A view of Facebook

I'm no longer surprised by the prominance of my topic, however, to see Solomon show up that prominantly makes me smile. Laura Solomon's tiny little book (65 pages. You could read it on your lunch hour) has really held my hand through this Web 2.0 inquiry. What do I really like about it? It's very library-centric. As the only non-teacher in this class, it could be very easy for me to lose sight of the "library" focus I want to keep in my learning. Thank you, Laura Solomon!

Like us on Facebook

There are hundreds of social media sites on the web, but with over 800 million users, Facebook is a logical place for libraries to meet their clientele. As Solomon stated, if you “… can choose only one place to have a social media presence, Facebook is almost certainly the best bet when it comes to demographics (Solomon, 2011, p.14). Facebook is more than a broadcast medium: acknowledging the “social” part of the media called Facebook, we can engage with patrons, be part of conversations by truly having a dialogue with our patrons and building relationships with them.

Although our library’s page had been created on May 24, 2011, we only had 39 users at the time I wrote my proposal to learn more about using Facebook in libraries (we have 47 today). We know we should be reaching more people but have not yet found the ticket to draw our potential followers to our page. In the article Facebookfor Libraries, one of the first things King suggests is setting up a username for your library page.  Solomon also suggests that libraries have a “vanity URL” (Solomon, 2011, p. 26). That had not been done, so I did so today. You can now find us at www.facebook.com/CamroseLibrary. I’ll wait if you’d like to head over there now and “like” us.

King also suggests that more than one person maintain the library’s Facebook page to ensure that conversations are monitored and answered. With five administrators, keeping our status updating at least once a day is much easier than if the responsibility belonged to one person alone. In the case of our library, those five administrators include both staff and board members which means different messages are being shared through our Facebook personality.

Connecting your library’s Facebook page to your library’s Flickr and YouTube pages are among Kings’ suggestions, too, but at this time our library does not have either a Flickr or a YouTube account. We do, however, actively tweet and our Facebook page is connected to our Twitter account as is suggested by Solomon (2011, p. 26). One spot updating makes my life easier, but I do have trouble remembering that what I’m posting to Facebook is also showing up on Twitter; keeping Facebook status updates to 140 characters is not as easy as one might think. Also, a Facebook status with a lot of “@someone” phrases that don’t follow you on Facebook but who do follow you on Twitter (or vice versa) seems strange to me. Apparently I can set up Facebook to only tweet some of my status updates; I plan to figure that one out. But not today.

Before I was director of library services at this library, I used to be the head librarian at this other library. There, our Facebook presence was much stronger with 216 friends and a very busy programming schedule promoted on heavily on Facebook.  Attendance at such events as Little Girls Night (which had 105 little girls in attendance) and the Royal Tea (with 85 people in attendance) significantly higher than those who actually responded on Facebook that they would be attending, leading me to believe that Facebook is a perfect medium to get people talking about events.  King’s article echoes that very same sentiment when he asked another librarian about her use of Facebook: she talks about the power of advocating and spreading the message. With 50% of Facebook users logging onto their accounts daily and connecting with an average of 130 Facebook acquaintances, that’s a lot of free communication!

How else do you know your posts are making an impact on people? Facebook has a little service called “post insights” that lets page administrators find out how many impressions each story makes and what percentage of those impressions result in an action (such as a “like”). Using this can give you a critical look at what information has been found to be interesting by your users and enable you to better customize your messages so they are shared more often thus reaching a larger audience.

Facebook also has a little tool called “view as”. This tool enables you to see how your followers see your page. This is certainly far more of a concern for your own personal page than for a public page. I assume that on a public page, such as our library’s page, I would want to leave privacy settings quite lax to make sure anyone who wants to contact us can.

I cannot ignore what is on our library’s shelves. With six books on Web 2.0, 16 books on social media, another 16 about Facebook, it is apparent that social media and Facebook are on the minds of even rural libraries.

