This document summarizes a presentation given by Lynn Silipigni Connaway on the importance of library community involvement and relationship building. It discusses how communication is key, providing statistics on internet and social media usage. It explores how libraries can build relationships through an online presence on platforms like Facebook and YouTube. Interviews highlight how customer service and selling the library's value to stakeholders is important. The document also examines how libraries can support areas like research data management and special collections. Overall, it stresses the importance of libraries collaborating with their communities through open communication.

1. Wellington, New Zealand | 25 October 2019
“A little bit of communication can go a long way.” The
importance of Library Community Involvement and
Relationship Building
Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Ph.D.
Director of Library Trends and User Research, OCLC

2. “66% of people polled worldwide said they could not live without the
Internet.”
(Hutt 2019)
“33% of UK internet users did a ‘digital detox’ at some point in 2015.”
(Hutt 2019)
“Estimates place the number of internet users worldwide in the region of
3.6 billion – around half the world’s population – while Facebook has more
than 2 billion active monthly users.”
(Constine 2019)
Image:https://www.flickr.com/photos/grannybee/1902749146/by Granny Bee/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

3. Social Media Presence
“68 percent of all U.S. adults are Facebook
users, while 28 percent use Instagram, 26
percent use Pinterest, 25 percent use
LinkedIn and 21 percent use Twitter.”
(Pattillo 2017, 56)
“More than half of 18- to 49-year-olds in the
U.S. are either light viewers of TV or do not
subscribe to TV; but over 90 percent of these
people watch YouTube.”
(Pattillo 2018, 340)
Image:https://www.flickr.com/photos/28361090@N04/2984327942/by Dave/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

4. “Probably a laptop is the bare
minimum I'm going to need because,
for the most part, at this point in my
life, I need Internet access in some
fashion. Although later on, a phone's
probably going to replace that
because you need that for a job.”
(Researching Students’ Information Choices, H05, Male,
Age 16, High School Student)
Internet
“Regarding health affairs, I usually don’t
search on Internet because… you have a
pain on a finger and then you end up
[thinking] you have bubonic plague…is
not reliable …improbable things become
sure. For this affair, I would use
personal contacts.”
(Digital Visitors and Residents, UOCG3, Male, Age 26-
34, Arts/Humanities)
Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/28361090@N04/2984017023/by Dave/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

5. “Millennials and the post-millennial generation are more
connected than any other age group, but the rise of social
media has coincided with increased levels of depression,
anxiety and loneliness among young people.”
(Twenge 2017)
Image:https://www.flickr.com/photos/13687890@N04/7250621084/ by Norbert Rupp/CC BY-NC 2.0

6. Communication
“….it needs to be sort of multi-level communication
from the provost to those relationships you have with
other units like the centers for teaching and learning to
the academic units to the individual relationships that,
that librarians and staff have with faculty and
students.”
(Advisory Group Member LM03, Research University, Secular,
Public)
Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/stefanwagener/29909050057/by Stefan Wagener/CC BY 2.0

7. “[Librarians] have to be able to sell to the deans that this is
something valuable that the deans want to be a part of, and
the deans are going to be impacted by their faculty feeling
like that this is a worthy thing because if we use money for
one thing, we can’t use if for something else. I think
customer service…becomes really important in this kind of
environment.
(Provost Interviewee PP07, Research University, Secular, Public)
Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/28361090@N04/2983538347/ by Dave/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

8. “In some sense, I also want a community that is
really deeply engaged with the world. From the
perspective of the library, I cannot think of a place
that's better positioned to be able to navigate this.”
(Provost Interviewee PP01, College, Secular, Private)
Image:https://www.flickr.com/photos/28361090@N04/2984511626/by Dave/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

9. “I personally feel like when I’m at the
library, I’d rather keep my head down
and I feel that most people are here
for that.”
(Digital Visitors and Residents, Faculty, Male, Age 25-34)
Image:https://www.flickr.com/photos/volvob12b/9098670998/by Bernard Spragg. NZ/CC0 1.0

10. “It is the place where the whole community comes
together to, acquire and use information in
intelligent and responsible ways. The library is
incredibly well-positioned to support these
interdisciplinary efforts, it is incredibly well-
positioned to help the institution be nimble. The
challenge that the library faces is being able to do
that and not, falling into the trap of defending
current practice or defending the library per se.”
(Provost Interviewee PP01, College, Secular, Private)
Image:https://www.flickr.com/photos/28361090@N04/2984542600/by Dave/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

