Librarian 2.0

With newer technologies are emerging  and making Web 2.0 better, so then libraries are doing the same. Library and information science professionals are integrating web technologies into the libraries in a new model of Library 2.0. Library 2.0 requires a new kind of LIS professional (Partridge, Menzies, Lee, & Munro, 2010). Now is the time to train librarians to instruct and inform users to new technologies such as RSS, wikis, blogging, social networking, and other social media technologies. Libraries that do not adapt and allow the emergence of these technologies will be positioning for a bad presence and cause division among users (Abrams, 2008).

Changes in Web 2.0 will not be made possible without the future improvement and competency of library professionals. Abrams (p.22) gives a plethora of skills that a Librarian 2.0 should be able to perform. Here is a sampling of the skills.

Librarian 2.0

• combines e-resources and print format seamlessly.
• learn the major tools of Web 2.0 and Library 2.0.
• uses the latest tools of communication to connect content, expertise, information coaching, and people.
• mines their usage data for insights into user behaviors.

As Web 2.0 changes the dynamics of business growth and the way users utilize technology in the workplace and homes, so should the library professionals. 

Abram, S. (2008). Social libraries. Library Resources & Technical Services, 52(2), 19-22.

Casey, M. E., & Savastinuk, L. C. (2006). [Hyper-Link]. Library 2.0: Service for the Next-Generation Library. Library Journal, 131(14), 40.Retrieved from http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2010/05/technology/library-2-0/#_

The Modern Librarian. (n.d.). Library 2.0 [Google Image]. Retrieved from http://themodernlibrarian.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/workshop2.jpg

Partridge, H., Menzies, V., Lee, J., & Munro, C. (2010). The contemporary librarian: Skills, knowledge and attributes required in a world of emerging technologies. Library & Information Science Research (07408188), 32(4), 265-271. doi:10.1016/j.lisr.2010.07.001

SWOT Analysis

As I had posted earlier, some libraries tend to deny users access to post on the library's social media sites for fear of lack of control. I was curious to know as why this is so with libraries. I stumbled across an SWOT analysis of social media in libraries by Joe Fernandez (2009). A SWOT analysis is usually utilized by the business world, but Fernandez created this analysis to understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of social media in libraries. Libraries do find social media as a free and easy way to "contribute their own ideas about services and resources" to users (p.36). Administrators do have some control over what content they can share. Some of the weaknesses that libraries have for social media are that some social media applications like Flickr and Twitter limits what libraries can post and it also opens libraries to criticism. There are plenty of opportunities that libraries can have with social media. It attracts new users and help libraries market their services (p. 37). 

Fernandez goes on to point out some threats that may occur when libraries use social media. One of the potential threats was that social media sites are sometime beyond the control of the librarian who manages the site. These threats may come in form of pranksters or hackers hijacking control and compromising the library's own website. Even the changing of web design will hinder the library in connecting with their users. It is important to keep all social media applications current and relevant in order to keep users following. Libraries must continue to improve their relationship with users so that they may be more productive citizens as well. 

Fernandez, J. (2009). A SWOT analysis for social media in libraries. Online, 33(5), 35-37.

Goodrich, R. (2015). SWOT Analysis: Examples, Templates & Definition. Business News Daily. Retrieved from http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4245-swot-analysis.html

Pestleanalysis.com. SWOT analysis [Google image]. Retrieved from http://pestleanalysis.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/what-is-swot-analysis.jpg

Now and Then

During the first decade of the 21st century, libraries in general were not embracing social media in comparison to libraries now in this current decade. Jonathan Bodnar, a business & user experience analyst for the  Robert W. Woodruff Library of Emory University and Ameet Doshi, a user engagement librarian and assessment coordinator from Georgia Tech Library (2011) wrote a constructive critique discussing the use of social networking sites in academic libraries. In their article, the authors discussed how several libraries were using Facebook as a way to interact with their fellow scholars, while other libraries were denying their users access to post on the library Facebook page. One of the possible reasons that libraries denied users the right to post was that librarians feared that the library would lose control of its Facebook page (p. 106). They also noted that libraries who limited user access had less activity. 

