Elisabeth Leonard on Libraries

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.

Machiavelli on innovation?

Well, who knew that Machiacelli was concerned with innovation?  I mean, it makes sense, but I didn't remember seeing anything about it.  I was suprised when reading a book on innovation that included the following quote.
Link: Niccolò Machiavelli.

    ``We must bear in mind, then, that there is nothing more difficult and dangerous, or more doubtful of success, than an attempt to introduce a new order of things in any state.  For the innovator has for enemies all those who derived advantages from the old order of things, whilst those who expect to be benefited by the new institutions will be but lukewarm defenders.  This indifference arises in part from fear of their adversaries who were favoured by the existing laws, and partly from the incredulity of men who have no faith in anything new that is not the result of well-established experience.  Hence it is that, whenever the opponents of the new order of things have the opportunity to attack it, they will do it with the zeal of partisans, whilst the others defend it but feebly, so that it is dangerous to rely upon the latter.''

Niccolò Machiavelli
The Prince
http://www.bibliomania.com, Chapter 6.

Live brave

While catching up on my shows (love my Tivo!), I was struck by the phrase Live Brave (Eli Stone).  A wrongly convicted prisoner becomes a motivational speaker and his catch phrase is Live Brave.   The character states "there is no faith without hope, no justice without compassion, no humanity without fairness." The point is that we should all stand up for what we believe in. 

This seems to be my day to be reflective and to feel inspired.  I think we all need to be reminded that there is more to life than the daily grind.  I became a librarian because I deeply care about libraries.  I want to be able to contribute to the social mission that libraries hold dear.  There have been days in my career where I felt that my job had little to do with that mission, but in the end, I have always treasured that mission.  And I feel libraries treasure it too.  I think though that we need to remind ourselves from time to time what we stand for.  It might help us get there daily.

Why I can't be happy in Second Life

I really want to like Second Life.  I think the idea of a virtual world used for education is terrific!  Not only do you reach people with different learning styles, you can reach gamers.  And although I teach online and like it, I often feel as though it lacks a sense of time and place.  Having a course within a virtual world would help, right?  So, for the last year I have been trying to get into Second Life.  I am a gamer (love my Xbox -- and I even worked at Aladdin's Castle in college -- fixed the machines and everything!), but I just can't get into Second Life.  The learning curve is a little steep, but I'm no quitter.  The part that is a killer: sometimes it won't load, other times there's a tremendous lag, and more fatally, it'll crash/freeze my computer (and I exceed their specs, I swear).  I rarely blog a complaint, but I am frustrated!  If there's anyone out there who loves SL, email me or add a comment to the blog: just tell me WHY!

Influencers and social media

OK, so I don't think this is such a shock: people trust their friends and family more than  they trust strangers.  For example, if a friend who knows me recommends a book to me, I'll take that recommendation more seriously than one on Amazon that is "people who read this book also bought...."

I'm glad that the research has been done so that what seemed likely has been proven.  But, I think it is interesting that respondents said they want social media to include the ability to add comments, to provide feedback on products and services.  So, while we believe in the authority of people we know more than those we don't, we still read those recommendations.  They are still a part of our decision making or sense making (depending on what someone is researching and what they are trying to figure out!). 

Link: MediaPost Publications - Study: 'Influencers' Possess Less Clout - 04/03/2008.

According to a new study from Canadian research firm Pollara, self-described social media users put far more trust in friends and family online than in popular bloggers, or strangers with 10,000 MySpace "friends."

Librarians Duel Over the Future of Producing Bibliographic Records - Chronicle.com

I'm not sure where I weigh in on this debate, but I am fascinated that it made the Chronicle.  It must be a sign of how important the issue is, right? 

Link: Librarians Duel Over the Future of Producing Bibliographic Records - Chronicle.com.

By ANDREA L. FOSTER

Some librarians are sharply criticizing a report issued in January that urges libraries to pursue more digitization projects and make greater use of the Web. The critics say the federal report gives short shrift to the specific needs of both scholars and the Library of Congress's cataloging services.