King finishes his article with this insightful message:

Give your Facebook community the content they want, and they will become your fans. Even more importantly, they’ll start interacting. My guess? Get that interaction going, and your customers—the ones wanting to interact with you in Facebook Pages—will become advocates for you and your library—not only online, but in person, too (King, 2011).

Read what I read:

Facebook (n.d.). In Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook

King, D.L. (2011, May 27). Facebook for libraries. American Libraries. Retrieved from http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/features/05272011/facebook-libraries

Solomon, L, (2011). Doing social media so it matters. Chicago: American Library Association.

Twitter revisited

Twitter. Teeny, tiny blog posts, but dominating the wordle to the left. I'm pleased.

Twitter: teeny, tiny blog posts

Twitter is a free messaging service allowing people to send and receive short messages (called Tweets) via the web. These short messages are limited to 140 characters (including spaces) and are generally public. Careful crafting can convey a lot of information without taking a lot of time to read or write. Millions of users allow one to connect with people interested in your institution or area of expertise.

In an ideal world my goal is to connect to and engage with my library’s users and the library community where they are, whether that is in a physical space or online. As a librarian, I want to capture the power of Web 2.0 tools to do a number of things:

·         market my library

·         engage in discussion with my library’s patrons

·         engage in discussion with those who support my library

·         promote the core values of the library profession.

Ultimately, my objective is to add real value to both library services and patron experience and Twitter is a tool that fulfills all those objectives when used properly. According to Solomon, social media is “incredibly easy to learn but can take a long time to master” (2011, vi). According to this infographic, I am truly at the “learning” stage (thanks to Alana for sharing this nifty tool and encouraging me to try others like klout). Mastering my presence in Twitter is going to be a long battle, but one I think will be worth it for my library, my patrons and my profession.

Vancouver Public Library has been a leader in the use of Twitter in a public library environment with the most popular Twitter feed of any Canadian library and the tenth most popular library Twitter feed in the world (Cahill, 2011, 265). Their example is certainly one to emulate. Some of their successes pointed out in Cahill’s article include:

·         Word-of-mouth marketing – retweeting by loyal followers broadcasts their message to an audience much larger than their original followers.

·         Customer service – allowed them to rapidly respond to customer service comments.

·         Community engagement – VPL used photographs (via TwitPic) to generate excitement about a new branch.

·         Solicit feedback – when VPL launched their new catalogue, Twitter was used to share the link and solicit feedback.

Along the same lines, Circle (2009) lists speaking directly to customers, immediate feedback and loyalty as reasons to use Twitter.

We can learn from VPL’s mistakes, too, such as this one that allowed them to learn what tone and approach to use.  Following an incident in which

… a full week’s worth of event notifications were posted to the feed in one batch, Twitter followers grumbled that the library was spamming them. The Web Team requested more feedback, and learned that the event information users wanted to see on Twitter was very current, for example reminders about events happening the same evening. Once this was taken into account, and events promoted accordingly, the complaints stopped (Cahill, 2011, p. 266).

Twitter is a very informal venue, and accordingly, VPL has endeavoured to keep their Twitter feed friendly, personal and approachable. The informal approach has led to some spontaneous conversations with followers like this one:

pdot Picking up my love affair with @VPL again . . . I’ve missed you.

VPL @pdot Welcome back! We’ve missed you, too.

pdot If this had been back in my childhood, it’d be like Santa writing back!:) @VPL

sylvia_tan @pdot OMG, the book fairies wrote back to you. That tweet from @VPL is the

cutest ever.

Perhaps not an enhanced library service, but a great example of how the few seconds it takes to make a Twitter post can create an incredibly positive experience (Cahill, 2011, p. 266).

Success on Twitter:

VPL considers its’ Twitter best practices to include:

·         Maintaining a friendly, informal tone

·         Updating at least once a day

·         Posting content that is varied, timely, and inclusive,

·         Responding to all incoming user questions and feedback (though not to a guaranteed timeframe)

VPL is years ahead of me in the use of twitter and has benchmarks in place to measure the effectiveness of their use of Twitter including feedback and retweets. Using some of those measures, CamroseLibrary1 has:

·         64 mentions

·         14 retweets

·         we are being followed on 5 lists (three of those are classmates. Thanks Jen, Alana and April!)