Now libraries, whether it is public or academic, are looking past the negative of social networking sites and using social media as a positive marketing tool to reach more scholars or patrons. Librarians must continue to experiment with sites like Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter and effectively use social media to better enhance its presence in its respective service area. Librarians should also strive to reach users in the most creative and energetic ways possible. 

Bodnar, J. & Doshi, A. (2011). Asking the right questions: A critique of Facebook, social media, and libraries. Public Services Quarterly, 7(3/4), 102-110. 

Emory University Library and Information Technology Services. (2015). Robert W. Woodruff Library home page. Retrieved from http://web.library.emory.edu/index.html

epstengroup.com. (n.d.). Robert W. Woodruff Library Front [Google Image]. Retrieved from http://epstengroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/r-w-woodriuff-libraryfront.jpg

Georgia Tech Library. (n.d.). Georgia Tech Library home page. Retrieved from http://www.library.gatech.edu/

Social Media and Readers' Advisory

Rebecca Anwyll and Brenda Chawner (2013) were guest columnists alongside columnist/editor Laurel Tarulli and wrote a column named Social Media and Readers' Advisory, in the Reference & Users Services Quarterly journal. They examined the use of social media for Readers' Advisory (RA) by interviewing 15 librarians from New Zealand public libraries. The information that Anwyll and Chawner provided were very similar to the way American libraries use social media to interact with patrons. 

Here are some key points that were very interesting to me as a librarian. The key reasons for adopting social media in libraries were staff interest, attending conferences, and monitoring trends (p. 113). One of the main objectives for engaging library users was to promote Readers' Advisory by posting content about new resources, books, reviews, and blogs. The interviewees acknowledged that there should be more positive awareness of Readers' Advisory (p. 117) in social media, but there must be an exact distinction between just posting links about new books and RA. If social media is used wisely in libraries, RA would thrive. For example, there's plenty of websites and links that could be posted to Facebook  and Twitter. Goodreads and NoveList would be great links share with patrons. 

It is also interesting to note that New Zealand libraries are governed a little differently than American libraries. New Zealand libraries are governed by local city (district) councils which in part have policies and guidelines in place to govern how social media is utilized. Councils are in charge of what libraries can post on its Facebook or Twitter. Some librarians that were interviewed were not allowed to post anything political or even negative, which seems to me to be understandable. It appears that these particular city councils have a reputation to uphold and if publicizing negativity would be bad for public relations. I personally searched for public libraries in New Zealand who participated in some type of social network. It was very difficult to find one on social media, but did find the Porirua Library on Facebook. 

One librarian had mentioned their council developed eight commandments for social postings. One of the most interesting commandments was this: "Be social. You only get out what you put in. Share the love (p.116)." That statement is so true and should be to all librarians. We need the share our love for the library and how the library can be useful to all people in its service area. 

Anwyll, R., Chawner, B., & Tarulli, L. (2013). Social Media and Readers' Advisory. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 53(2), 113-118.

Porirua Library. (n.d.). Porirua Library Facebook page. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/Porirua-Library-276031052466679/

Taupo District Council. (n.d.). Libraries and museums. Retrieved from http://www.taupodc.govt.nz/our-services/libraries-and-museum/Pages/libraries-and-museum.aspx]

Taupo Public Library. (n.d). Taupo Public Library [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.taupodc.govt.nz/our-services/libraries-and-museum/libraries/PublishingImages/Taupo-library-560x321.jpg

Library user's right to privacy

When libraries utilize social media whether it is to share information with patrons or patrons using social media in libraries, the issue of privacy arises. Harvard University (Parry, 2013) learned the hard way by randomly tweeting recent books that had been checked out by their students on Twitter. Each “tweeted” book did not enclose the identity of the student checking the book out, but it did raise concerns of an individual’s reading habit. This caused a concern that patron privacy was being violated, so the University stopped using Twitter for this purpose.

