Building Strong Digital Libraries

Building Strong Digital Libraries Sarah Houghton-Jan Digital Futures Manager, San Jose Public Library Author of LibrarianInBlack.net

times are tough

5 Things We Can Do Right Now 1) Find out user needs 2) Use free technologies to save money 3) Plan projects effectively 4) Assess projects thoughtfully 5) Market our services the right way

#1: Find out user needs

“ Understanding local patron culture is essential to creating used and useful technology services.” - Char Booth

Taking the Ass out of Assumption (Char Booth): slideshare.net/charbooth/local-user-research-taking-the-ass-out-of-assumption

Listen to your users. It really is as simple as that.

#2: Use the social web

The Social Web
Reach out to users in their own space
Let them choose to come to you, to add you to this part of their lives
Ask your users what sites they use

Social Review Websites
CitySearch
InsiderPages
JudysBook
Yelp
Local2Me

Image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaronschmidt/217887378 7/#comment72157603674521448 LOVE, BABY, LOVE!

and then there are weird social networks…

Social Networking Guidelines
SJPL has a set of Social Media Guidelines
Personal Social Media Participation
Site Set-Up, Management, and Profile Standards
Online Posting Guidelines for Users
Additional Posting Guidelines for Staff
General Social Media Best Practices
Notifications and Comments
Statistics and Publicity
Evaluating Additional New Technologies
+ specific guidelines for each site

Social Networking Tips
Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, MySpace, Ning, etc.
Profiles vs. Pages
Broadcasts vs. Conversations
Best practices – who posts what when?

Setting Up a Social Network
Username Check: CheckUsernames.com
Usernames Claim/Log-In: Open ID and ClaimID

Maintaining a Social Network
Update Syncing: Ping.fm or Hellotxt.com, Facebook’s Twitter app (can’t sync pages!)
Multiple Account Management: Seesmic, HootSuite, other apps

Metrics for Social Networks
Social Network Monitoring: Filtrbox, MyBUZZmonitor, TwitterSearch
Stats: Twitter Analyzer, Twitter Counter, built-in Facebook page stats (weekly email)

Online Book Displays
Westmont Public Library
http://www.flickr.com/photos/westmontlibrary/549380055/

Location-Based Social Sites
Entries for libraries, trips, tips, contests
Historical walking tours (Wolf Walk)

#3: Plan projects effectively

Sarah's Awesome 10 Step Project Plans
1. Background
2. Aims & Objectives
3. Overall Approach
4. Project Outputs
5. Technology Requirements & Impact
6. Training
7. Project Management
8. Marketing
9. Budget
10. Evaluation Plan

BaseCamp

Staff Training
Part of training is information.
Provide staff exposure at least 1 month before soft launch
Offer staff formal training in that time
- Play with it, touch it, and learn it.
- Fun. Rewards. Food.
- Types and numbers of trainings

Getting Staff Buy-In
Inform early and constantly.
Ask for & use input.
Demand consistent managerial support.

Soft Launches
Beta test everything!
1. Launch the new service for a small group of staff first (to find big bugs).
2. Launch for entire staff (and ask for feedback, problems, suggestions).
3. Launch for users (without “hard” promotion and ask for feedback).
4. Do a hard launch and promote.

#4: Assess projects thoughtfully

Evaluating New Services
Survey users and staff 6 months in: Would you recommend this service to a friend? Why or why not ?
Evaluate the library's follow-through: Has adequate marketing and training been done?
Evaluate statistics: How much staff time is being used?How much is the service used?

Project Evaluation Plan

Results of Evaluation
Continue service
or
Discontinue service
or
Extend pilot
and
- change aspects of the service
- do more promotion or training
Discontinuing a service is not failing. Persisting in a failed effort is failing.

#5: Market our services thoughtfully

Marketing ≠ Bookmarks

Raising Awareness
PR in our physical presence
PR in our online presence

F2F World Marketing Ideas
Open communication & discussion
in the library
outside the library
Outreach to partners & community groups
Word of mouth
Dynamic physical marketing
LCD screens in-library or in the community
Flyers, posters, geocaching in the community

Online Marketing Ideas
Have a good URL
Updates & flyers on Facebook & Twitter
Short promotions on receipt printers, email alerts, newsletters, catalog, website banners
Ensure search engine findability
Events websites (Eventful, Going, Upcoming)‏
Get links from partners
Create spaces w/ tips/tours in location-sites (Foursquare, Gowalla)

$10 = 5000 Facebook Flyers to targeted audiences Facebook Flyer image by Steve Lawson: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tuttlibrary/1546577200 Twitter ads next?

Rejoice in failures... for failing indicates that you have encountered a boundary that needs testing.

Questions?
Sarah Houghton-Jan
web: LibrarianInBlack.net
email: LibrarianInBlack@gmail.com
IM: LibrarianInBlack
Twitter: twitter.com/TheLiB
Skype: LibrarianInBlack
Facebook: facebook.com/librarianinblack

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Building Strong Digital Libraries

by Sarah Houghton on Apr 19, 2010

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Building Strong Digital Libraries — Presentation Transcript