired for things they said on facebook, twitter, blogs, etc ... because it’s public.
Newspapers - 129 have stopped printing their print versions. Some are closing up shop, others are just existing online. Reports are that most will be digital only within 10 years.
Are you ready for that? What will you do with your periodicals room? Your serials staff?
What if your shelves were empty? Would you still be a library? I think so.
We wondered that at tscpl with YA for a bit (we almost had to clear out the collection for some reason). What would they be doing? Lots. helping with searches/helping with web stuff/storytimes/programming/visiting schools/parenting stuff/etc
Still dealing with stories, content, searching, communities... still sounds like a library to me!
still supporting typewriters? floppy disks? VHS? CDs? Are you ready to make the leap? How about something else at your library that resembles putting out food for the dinosaur, just in case?
Dusting books. Two people sitting at a desk in an empty room. What else?
The doctor has fewer patients so he doesn't invest as much in training or staff and so some other patients choose to leave which means that there are even fewer patients...
The newspaper has fewer advertisers, so they can't invest as much in running stories, so people stop reading it, which means advertisers have less reason to advertise which leaves less money for stories...
As Tom Peters says, "You can't shrink your way to greatness," and yet that's what so many dying businesses try to do. They hunker down and wait for things to get better, but they don't. This isn't a dip, it's a cul de sac. It's over.
Right this minute, you still have some cash, some customers, some momentum... Instead of squandering it in a long, slow, death spiral, do something else. Buy a new platform. Move. Find new products for the customers that still trust you.
Change is a bear, but it's better than death.
web is part of your actual library
Can’t Not do web - ref staff - “I won’t do telephone ref - I only work the desk”??? NOT
assign staff - no volunteers.
Job descriptions, annual reviews.
Here’s what I have done:
- met with staff before we built digital branch
- met multiple times with two committees
- kept management group constantly up-to-date
- informal meetings with director, deputy director
Now setting up meetings with content developers, answering questions as needed... writing guidelines... moral support... etc.
Ex... dude - freaked out about writing to audience, writing for response.
start slow and expand as needed - do pilot project if needed
... and be willing to speed up when needed, too (Meebo IM example)
examples - do they like writing? Taking photos?
Translation:
programs = podcast, video, screencast
pathfinders = blogs, wikis
Instruction classes = screencasting, tutorials, etc.
Working the desk = IM, twitter, answering comments
who gets stuff done? ask them what they want to do then facilitate
good for starting - won’t sustain it, one champ gets burned out fast
customize to fit your library - not everyone is AADL! library goals, strategic planning, etc - ex: we have a travel and a health neighborhood for books - we also have subject guides on the web
Trust - they’ll be the extended voice of the library
the unedited voice... won’t go through PR first!
Two sides - You’re giving freedom... you’re giving responsibility
Spidey’s uncle - “with great power comes great responsibility” - trite but true.
Or realize that priorities have changed
don’t think of it as carving out time, make blogging an integral part of the organization’s outreach and marketing
Quote from a library director: “It’s a dilemma. We want to “unleash” our staff, but we also want to “control” the process. Do you have any practical suggestions for achieving both goals simultaneously? Or should we just relax, and acknowledge that the web 2.0 way of doing things is inherently disorganized and messy?”
... did not get it.
rss - huge time saver
river of news - you can jump in and out at any time
others are watching for relevant goodies for you - when you subscribe to other trend watcher blogs
Have a long commute? watch some videos, listen to some podcasts.
A way to schedule priorities
Also write more than one post at a sitting. Write for an hour instead of write 1 blog post (from beth’s blog)
- 15 minutes a day (you DO have this).
start with your interests
- find some blogs, start leaving comments
work through a learning 2.0 plan
play with new tools!
Now for the supervisors...
Quoting Michael Casey and Michael Stephens from CIL2008:
“Don't ask staff for input if you are not going to use it”
- by Nicholas Morgan
Translation for libraries - ask other libraries for help with new ideas, invite people to come speak ... find other change agents in your vicinity/workplace and collaborate.
Lib translation - take extra care to explain, teach, explain again what’s going on, how it affects libraries, etc for upper management. They are the decision-makers.
Certain you’re right? Do it. Ask for it. Show it. No second guessing if you already have your ducks in a row.
Someone told me once they asked who was a lifelong learner. Everyone raised their hands. Then she asked “well, what did you learn last week?” The room got quiet.
Nice to say, harder to do.
Want to change the ref desk? Work there first. Goes both ways. Want to do twitter? Gotta play in it first.
thanks!