11. “We do go to the library or somewhere quiet where we can
just get our work done together...”
(UKU3, Female, Age 19, French and Italian)
Virtual & physical space for
socializing and group work
Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/francois82/4735286801/by The world seen through a lens’s photostream/CC BY-NC 2.0

12. Millennials and Post-Millennials, although at ease with
information technology, struggle with the evaluation
of online sources.
(Connaway, Lanclos, & Hood, 2013;
Connaway, White, Lanclos, & Le Cornu, 2013;
Stanford History Education Group, 2016)
Image:https://www.flickr.com/photos/28361090@N04/2983749039/ by Dave/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

13. “I always stick with the first thing that
comes up on Google because I think that’s
the most popular site which means that’s
the most correct.”
(Digital Visitors and Residents, USS1, Female, Age 17, High School Student)
Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/28361090@N04/2984199002/ by Dave/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

14. “And YouTube videos,
I've always watched
YouTube, so that's
highly credible.”
(Researching Students’ Information Choices, E06)
Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/28361090@N04/2984738452/by Dave/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

15. “It depends. It depends who’s made the website or
what I have been told about the website or whether I
know about it at all. But — it sounds silly — but
sometimes you can just tell whether a website looks
reliable or not depending on how professional [it]
looks and who’s written it.”
(Digital Visitors and Residents, UKU6, Female, Age 19, Emerging)
Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/volvob12b/8069588653/by Bernard Spragg. NZ/CC0 1.0

16. Take the lead in collaborating with other
educators to incorporate critical literacy into
the curriculum.
Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tbdevries/4226634715/ by Bret De Vries/CC BY-NC 2.0

17. Align ourselves with
institutional priorities and
contribute to the development
of critical thinking skills
Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tk_five_0/5986131820/ by Michael Dawes/CC BY-NC 2.0

18. It’s time for a change
“…have an opportunity to become part of
users’ social networks and to put resources
in the context of users’ information needs.”
(Connaway 2015, 23)

19. The Boutique Library
“A boutique library service model gives us the
ability to provide specialist,
personalized services not possible in an
anonymous, centralized system. It is partnership in
action.”
(Priestner, Tilley 2010)
Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/photowombat/2913075185/ by Thomas/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

20. “When I need a quick
answer my preferred
source is a person,
because a person would
interpret your need
quickly and better than
Internet.”
(Digital Visitors and Residents, UOCU5, Female, Age
30, Education)
Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/subindie/3169248963/ by subindie/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

21. “ But all communication is valid, and all
communication is really appreciated because I
know, we're all incredibly busy, and those people
that are, kind of, getting stuff for you, they will have
hundreds of other people to look after, too, so I, you
know, and I've worked in retail so I know that that
little bit of communication can go a long way.”
-Australia, Faculty, 55-64, Male
Image:https://www.flickr.com/photos/sandeepachetan/26711027995/by sandeepachetan.com travel photography/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

22. “... follow the reader from the moment he enters
the library to the moment he leaves it…”
(Ranganathan, 1931, 337)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/28361090@N04/2984478946/by Dave/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

23. Build digital
communities
Integrate into
users’ digital
worlds
Image: https://ethority.de/en/social-media-prism/ by Sten Frenke / CC BY-SA 2.0

24. Allison Frick, left, (Glendale Free Library in Pennsylvania)
and Christina Riehman-Murphy (Penn State) organized an
information literacy event focused on women and science.
Photo: Courtesy Allison Frick
Information literacy
with Wikipedia

25. 96% of higher education instructors
consider Wikipedia more valuable
for teaching digital literacy than
traditional assignments
2017 Wiki Education Foundation report
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Student_Learning_Ou
tcomes_using_Wikipedia-
based_Assignments_Fall_2016_Research_Report.pdf
Editing Wikipedia promotes digital
information literacy

26. Social Media Presence

27. “A library is a growing
organism.”
(Ranganathan 1931)

28. More than 130 people die
in the U.S. everyday from
an opioid overdose.
(Rudd, 2016)
Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/28361090@N04/2984182972/by Dave/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0oc.lc/opioid-crisis