·         130 tweets

·         46 followers

All this since we CamroseLibrary1 started on September 5, 2011. Is that good? Let me remind you that I am a beginner!

Milstein (2009) has many other suggestions for quality use of Twitter including:

·         Treating Twitter as a conversation by replying to people who send you messages.

·         Actively search for mentions of your library in other conversations and manage your reputation.

·         Follow everyone who follows you. Their following you is an indication that they want to have a conversation with you. Use direct messages when privacy between you should be maintained.

·         Post one to six times per day; don’t be silent and don’t overwhelm people with too many posts.

·         Interact with your followers. Ask for opinions and feedback.

Twitter wants its users to succeed and has set up very helpful tutorials to help with that. You can access tutorials on the following:

·         Getting started

·         Learning the strange language Twitter and symbols uses

·         How to change your profile picture

·         How to follow others

·         How to promote your Twitter Profile

And so much more by using their help menu.

Hashtags:

Hashtags (#) were developed to create groupings on twitter and can be a powerful tool if used correctly. Agreed upon hashtags and their correct use with keywords allows Twitter users to find information on a topic and allows Twitter to organize that information. It is recommended that you do a little research before developing a hashtag to see if there is already an established hashtag on the subject. Some of the hashtags I love to follow include: #canlit, #CanadaReads, #BookerPrize, #MasseyLectures, #PlankADay and #FF.

Promotion:

Promotion is an interest I feel I need to pursue more actively and doing so using Twitter has been mandated by my board. As a result, I followed Twitter’s suggestion and set up not one, but two lists: one for authors, and one for libraries I follow. It will be interesting to see if our Twitter account experiences a significant jump in numbers following the set-up of these lists.

Other promotional tips include Solomon’s (2011) suggestion that linking social media profiles allows one to synchronize profile updates and allows others to find you (p. 26) and using custom backgrounds and your library’s logo to make your identity clearly stand out (p. 27). Our Camrose Public Library Facebook page was set up by a board member months before I started there and I share responsibility with four other administrators. I was pleased to see that the synchronized profile updates had already been set up between the two allowing us to update in both places at once. Milstein (2009) suggests filling in your account’s settings with the name of your institution and its URL and using the 160-character Bio field to let people know who you are; this is also suggested by Solomon (p. 28) as part of being transparent.

Is It Worth It?

I don’t think value is something that can be determined by numbers in the case of Twitter. If you are providing your patrons with a means of communicating with you, meeting them where they are so to speak, then you’re providing them with a valuable service. Do question the value fairly regularly, though; determine how you know you’re failing, learn how to correct the failure and be prepared to stop using the tool if you decide that is the solution.

Finally:

Follow me on Twitter!

Blogs discussing Twitter:

·         Twitter itself has a blog to update you on the newest Twitter innovations.

·         Andy Burkhardt is an emerging technologies librarian at Champlain College and writes here about how libraries can use twitter.  

·         The Libsuccess wiki site lists dozens of libraries who use twitter.

What I Read:

Barr, B (May 2009). How to: get the most out of Twitter #hashtags. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2009/05/17/twitter-hashtags/  

Cahill, K. (2011). Going social at Vancouver Public Library: what the virtual branch did next. Program: electronic library and information systems, 45(3), 259-278.

Circle, A. (2009). Marketing trends to watch. Library Journal, 134(16), 26-29.

Milstein, A. (May 2009). Twitter for libraries (and librarians). Retrieved from http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/may09/Milstein.shtml

Solomon, L, (2011). Doing social media so it matters. Chicago: American Library Association.

Thomases, Hollis (2010). Twitter marketing: an hour a day. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley.

Post Script (If you read this far)


Oh lookie lookie lookie! If you go to your "your tweets, re-tweeted" and click the little arrow (there's an arrow... hover for a bit, you'll see it) it tels you WHO tweeted it! Now isn't that the coolest thing.