As ALA adopts many privacy practices, patron privacy plays a major role in securing intellectual freedom. ALA stresses that libraries must conduct regular library privacy audits.  Libraries should also gather very little information on library users (Lamdan, 2015). Based on Article III of the ALA’s Code of Ethics (2008), “we protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted.” This is a rather hard task to do since new social media innovations cause a strain on library privacy ethics. We, as librarians, have an obligation to uphold to our users by making sure that their privacy is secure while using social media in our libraries. 

American Library Association. (2008). Code of Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/advocacy/proethics/codeofethics/codeethics

Parry, M. (2012). As libraries go digital, sharing of data conflicts with tradition of privacy. Chronicle Of Higher Education, 59(11), 14.

Lamdan, S. S. (2015). Social media privacy: A rallying cry to librarians. Library Quarterly, 85(3), 261-277.

www.madisonaveinsights.com. (n.d.). Privacy [Image]. Retrieved from  http://www.madisonaveinsights.com/files/2014/06/privacy_image.jpg

What's trending now in public libraries? Part 2

This is a continuation of the previous blog post on libraries embracing social media technologies as a way of connecting to more users. As I had noted earlier in the last blog post, this article was full of helpful information. The library system that I work in had just implemented this summer social media technologies: Facebook and Instagram. We are in the early stages of connecting with our users via the web. This article provided some really helpful ideas and advice from social media directors of really large public libraries. The Library Research Service staff members of the Colorado State Library also interviewed the top libraries with most active social media users: Arlington Public Library (Va.), Columbus Metropolitan Library (Ohio), Westerville Public Library (Ohio), and the New York Public Library (N.Y.). As for as content is concerned each library is different. WPL's content is based on goals set in their social media plan, while NYPL focuses their content on its mission statement (Hofschire & Wanucha, 2014, p.8). CML keeps their content fresh every week by following a daily schedule plan for posting meaningful content.

Each organization was asked how they handle negative comments on social media. Johannes Neuer from NYPL stressed the importance of responding promptly and directly to the individual through private messaging. Neuer also mentioned that the library's followers stands up to the naysayers on behalf of the library (p.9). That tells you how much the Library means to the different communities that surround the city of New York. Even though it is a large library system, the followers seem to be a close knit sort of people who is devoted to their library. The other libraries mention in the article had very little issues and were well mannered. All four directors spoke positive about their social media experience within their respective libraries.  

According to this study, there has definitely been significant growth with social media technologies in U.S. public libraries. The 2012 study suggested that social media technologies and mobile access will surge in growth, but how the technologies will be implemented will be uncertain (p.9). I predict more libraries or rather smaller libraries will incorporate more social media in their strategic planning. This study is not over; the researchers at RLS planned to continue this longitudinal study this past spring. It would be interesting to see if public libraries do tend to follow after web-based technologies. 

Hofschire, L., & Wanucha, M. (2014). Public library websites and social media. Computers in Libraries, 34(8), 4-9. 

Lincoln-Lawrence-Franklin Regional Library Facebook Page. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/Lincoln-Lawrence-Franklin-Regional-Library-705577652885991/


Www. nypl.org. (n.d.). Stephen A. Schwarzman Building [Image]. Retrieved from http://cdn-prod.www.aws.nypl.org/sites/default/files/images/locations/36/interior_sasb_reading_room.jpg