29. Misuse of prescription opioids
costs $78.5 billion a year.
(Florence, Luo, Xu, & Zhou, 2016)
Image:https://www.flickr.com/photos/grannybee/1902797786/by Granny Bee/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 oc.lc/opioid-crisis

30. “We're so grateful to libraries for their willingness to
do this because it is sensitive messaging. We
understand that…culturally it has got a lot of stigma
associated with it and a lot of misinformation and
that can be a delicate thing. But their willingness to
address that, and to become ambassadors, and to
help eliminate some of that misinformation is a huge
benefit to the community as a whole.”
- Community Partner
Image:https://www.flickr.com/photos/119845797@N03/16212530287/by Danny Webster/CC BY-NC 2.0 oc.lc/opioid-crisis

31. “I feel that there's been a lot of progress. And for a guy like me,
who has been to prison, who's suffered, struggled with using for
a long time, I'm hanging out with librarians, the police. I'm still
alive. I still know people that use, and I don't use, but I'm still
talking to those people…But now, there are people that have
historically not liked people like me, treating me like a human,
and giving me the opportunity to be a human, instead of just a
junkie. And that is absolutely phenomenal.”
- Community member using the library services
Image:https://www.flickr.com/photos/vjosullivan/33180051796/by Vince O’Sullivan/CC BY-NC 2.0 oc.lc/opioid-crisis

32. “It benefits me because I feel more prepared
to help someone. I think anytime you feel
more prepared and trained, you're much
more likely to help someone.”
- Community Member who received naloxone
from the library
Image:https://www.flickr.com/photos/evocateur/21698350013/by Daniel Stockman/CC BY-SA 2.0 oc.lc/opioid-crisis

33. “Be open. Be open to people, to being
human, because a drug addict is a person,
and they are suffering. And I guarantee
there's a whole group of people connected
to them that are suffering too. It's
sometimes hard to see when you're dealing
with it in the moment, but it's real.”
- Library Board Member
Image:https://www.flickr.com/photos/89281933@N03/12403913944/by mikigroup/CC BY 2.0 oc.lc/opioid-crisis

34. Peoria Public Library
Overdose Rescue Kit
Includes Narcan, instructions for
use and information for more help
Photo courtesy: Peoria Public Libraryoc.lc/opioid-crisis

35. Salt Lake County Library System
Use Only As Directed, public awareness
campaign
“Opioids like these can cause physical
dependency in just 7 days.”
Photo courtesy: Salt County Library System oc.lc/opioid-crisis

36. Salt Lake County Library System
Use Only As Directed, public
awareness campaign.
7,000 opioid prescriptions are
written everyday in Utah
Photo courtesy: Salt Lake County Library Systemoc.lc/opioid-crisis

37. New Orleans Public Library,
“Bystander Training”
Provides first aid training, including
an opportunity to practice
administering naloxone
Photos courtesy: New Orleans Public Library oc.lc/opioid-crisis

38. “By focusing on relationship building
instead of service excellence, organizations
can uncover new needs and be in position
to make a stronger impact.”
(Mathews 2012)
Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/volvob12b/11876659065/ by Bernard Spragg. NZ/CC0 1.0

39. HOW CAN WE PARTICIPATE IN OCLC
RESEARCH STUDIES?

40. OCLC Research Library Partnership
• Transnational network of research libraries (130+)
• Supported by partnership dues and co-investment from
OCLC
• The RLP supports libraries as they evolve to meet 21st
century challenges, providing the connections, knowledge,
and resources to plan with confidence in a complex,
rapidly changing ecosystem

41. People are connections
to knowledge
Peer to peer
collaborative learning
Strategic thinking to
practical application
Influence service
design and future
research
Shared
understanding for
faster innovation
RLP leverages partner
knowledge to fuel
innovation

42. OCLC Research Library Partnership
Activities are led by an energetic team who
work with member institutions to develop an array of
programming for both senior library leaders and
staff, virtually and in person.