Wordle Summary - QR Codes

Today's wordle doesn't surprise me one little bit: "QR" "Code(s)" and "information" figure prominantly and that's what I was talking about. "Library" is smaller than I expected and makes me wonder if I didn't focus enough on the application of QR codes in that environment. "User" doesn't figure very prominantly, either.

QR Codes in the Library

QR codes (quick response codes), those funky, graphic two-dimensional barcodes that can be scanned by a mobile device, are beginning to show up everywhere: I have seen them on the back of my cereal box, on my dog’s food, in the pages of magazines, and on posters. Initially created by Toyota in 1994 to track automobile parts, it is becoming clear to me that QR code's potential lies in allowing people to bridge the gap between the physical world and online resources almost instantly. By using the camera on one's smart device loaded with the appropriate software, users can take a picture of the code and automatically gather Web addresses, location and contact information, small amounts of text, and other important pieces of information. If there is an application for it in the world of advertising, there is most certainly an application for QR codes in the world of libraries.

There are a number of ways libraries can use QR codes in their own promotion:

·         On displays – Use QR codes to link patrons to more information (formal displays, on shelf displays, and more. Link people to electronic versions of materials (such as electronic versions of print magazines), or to more information about overall display. Provide links to reader’s advisory, special collections, video or podcasts, surveys and more.

·         On promotional material – Use QR codes to direct people to more information about a program or event, to the library’s website, facebook or twitter. QR codes can be used to direct patrons to the catalogue enabling them to place holds on books. An advantageous feature of QR codes: you can change the information behind the QR code without having to change or reprint the handout.

·         On library cards – QR codes can be used to link the individual directly to her account so she can see what they have out, when items are due, if she has holds.

·         On books – A QR code placed on a book could be used to lead the reader to the author’s blog or website, to a database with more information on the subject, to book trailers, or to book reviews.

·         On signage – QR codes on signage in airports or on busses could be used to link a user to an e-book or e-audiobook which can download for their trip. On room names, a QR code could lead to more information about the person after whom the library was named, when the building was built or more.

·         On mail – QR codes built into library letterhead or into the body of a letter could be used to direct the receiver to more information, explaining the contents of the letter. In an appeal letter, links to examples of what the results of increased funding would provide might better appeal to a donor.

·         On gift certificates – If a QR code were placed on a library gift certificate, it would enable the potential user to further explore the library before visiting to acquire the card.

·         Business cards – QR codes on business cards can enable the scanner to store library contact information directly into their device or contact the email or phone directly from the code.

·         Staff uniforms or name badges – QR codes worn around the library by the staff working there could link patrons to information regarding promotion or event. Imagine a walking billboard.

·         Tattoos - Use temporary QR Code tattoos for a library event can provide a fun talking point and kids love them.

Among the benefits of using QR codes in a library context is that creating a QR code is incredibly simple. There are a number of free QR code generators available (I’ve listed some below), with more advanced ones being able to embed security features. Many smart phones come with QR code reading software already installed, but there are a number of apps available for download specifically for the make and model of specific smart devices (again, I’ve listed a few below).  A significant advantage to using QR codes is that patrons do not have to access a computer to access information; with the simple scanning of a QR code, smart devices become the source of their information. Further, QR codes are easy to use: rather than having to type in a long URL which may discourage users, the QR code simply directs the patron to the appropriate site, bypassing typos that may occur.

There are certainly drawbacks in using QR codes. Not everyone is aware of QR codes and as a result, not everyone who sees one will know to pull out a cell phone and take a picture of the matrix. Although the number is shrinking daily, not everyone owns a camera phone or other device (myself included!), and because many cell phones and devices do not include a QR reader, the software must be downloaded and tested. A QR code might direct us­ers to a website that does not display properly on a cell phone. We must also be aware that some cell phones will come with a data plan that requires users to pay for data they access via their phone. Inevitably, there will be a population that will be excluded from the services provided via QR code use.

