Elisabeth Leonard on Libraries

Twitter, redux

I have mentioned Twitter as a means for marketing before, but I have been shocked at how in the last month it seems like EVERYONE in TV-land has suddenly become part of the Twitterati.  From Oprah, Barbara Walters to CNN and Ashton Kucher, being on Twitter has suddenly become mainstream.  While I hope that means that more library patrons will also be on Twitter, I worry about what this sudden attention may mean...will libraries jump onto Twitter because they believe that if everyone else is there, they should be there too...without thinking first about WHY they should be there (and maybe WHY NOT?).

Personally, I like it best when I get to follow the CEO, CIO, CMO and hear about changes the company is making, how the company is thinking about its products/services.  A couple folks to follow (if you want to see what I mean):
Jeffrey Hayzlett (Kodak)
Barry Judge (BestBuy)
Tony Hsieh (Zappos -- the online shoe company and perhaps my favorite of the people listed -- he really talks about HIMSELF a lot, which is kinda fun)

Here's what I think libraries forget: going into a social medium, like Twitter, requires that you have a purpose and a personality!  Twitter only gives you 140 characters..and people expect you to update regularly (and sometimes to either be witty or to be relevant).  It's something that I see individual librarians do well, but not something I see libraries as organizations do well. 

Odds and Ends

I was struck today by 2 pieces of news: Facebook is up to 150 million users (half of whom use Facebook daily!) and in other news, a guy is being sued for suggesting on a website that his chiropractor sucks (my word, not his).  Now, these two pieces of news may seem dissimilar, but for me, they both illustrate how use of the web has become part of our daily lives.  We post things online that we regularly would have said in person to friends -- and we are spending A LOT of time online doing casual things like using Facebook and telling the world what we think of our doctors.  How we use the web has become seamless to us, so much so that I bet the guy that is getting sued was shocked by the news (I imagine he didn't think the chiropractor would ever know what he wrote, believing that his use was both casual and hidden by the massive amount of other bits and pieces of information on the web).

When librarians think about how we talk to our patrons about the web, we should keep in mind what they currently use it for -- and remember that they are entagled in that web....and so are we!

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An update: the original post about the chiropractor appears to have been removed from Yelp.  Now, what remains:

A misunderstanding between both parties led us to act out of hand. I chose to ignore Dr. Biegel's initial request to discuss my posting. In hindsight, I should have remained open to his concerns. Both Dr. Biegel and I strongly believe in a person's right to express their opinions in a public forum.

We both encourage the internet community to act responsibly.  From: http://www.yelp.com/biz/advanced-chiropractic-center-san-francisco 
Maybe part of the settlement?

What's your voice?

The very best thing about the last couple years is that I have had been able to take the time to really consider my point of view and to share my voice.  I don't want to sound like I am whining -- no employer has ever tried to stifle my voice -- but I'm not sure I really knew what it was until recently.  I am finding that my passion for libraries is much deeper than I had thought and that it is often something I feel deepest when I am thinking as a reader, rather than as a librarian!  Now, I love being a librarian, I just sometimes feel that my voice isn't heard within libraries, but that is one that is shared by many of my fellow readers.  Since I now know my voice, I have been speaking -- sometimes softly, sometimes loudly.  And to my surprise, my voice is welcomed more than I had expected!  Not always shared, but welcomed...well....one step at a time, right? 

So this is my challenge to all of you -- find your voice and speak with it.  I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Comic book sales

Not only are profits good, comic books are proving that interest in reading PRINT and in shopping PHYSICALLY is also alive and well!

As many librarians could tell you, comic books and graphic novels are alive -- not only are sales in that "archaic" format, the bookstore up, I have rarely seen both librarians and patrons so interested in comic books!  Tour the vendor aisle at ALA and you now see a graphic novels area!  It used to be just one or two booths! 

I don't know too many libraries that tout their comic collection though, and that's something I hope will change.  While an exhibit inside the library might help increase use for those patrons who are already inside, I wonder if we would get NEW patrons if we were willing to promote comic books.  Does anyone else remember the study that showed that literacy increased for boys who were taught using comic books? 

Spoiler alert: Comic books are alive and kicking - Oct. 13, 2008.

At Marvel Entertainment (MVL), the industry's largest player, revenues for its print wares have been growing in double digits for the past three years and profit margins have been running at close to 40%.