What's trending now in public libraries? Part 1

This blog post focuses on how libraries are beginning to embrace more web-based technologies to help increase social interaction with users within the library service area. Since 2008, Colorado State Library's Library Research Service (LRS) had conducted a longitudinal study  every  two years on tracking the use of web-based technologies in U.S. public libraries.Linda Hofschire, Wanucha, M., and LRS staff members (2014) randomly selected  public libraries of all sizes from IMLS's (Institute of Museums and Library Services) annual "Public Libraries Survey." LRS staff members visited each library's website and looked for the presence of any type of social media tools like RSS feeds, social networking, blogs, and especially mobile websites. The findings revealed several keypoints. Smaller libraries shown a gain with RSS feeds from "10% to 20 % between 2010 and 2012", while larger libraries had decreased in this area by 26% (p.6). Since more and more people have mobile devices, libraries are providing mobile-friendly websites. In 2010, 15% of libraries with populations greater than 100,000 provided some type of mobile website to users. Within the two year period, the study revealed big gains in all population groups. Libraries' use of social media steadily increased with the last two years in the study. The most interesting finding is that the smallest libraries had a big jump in the adoption of Facebook from 18% to 54% (p.7). The most commonly used social networking sites among the larger libraries were Twitter (64%) and YouTube (60%). Facebook and Twitter were the most current sites being maintained by the libraries in the study. They analyzed the number of followers on Facebook and Twitter to the population size and found that smaller libraries had more followers that their own population size.

The information given above was very informative and helpful to me as a librarian of a small, rural public library with a service area of approximately 8,000 individuals. It is wonderful to know that smaller libraries are embracing social media. It is disconcerting to know that more users are relying on sites like Google to find information than coming to the library for help. Nearly everyone has a mobile device now, so libraries must go with the flow these days and reach out to mobile users. This study provided ample information that users are being drawn to social media and that libraries both small and large must adopt these social media technologies.

Horschire, L., & Wanucha, M. (2014). Public library websites and social media. Computer in 
Libraries, 34(8), 4-9.

www.jsums.edu. Social media icon. [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.jsums.edu/socialmedia/files/2015/05/SocialMedia.jpg 

Be Interesting, Be Interested

In May of 2012, the Montana State University Library revamped its social media program by creating a Social Media Group (SMG) to guide social media activity. Scott Young and Doralyn Rossman (2015) conducted a study to measure the effectiveness of implementing this social media plan. Prior to the formation of the SMG, the Library's Twitter feed was less than spectacular, which "lacked a sense of presence and personality" (p.23). The Montana State University Library modeled their social media plan around Harry Glazer's approach: "Be interesting, be interested" (2012, p.20). The SMG focused on improving the Twitter platform by targeting the undergraduate and graduate students by posting daily energetic tweets that focused on social interaction and information sharing. The Library wanted to connect with their students and build a sense of community. As result of the study, the student community increase by 366 percent and the rate of interaction among the community increased by  275 percent (p. 32).

What Montana State University Library did to improve student connection in its university community can also work in the public library community, too. Being a public librarian in a very rural area, I am always trying to find new ways to reach my potential patrons and keep my regulars coming back for more. We recently launched a Facebook page. With Glazer's recommendations, I hope to improve our library by connecting to our community through social media.

Glazer, H. (2012). Likes' are lovely, but do they lead to more logins? Developing metrics for academic libraries' Facebook pages. College & Research Libraries News, 73(1), 18-21.

Twitter.com. Twitter [Image]. Retrieved from https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/615680132565504000/EIpgSD2K.png

Young, S. H., & Rossmann, D. (2015). Building library community through social media.
Information Technology & Libraries, 34(1), 20-37.

Facebook for the Library

Facebook is in my opinion the most addictive social media tool of all. Facebook helps me stay in touch with family and friends by posting pictures of my family, finding ideas for dinner, and saving the day by watching a silly video a friend posted. According to Statista, there are approximately 213 million Facebook active users in the United States and Canada. So, if there is so many users using Facebook, why shouldn't the public library be on Facebook also?