Best Practices:

There are very few caveats for using QR codes but among them are to use highly contrasting colours like black and white. If used on a poster, be sure the code is not cluttered by other information, making the code difficult to scan. Use a URL shortener to limit the amount of information required to be coded into the QR code. A significant advantage to using a QR code on posters, pamphlets and other promotional materials is that you can change the information behind the QR code without having to change or reprint the material.

Before your poster or pamphlet goes into production, test the QR code with various types of devices and QR code readers. People have different phones and their own favourite readers; make sure that yours works across various platforms. Ensure that the QR code leads to valuable content that compliments the original advertisement or information source; sending library users to your home page is redundant if what you intend them to access is more specific information. Instead, link users to your phone number, a registration page, or more information regarding a program or service. Use addresses with fewer characters to ensure that you generate a reasonably-size QR code. Larger codes may be tough to read for some, but websites like bitly, goo.gl, or tiny URL can shorten a URL with a couple of clicks. Finally, provide information for those users who do not know about QR code readers right in your pamphlet or poster so they know how to download an app to their device if they have not already done so.

Conclusion:

There appears to be a great deal of momentum being created by the uptake of QR codes in popular culture and advertising. For use of QR codes to succeed in public libraries, we need to make use of QR codes where they make our users’ lives easier. QR codes are not intended to replace human interaction, but rather to provide a shortcut to information for mobile users. In fact, QR codes can provide a shortcut to a human with whom to interact! We must keep in mind, especially in rural public libraries, that the digital divide still exists. Be cognisant of that, provide assistance at every step of the process from teaching patrons what QR codes are, to downloading apps to use codes, to making information accessible by QR codes relevant to them. Ensure that information provided by QR code link is also available via other means so those who are not ready to utilize this tool are not left out of access to information.

QR Code Generators are FREE!

·         Kaywa allows generation of QR codes compatible with URLs, text, phone numbers and SMS

·         QR Stuff allows colourful QR codes and codes that can be specified to email, videos, maps, calendars, paypal buy now links and more.

·         ZXing Project requires providing contact information

·         GOQR.ME allows URL, Phone, SMS and vCard codes to be generated.

·         BeQRious provides the options of URL, social media (facebook, blogger, YouTube, etc.), graphical and map codes to be generated

·         delivr allows URL, contact, SMS and phone, maps, emails, RSS feeds and more to be generated

Get your QR code reader to join the fun!

If your device is compatible, you can download a reader directly by visiting any of these web addresses:

·         http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/qr-code-reader-and-scanner/id388175979?mt=8

·         http://www.i-nigma.mobi/

·         http://get.beetagg.com/

·         http://www.upcode.mobi/

·         http://get.neoreader.com/

·         http://www.getscanlife.com/

Read what others are using QR codes for in libraries:

·         Scan me! QR codes in the library

·         Library Thing

·         Tara Robertson

What I’m using QR Codes for:

Putting QR codes into practice was incredibly simple. I generated one based on my library’s facebook page and posted it on our library’s website: I have also placed it on our library gift certificates to link potential users to the library’s website allowing them to see the benefits of library membership before ever setting foot in the library. It is immediately apparent when looking at these two codes that the shorter the URL used, the simpler (and easier to read) the QR code is:

Follow us on Facebook!



 

Camrose Public Library



I have a library with a beautiful expanse of windows and I hope to use QR codes in the window to generate interest and discussion. A generously sized poster indicating an event would link individuals to more information regarding the event. Finally, you can bet I will be putting at least one QR code on the back of my business cards!

Read what I read:

Baker, L. (2010). Making physical objects clickable: using mobile tags to enhance library displays. Journal of Library Innovation, 1(2), 22-28.

Fletcher, J. (2010). Marketing for the QRious: the beginner’s guide to using QR codes for library promotions and resources. Multimedia Information and Technology, 36(3), 26-27.

Hampton, D., Peach, A. & Rawlings, B (2011). Reaching mobile users with QR codes. Kentucky Libraries, 75(2), 6-10.

Harris, C. (2010). QR codes in the library: use 2-D barcodes to offer the coolest services ever. School Library Journal, 56(10), 12.