Thinking about the community read

According to the LOC, "The "One Book" movement began in 1998 when Nancy Pearl, executive director of the Washington Center for the Book in the Seattle Public Library, initiated "If All Seattle Read the Same Book." With funding from the Lila Wallace Reader's Digest Fund and several local sponsors, she invited members of the public to read the novel "The Sweet Hereafter" by Russell Banks, and brought the author to Seattle for three days in December to discuss his book in a series of free public programs." (http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0601/cfb.html)
In the last 10 years, that movement has really taken hold in cities and on college campuses.  What I wonder: how involved are libraries AND how much do libraries involve their communities in the planning?  It seems like on many college campuses, the library plays a minor role.  The book is chosen by faculty or by students, the events are hosted around campus, with the library maybe involved by providing circulating copies of the chosen book.
Alternately, in some public libraries, the book is chosen by the librarians, without consulting anyone in the community about the book.  Are the books selected because the event organizer has a favorite?  Because it is written by a local author?  Because it speaks to an issue the community should discuss?  I worry that in our haste to jump on board the One Book train, we aren't thinking strategically about why we are offering up the book.  No, really, WHY?  There doesn't need to be ONE answer to the One Book movement, but I fear that libraries cannot offer a plan, something that shows they have considered their desired outcomes before they planned and hosted the event.  For me, this gets to a certain panic -- a feeling that we need to find ways now to connect with our communities.  Certainly we need to always offer relevant products and services...but that's no excuse for taking the time to think about what we do strategically.  And then, once we know that, to offer up a real marketing plan for all our services, including the One Book events (should they be found to be useful -- which may vary from library to library).
What do you think?  Have you participated in a One Book event?  Have you thought about it?  Who was involved in the decision making??

A word to the wise

I read adAge weekly.  Many weeks, there is nothing that captures my attention, but this morning, I read the following paragraph:
The Pitfalls of Megabranding - Advertising Age - Al Ries

A declining category means that consumers are leaving the market. Some consumers who used to drink cola are now drinking water and other beverages. How can "more choice" bring them back to cola? What Coca-Cola needs to do is to promote "cola," not choice.

Leaving the declining category aside (as I am not convinced that libraries are a declining category, although ready reference may be), wee need to answer what type of message are we sending and what should it be?  As much as librarians worry about patrons using the internet and bookstores, we have been torn between alienating our patrons by sending a message that is anti-internet and anti-bookstore (you won't find what you need there, come to us) or sending a message that ignores the competition (we're useful -- with an implied still at the end of we're useful...still).

Ries goes on to discuss how the brand becomes meaningless when it becomes a megabrand, with line extensions that take the brand into products that don't represent the original brand, muddying the original message.  He also quotes Steve Jobs, who said: "Everything just got simpler. That's been one of my mantras -- focus and simplicity." 

This all reminds me of the newest OCLC report, From Awareness to Funding, that states that the library is a superbrand.  People know what the library is and what it stands for.  We don't need campaigns that promote books; books are circulating just fine.  We do need campaigns that promote the transformational impact of libraries, that highlight the results of having a library, results that we have that our competitors do not.  You don't hear Google talking about literacy.  Borders doesn't champion intellectual enlightenment.  When was the last time you saw a library campaign that talked about: all libraries are forums for information and ideas?

Liaison responsibilties

Last week, the CODES Liaison with Users committee presented the results of the national survey on liaison responsibilties in public and academic libraries, with Ridie Ghezzi rounding up the tak with information on the liaison workshop at Dartmouth.

My part of the panel was to present the results of the academic library survey.  In case y'all are interested, here it is!  For me, the most interesting results are that there is no real difference in what liaisons in public and academic libraries do and that everyone in the library is now involved as a liaison, regardless of department.  I wish I had asked if everyone has an MLS so I could present data that illustrates that as well (I know in some libraries that support staff with advanced degrees serve as liaisons, but have never seen research showing how common/uncommon that is).

The slideshow is available below, but you can also download the pdf.

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The unbounded walls of a library

I am spending a few days as a tourist in northern California.  Yesterday I was walking around San Francisco and I swear I saw a library that had a playground in the back!  If that playground wasn't part of the library, I don't want to know it, because I started thinking about how library are associated too much with musty old buildings.  Literacy doesn't occur solely indoors.  If we are willing to turn to gaming, why aren't we willing to look outside for inspiration too?  Think about a library with tables and benches in a beautiful garden -- places where people could curl up with a book, where libraries could hold outside book readings, outside book clubs, or even places where people could soak up the sun before heading back inside.

If information literacy is truly about the world of information, including the world outside the library, maybe the library itself should become more open.

Logos?

Logos can be hard to create!  Think upon something as intangible as a logo for a listserv: Should it be with a focus on the name or something more funky?  Do we need an accompanying image?

I think I favor the first one...

More on word of mouth an social media

I like looking to see what marketers who have a goo reputation with consumers are doing.  P&G an J&J are both companies with solid reputations and which have worked hard to build their brand relationships with their consumers (something I think happens naturally in libraries and that we don't build on enough).  These 2 companies have spent the last couple years leveraging their web presences and connecting with their consumers by word of mouth.  See below for more.

Link: News Analysis: J&J Takes Baby Steps Toward Social Media.

One message board that Johnson introduced a month ago asked moms to post their thoughts on having their first babies. The board got 100 responses almost overnight. "It's about engaging moms in their broader emotions," rather than leveraging the site to make sweeping product pitches to that demographic, Tewell said.

J&J's efforts compete with those of Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, which has built a growing branding campaign that engages moms via e-mail and direct mail. P&G encourages them to take that information out into their social networks, using connectors—mothers with dozens of regular contacts—who are eager to talk about new products with their friends.

These companies' attraction to social media in part reflects the wane of TV's reach and influence. A recent Keller Fay Group and PQ Media study explains why: Nearly 80% of consumers trust the recommendations of family, friends and bloggers more than they do traditional advertising. For that reason, the study found, word-of-mouth marketing efforts are expected to grow more than 30% until 2011.