43. Research support
Unique and distinctive
collections
Resource sharing /
Collective collections
Next generation
metadata
Learning Together
OCLC RLP Activities

44. “The provision of research support services is an area of significant
investment for our member libraries. Our research and programming
offers resources for libraries to learn how other institutions are responding
and to discuss local challenges with other libraries worldwide.”
Rebecca Bryant
bryantr@oclc.org
Research support

45. “[the RDM working group]. . . provided us with not only an advanced introduction to the
specific issues regarding the best practices for implementing RDM services, but it has
also helped in creating an environment of shared resources between the attendees for all of
our RDM interests/needs…. these interest group discussions have been a critical resource
in formulating our future RDM strategy.”
Adrian Gomez, Science Informationist, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
[read more, RDM: A challenge too big to tackle alone]
Critical resource in formulating our future RDM strategy

46. “We work in special and distinctive collections because they are an important site
of scholarly knowledge creation, made possible by libraries’ significant investment
in the stewardship of these collections. The unique nature of material in special
collections can make scaling a challenge, so we work to identify areas of common
need and patterns of innovation to help libraries scale learning and expertise with
these collections.”
Chela Scott Weber
weberc@oclc.org
Unique and distinctive collections

47. Using the Agenda in strategic planning
“Any time you have a formal report put
out by a trustworthy organization, it
becomes immediately a tool that
administrators can use to help frame
local needs, and that's exactly what
I've used this report for.”
Empower your strategy through valuable library research
https://www.oclc.org/en/member-stories/northeastern.htmlEvan Simpson
Associate Dean,
Research and Learning Services, Northeastern University

48. “A commitment to metadata is part of OCLC’s DNA. The OCLC RLP Metadata
Managers Focus Group explores strategies on how metadata can work harder
and smarter. Over the last year, the focus group held fourteen in-depth
conversations on topics ranging from measuring the value of cataloging to
creating metadata for equity, diversity, and inclusion, to serving needs of audio-
visual collections.”
Karen Smith-Yoshimura
smithyok@oclc.org
Next generation metadata

49. “I get a chance to meet with others excited by metadata
challenges and really dive deep into the issues that are at the
forefront of our daily working lives.”
Stephen Hearn, Metadata Strategist, University of Minnesota
read more, Too much metadata?
Meet with others excited by metadata

50. “As institutions evolve toward a notion of “collective collections,” resource
sharing partnerships that expand access to collections are of primary importance. The
SHARES resource sharing consortium of the RLP is a generous network of trusted
partners that provides access to libraries’ strong, rich, diverse, and unique collections.
SHARES also supports active collaboration to innovate and support best practices for
resource sharing. By joining the Research Library Partnership, institutions have the
opportunity to join the SHARES resource sharing consortium.”
Dennis Massie
massied@oclc.org
Resource sharing

51. “We definitely go the extra mile for SHARES partners and really appreciate when
that is reciprocated, which is most of the time. We pursue loans of unusual items
with collection managers, loan larger quantities of material per transaction,
arrange for expedited and/or other kinds of special shipping, give longer loan
periods/renewals (& more renewals), etc. It's this kind of value-added service that
can really make a difference on those challenging requests that seem to crop up
more and more often these days.”
Margaret Ellingson
Head of Interlibrary Loan, Emory University
We go the extra mile

52. Learning together
• In person events
• Convening around key questions
• Surveys: taking the pulse
• Prototyping efforts
• Works in Progress Webinars (hosted 20 last year)

53. Professional development
Stay up to date
Engage around emerging issues
Learn alongside colleagues
Virtual engagement is affordable
“…being able to engage with colleagues at other universities from my
desk has been an absolute lifeline for me. Thank you!”
Dr. Cathy Pink, Senior Data Librarian, University of Bath

54. Photo by Almos Bechtold on Unsplash

55. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank Nick Spence for his assistance in
preparing this presentation.