Hicks, A. & Sinkinson, C. (2011). Situated questions and answers: responding to library users with QR codes. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 50(1), 60 – 69.

Porter, M. & King, D.L. (2011). QR codes in libraries: some examples. Public Libraries. May/June 2011, 25-29.

QR Codes (n.d.). Library success: best practices wiki. Retrieved from http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=QR_Codes

Walsh, A. (2010). QR codes: using mobile phones to deliver library instruction and help at the point of need. Journal of Information Literacy, 5(1), 55-63.

Benefits and Challenges:

Wordle Summary

Wordle is not one of my Web 2.0 tools that I will be exploring, but it is something I enjoy using. I'm one of those people who likes words and pictures and Wordle provides me with both. Based on the posting below, I've created this Wordle. I love how "tools", "Web" and "public" dominate the page. I'm glad "frustration", "fear" and "crying" do not.

Web 2.0: Where Education Has Me Quaking in my Boots

As the director of a rural public library, I am frequently asked to share or present information to groups in the form of reports, marketing tools, invitations and announcements. As a student in the EDES 501 class at the University of Alberta (the only non-teacher in the class, I may add), I have been presented with the task of exploring Web 2.0 tools to discover how they would fit into the realm of my professional life. As a glacial adopter of technology, I go forth in terror.

Selecting My Web 2.0 Arsenal:

You are all familiar with Web 2.0 tools. You have quite possibly stumbled across this blog while searching for information related to Web 2.0 tools. If not, you are probably my mom. My point is, Web 2.0 tools are common; everyone seems to use them, nobody seems to fear them. Except me, that is. I am the one remaining person in my family (save my 90 year old grandmother) who does not own a home computer. I also do not own a hand held device (except a mixer but I’m told that’s not a Web 2.0 tool).

I have been told that to fulfill the requirements of this particular course, I need to set aside my fear and explore at least six Web 2.0 tools. That means that over the next several weeks, I will be posting my experiences here, sharing what I have learned, things you probably already know, and giving the general public the opportunity to point and laugh at me. It’s kind of like 7^th grade all over again. Only now I have wrinkles.

Since I have no plan to head out and buy a computer or a smart phone for personal use, I have decided that all six of the tools I explore will be for use at work (although some may spill over into my personal life and all will be applicable as professional development). As I stated above, I am a librarian, so my focus will be on how to use these six tools in a public library environment.

My tools (or my arsenal, as I have been calling them) will include:

1.       QR codes

2.       Twitter

3.       Facebook

4.       Prezi

5.       Glogs

6.       Survey tools

I will explore one per week starting with my first post on Sunday, October 17^th with the exception of survey tools which I plan to take two weeks to explore in hopes of having some usable returns on an actual survey I will produce. I plan to post a link on this blog so if you have stumbled across it, please feel free to take the survey (or come back. It will be posted late in November).

I say that I am coming to you in terror, but that is not entirely true. I do use Facebook and Twitter. I have tried (and failed at) glogs, QR codes and survey tools, which has done wonders for my self-esteem. Prezi remains the one tool that I have absolutely no experience in. I do, however, think I may need to take a lot of gravol in order to get through learning Prezi. All six tools, however, do offer an opportunity to learn how to use them in a public library setting, taking into consideration literacy levels of patrons, appeal to patrons and considering audiences other than patrons.

I am a busy person (like you are) so I hope these tools will serve in some way to make my life, and my presentation of information to patrons, board members, stakeholders and the like, easier and faster. I am a proud member of the public library community and feel public libraries should be on the cutting edge of making information and technology available to the public, so I certainly embrace this opportunity to develop professionally and share what I learn with those of you who have stumbled to this blog.

As I am learning, I am also reporting to two instructors at the University of Alberta. Joanne de Groot and Jennifer Branch will be assessing my progress and will also be reading a different version of my blog; more of an academic look at my learning.

Thanks for joining me on this journey. I hope some of you will be holding pompoms and cheering me on.