David Lee King (2011) gives practical tips on how to set up  a Facebook page for the library, and how to utilize Facebook as away to connect with the community. After setting up a Facebook account for the library, King recommends creating a Facebook team that will be in charge of posting events and posts, and monitoring the conversations on the page. A yearly social media plan should be established with goals. Some of the goals would be:

• How often will you update posts per day/week?
• How many fans do you want? 
• What type of content to post and who will be your focus audience?

When sharing various content, don't be afraid to share the Library's blogs, YouTube videos, or Flickr pictures on the Library's page. When friends share your content, they share with all their friends, and possibly will bring new friends to liking your Facebook page. They act like advocates "for the library by helping spread its message" (King, p.45). Another great point that King recommends when updating a status, a status should be read like something you say out loud. The status should be written as if you are having a conversation with someone.Also, ask questions to open up more conversations on the Library's page. As you begin to interact with your Friends on Facebook, you will begin to draw more advocates for the Library. 

King, D. L. (2011). Facebook for libraries. American Libraries, 42(5/6), 42-45. 

Statista: The Statistical Portal. (2015). Number of monthly active Facebook users in the United States and Canada as of 2nd quarter 2015 (in millions). Retrieved from, 

http://www.statista.com/statistics/247614/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/

Wctechblog.com. Facebook [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://wctechblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/140314-facebook-illustration-jsw-1007a_8e6c9f0c83f147f21eafd39eb07cc0d9.jpg&imgrefurl=http://wctechblog.com/?cat%3D41&h=1693&w=2500&tbnid=gbTKncwoXlXYVM:&docid=0E2NsKW6YhSbUM&ei=62UdVqmbMomLNqu9jqAD&tbm=isch&ved=0CIsBEDMoTzBPahUKEwjpvMajocDIAhWJhQ0KHaueAzQ 

Why Use Social Media?

Social media has been around for almost twenty years. In 2003, social networking became a phenomenon over the World Wide Web. In that same year, MySpace (Digital Trends, 2014, para. 15) was a hit among the “young adult demographic with music, music videos, and a funky, feature-filled environment.” Almost everyone is participating in social media. According to The Web at 25 in the U.S (Fox & Rainie, 2014), 87 percent of American adults use the web and 68 percent connect to the web with mobile devices. Mobile technology is connecting more users to various social networking sites like: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.  57 percent of American adults use Facebook (Smith, 2014). So if more than half of the adult population is using Facebook, so why aren’t libraries using social media to connect with their service area? 

Here are five good reasons for libraries to participate in social media (King, 2015, p.7). 

1. Listening. Social media provides libraries a way to listen to what is going on in the community. It helps librarians know the hot topics that are swirling around and what the latest interests with the service area. It is also good to see what your customer base is thinking about the library, so that the library can meet the needs of the service area and make any changes needed to help patrons.
2. Connections. Social media connects the library’s patrons, as well as future patrons, with the latest happenings in the library. Best of all, it’s free!
3. Responses. Social media is a wonderful place to ask for input from your patrons by asking for ideas or even opinions about a matter. The hardest part is actually using their responses to make needed improvements. 
4. Mobile. As stated earlier, more than half of the adult population is connected to the web with a mobile device. So, libraries should post important messages on the web, because customers are always browsing the social networks or the web anytime of the day.
5. Reach. This is another great way to reach out to the customer base and let them know about the latest events, a new service, or a new book. The library may even possibly draw in new patrons from the service area.   

Digital Trends staff. (2014). The history of social networking. Retrieved from http://www.digitaltrends.com/features/the-history-of-social-networking/ 

Fox, S., & Rainie, L. (2014). The Web at 25 in the U.S.: Summary of Findings. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/02/27/the-web-at-25-in-the-u-s/ 

King, D. L. (2015). Why use social media? Library Technology Reports, 51(1), 6-9. 

Smith, A. (2014). 6 new facts about Facebook. Retrieved from  http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/02/03/6-new-facts-about-facebook/  

Socialmediaexaminer.com. Social media icon: Google icons. [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/dh-social-media-buttons-istock-image-25015338.jpg