Libraries: Staying relevant in the Online Era

Staying Relevant In the Online Age Shel Israel [email_address] http://globalneighbourhoods.net

US Libraries Alive & Well
5x Amazon customers
$14b spent. More than running shoes
1 in 7 people in US have library cards
Passion about libraries
But there’s a cloud…

The Internet Cloud
Hovering over institutions
Traditional media
Government
Education
Authority
Libraries
Choice: change or be irrelevant

Issues Facing Libraries
Youth disengaging
Misc. search easier than Dewey
Talented librarians leaving
Jurassic Park syndrome
Book scans
YouTube 125. NYT 1

The Internet…
Is an infinite repository
Can extend every library bookshelf
You share knowledge & thought
Is very Inexpensive
Removes brick & mortar barriers

What is social media?
An online space for conversations
2 guys at backyard fence
About conversations, not tech
2 yrs from blogs to warehouse
SAP Survey: youth driving change

A few blog stats
12m US adult bloggers. 60m readers
150m American web users
89% of businesses see blog importance rising
6-12% of US blog s.
Over 1.4 million posts daily
22 of 100 top websites are blogs
37% began reading blogs in ‘05 & ‘06
Blog readers average 23 hours weekly

The Online Generation
Freshmen younger than the Web
Online more than on TV
Peer influence rules
Teflon resistance to authority, marketing
Lifetime habits forming now

Why Libraries are Still Vital
Nothing beats face-to-face
Human guides v. Google bars
Computers lack common sense
Communities need a commons
Access for ‘left out’ people
Change needed soon

To Engage the Online Generation
Join their conversations
Use SM to keep locals current
Become expert resources on tools
Curate infinite bookshelves

Libraries of the Future
‘Community Livingrooms’
Internet keyholes
Multimedia
Book-form agnostic

Case Studies
CSLibrary http:// cglibrary.org/polaris Casa Grandes Colo librarian. Twitters to engage in community conversations. 30% uptick in traffic, mostly young
LO-Fi Librarian http://www.lo-fi-librarian.co.uk (UK Law Librarian): Blogs, follows users on Facebook ‘not to look cool, but to deliver services, communicate with/users and raise her library's profile’

More Case Studies
YALSA (Young Adult Librarian Services Association ( http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v =YCFHhfoj788 has a blog, follows tags for social networking posts, has a podcast, Twitters (@yalsa), and posts bookmarks at del.icio.us http:// del.icio.us/yalsa . Recently held panel talk on Second Life
The American Library Association lists their social networking tools on a wiki http://wikis.ala.org/readwriteconnect/index.php/Main_Page
Hennepin City (MN) Public Library, http://www.hclib.org/extranet uses blogging, podcasting, & MySpace accounts. They have a web-based catalog so patrons can add book reviews Amazon style. Users can search their catalog directly from Facebook.

Social Media Can…
Let friends share what they’re reading
Let readers review books for each other
Let community tell library what it wants
Help libraries stay relevant

Blogging’s Power
Tagging
Listen & respond
RSS so people keep current
Link to conversations
Twitter, mobile & microformats

A global network of librarians
Metcalfe’s Law
Meet others like yourself
Share you passion & authority
Learn about innovations elsewhere
Collaborate to solve problems

Special Thanks
To the 40 people who helped me on my blog & Facebook
Ivan Chew, Rambling Librarian —Singapore http://ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com/2007/10/what-i-would-tell-librarians.html
Lo-Fi Librarian www.lo-fi-librarian.co.uk
Shawn Lea Everything and Nothing Blog
Rohit Bhargava Influential Marketing Blog
Randi Mason, MLS, PRSA
Connie Benson http://conniebensen.com
JustinThorp, http://drinkingoatmealstout.com

Libraries: Staying relevant in the Online Era

by shel israel on Oct 29, 2007

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Libraries: Staying relevant in the Online Era — Presentation Transcript