56. References
• Allen, Scott G., and Larra Clark. 2019. Public Libraries Respond to the Opioid Crisis with their Communities. Funded by a grant from Institute of Museum
and Library Services (IMLS) and in partnership with Public Library Association (PLA) and OCLC Research. https://www.webjunction.org/explore-
topics/opioid-crisis.html.
• Connaway, Lynn Silipigni, comp. 2015. The Library in the Life of the User: Engaging with People Where They Live and Learn. Dublin, OH: OCLC Research.
http://www.oclc.org/content/dam/research/publications/2015/oclcresearch-library-in-life-of-user.pdf.
• Connaway, L. S. (2017, June 19). Putting the library in the life of the user: Listen, then lead, to promote a unique and compelling role for academic
libraries. Guest of Choice, Choice360 blog. Retrieved from http://www.choice360.org/blog/putting-the-library-in-the-life-of-the-user
• Connaway, L. S., Lanclos, D. M., & Hood, E. M. (2013, December 6). “I always stick with the first thing that comes up on Google…” Where people go for
information, what they use, and why. EDUCAUSE Review Online. Retrieved from http://er.educause.edu/articles/2013/12/i-always-stick-with-the-first-thing-
that-comes-up-on-google---where-people-go-for-information-what-they-use-and-why
• Connaway, L. S., Seadle, M., Julien, H., & Kasprak, A. (2017). Digital literacy in the era of fake news: Key roles for information professionals. ASIS&T
President’s Invited Panel.
• Connaway, L. S., White, D., Lanclos, D., & Le Cornu, A. (2013). Visitors and Residents: What motivates engagement with the digital information
environment? Information Research, 18(1). Retrieved from http://informationr.net/ir/18-1/infres181.html
• Constine, Josh. "Facebook Now Has 2 Billion Monthly Users... and Responsibility." TechCrunch. June 27, 2017. Accessed July 10, 2019.
https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/27/facebook-2-billion-users/.
• DeSantis, Nick. 2012. “On Facebook, Librarian Brings 2 Students From the Early 1900s to Life.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 6.
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/on-facebook-librarian-brings-two-students-from-the-early-1900s-to-life/34845.
• Edmond, Charlotte. “Could you live without the internet? People in these countries say they can’t imagine it.” World Economic Forum. September 5, 2017.
Accessed August 2 2019.
• Gary Pattillo. 2017. “Fast Facts.” College & Research Libraries News 78, no. 1: 56 YouTube, “Video Is Everywhere—Helping Brands Find Their Audience in
the Era of Convergence,” Official YouTube Blog, April 29, 2018, https://youtube.googleblog.com/2018/04/video-is-everywhere-helping-brands-
find.html (retrieved May 3, 2018).

57. References
• Gary Pattillo. 2018. “Fast Facts.” College & Research Libraries News 79, no. 6: 340.
• Hutt, Rosamond. "A Third of UK Internet Users Have Taken a Digital Detox – Do You Need One?" World Economic Forum. August 4, 2014. Accessed July
10, 2019. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/08/a-third-of-uk-internet-users-have-taken-a-digital-detox-do-you-need-one/.
• Mathews, B. (2012). Think like a startup: A white paper to inspire library entrepreneurialism.
http://chronicle.com/blognetwork/theubiquitouslibrarian/2012/04/04/think-like-a-startup-a-white-paper/.
• Priestner, A., Tilley, E. "Boutique Libraries at Your Service." Library & Information Update July (2010)
• Shannon Greenwood, Andrew Perrin, and Maeve Duggan, “Demographics of Social Media Users in 2016,” Pew Research Center, November 11,
2016, www.pewinternet.org/2016/11/11/social-media-update-2016 (retrieved December 6, 2016)
• Stanford History Education Group. (2016). Evaluating information: The cornerstone of civic online reasoning. Retrieved from
https://sheg.stanford.edu/upload/V3LessonPlans/Executive Summary 11.21.16.pdf
• Twenge, Jean. "This Is How the Smartphone Changed an Entire Generation." World Economic Forum. August 30, 2017. Accessed July 10, 2019.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/08/how-the-smartphone-changed-an-entire-generation.
• White, David S., and Lynn Silipigni Connaway. 2011-2014. Digital Visitors and Residents: What Motivates Engagement with the Digital Information
Environment. Funded by JISC, OCLC, and Oxford University. http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/vandr.html.
• Wiki Education Foundation. 2016. Student Learning Outcomes using Wikipedia-based Assignments Fall 2016 Research Report. Prepared by Zachary
James McDowell and Mahala Dyer Stewart. Retrieved from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Student_Learning_Outcomes_using_Wikipedia-
based_Assignments_Fall_2016_Research_Report.pdf&page=2.

58. Questions &
Discussion
Lynn Silipigni Connaway, PhD
Director of Library Trends and User Research OCLC
connawal@oclc.org
@LynnConnaway