March 30, 2009
Group Project Experience
Working on the group project for LIS 768 ended up being one of the better group project experiences I have had. Right from the start, we all seemed to be on the same page and had a singular vision for what the Citizen Journalism project would look like. After deciding to put a blog together to demonstrate a potential citizen journalism program for our hypothetical Youtopia Public Library, we each took on individual areas of research.
For my contribution to the group, I tried to identify libraries that were involved with citizen journalism or media projects for library users. As I mentioned in our presentation, I was really surprised to discover so little evidence of libraries involved with this kind of project. Based on all of our research, the library seems like such a natural place to launch a service promoting civic engagement and public participation.
A highlight of the project for me was reaching out to Phil Shapiro to find out what he discovered when he investigated libraries involved with citizen journalism projects. His thoughtful (and nearly immediate) response was a nice reminder of how supportive and resourceful the library community can be.
The blog we created as the prototype for the project ended up being our best communication tool. Renee set it up for our group, and then we each were able to add our own content for the other group members to see. Based upon our positive experience using the blog, it was clear to see how easily a library could develop its own citizen journalism program using the same technology.
March 21, 2009
Brand Monitoring
I chose to monitor the Suzzallo Library, located on the Seattle campus of University of Washington. I did my undergrad at UW and logged many hours in Suzzallo’s stunning Reading Room. It was a sanctuary to me. I honestly believed that I would learn more if I did my homework in that room versus some other spot on campus. I felt smarter just walking through the door.
As I monitored the library using Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Technorati, I wasn’t surprised to find that most of the conversations people were having were about the impressiveness of the space. Current students said they loved doing homework there. Non-student visitors said the room made them want to go back to college. Former students, after seeing library photos posted, said they regretted never having visited Suzzallo. I became the 29th fan of the Suzzallo Reading Room on Facebook.
Beyond any services that the Suzzallo Library may have to offer users, its strongest asset is this idea of library as place. Anything they can do to enhance the user experience is in the library’s best interest. For example, the library now has a cafe which is a new addition since my UW days.
Interestingly, the Suzzallo Library is much more than the Reading Room, yet most of the online chatter is focused on that single room. Why are people not talking about the rest of the library? What do the 1000+ Flickr photos really say about the Suzzallo library?
I think brand monitoring is an important tool for libraries to use, however, I think librarians need to look beyond their specific libraries to the larger library brand. While conversations about specific libraries might be more easily identified on blogs or Flickr because of tags, there are still important conversations happening on Twitter about “the library” which can still be applicable to any library.
March 14, 2009
Further Paper Exploration: Hope, Twitter and the Library brand
In continuing to think about the library brand for my paper, I did a very cursory brand monitoring exercise on Twitter today to see how people are talking about the library. [Note: In a separate post, I will present my findings from monitoring an actual library for the Brand Monitoring assignment.]
I must say, I was surprised by how often the library was mentioned. Within a 30 minute time-frame, there were 70+ updates with the word “library” in them. A small handful of these tweets referred to iTunes libraries, but the vast majority of them referred to physical libraries, either identified by a specific name or simply as “the library.”
Many of the messages were of the “I’m at the library” variety, offering nothing beyond a simple location status update. There were a few complaining about how the library wasn’t open late enough, or how disappointing it was that the cafe was closed on Saturdays. There weren’t enough outlets in the quiet study room of one library. One guy couldn’t believe there was a children’s percussion class in the library. (I got the impression from his “Are you f*<king kidding??” that this wasn’t a good thing.) A woman had to go out and buy the book she needed because there were too many holds on that title at her library.
There was a whole lot of positive commentary, too. Within the span of 30 minutes, two people had their minds blown by the Seattle Public Library. Another guy was really excited about using his iPhone to renew his books. Someone couldn’t believe the good movies they were able to check out from their library. Several folks commented on how they had forgotten how much they loved going to the library. A woman said she was pleased to see her library more crowded than her local J. Crew store.
This little exercise gave me a lot of hope. People ARE going to the library. I also now see how Twitter can be added to the arsenal of tools to better understand the public’s perception of the library. Library brand advocates can be identified, and services and experiences can be created or tailored to better meet user needs.
March 6, 2009
Lit Review for the Paper (Part 1)
As I am gathering sources for this paper on re-launching the innovative library brand, I am finding there to be no shortage of information to think about.
A good starting point for me was James Keller’s “Branding and Marketing Your Library” article from the September/October 2008 issue of Public Libraries. This article emphasizes the importance of marketing and branding your library given the current competitive landscape (Amazon/Borders/Netflix) for books and entertainment. Keller believes that despite the competition, libraries still have a place because people “long for community” (46). For me, the most important issues that Keller addresses is the need for libraries to promote the services and collections they have to offer. He believes libraries often make the mistake of assuming people already know why they are relevant. I also really liked an exercise he suggested in the “Create a Strategic Positioning Statement” section involving two questions that libraries need to ask: “(1) What word or phrase most aptly describes what the library currently is? and (2) What word or phrase most aptly describes what the library hopes to be?” (48).
While working on our citizen journalism group project, I exchanged some messages with a librarian named Phil Shapiro from the Takoma Park Maryland Library. Phil was beyond helpful and pointed me towards a recent blog post he had written for PC World called “Should Public Libraries be Welcoming Homes for Ingenuity?”. My answer is yes, and the ideas in his post really go along with some of the concepts I am thinking about for my paper. What he says is that libraries are about so much more than books. They are about the media and art we make and the songs we compose. He offers some great examples of the kinds of experiences that could be created for users in the library.
I have just started to read PR 2.0: New Media, New Tools, New Audiences by Deirdre Breakenridge, and I can already tell that their will be helpful information to apply to the idea of re-launching the innovative library brand. I am also starting to look at The Culting of Brands: When Customers Become True Believers by Douglas Atkin, Harvard Business Review on Brand Management, Democratizing Innovation by Eric von Hippel, and Brand Hijack: Marketing Without Marketing by Alex Wipperfurth.
