LibraryThing

After watching Tim Spalding's video “What is Social Cataloging” I had to check out LibraryThing for myself. Though it had been mentioned in previous weeks, I'd only briefly looked at the website never exploring too much. For the last six months or so I have been using Goodreads as a way to keep track of all the new books I've read. I didn't add anything I'd read previously and find it's a good way of keeping a simple list of what I've read and how much I liked it. However, the idea of being able to tag books and the host of other features discussed in the video got me motivated to make my own account. I also explored the LibraryThing for Libraries feature which is far superior to many of the current OPACs that libraries are using.

I went through and added all my books from Goodreads to my account on LibraryThing. I found the tags very helpful in actually making me think about the subjects of the books. I stayed away from tags such as “good” or “bad” instead using the star rating system provided. Also added some of my own book reviews. It was fun to add tags of my own and then check out the book page to see what others had added. Sometimes I went back and added some of the tags listed to my own making the collective tagging bi-directional. The list of books entered also gives a huge array of options showing user tags, subjects, LC Classification, ISBN, and even where the book might be available locally. To a bibliophile, LibraryThing is amazing! There are so many different features, groups to explore and other member's libraries to check out, that it is going to take me a while to fully explore.

So then what can LibraryThing do for libraries? Well it can do a lot actually. I encourage you to take a look at the all the features on the LibraryThing for Libraries Website. There are currently over 200 libraries using LibraryThing's OPAC enhancement and some of the features are really neat. Patrons can add tags, ratings, videos or reviews. They can browse tags, find other editions, and even get book recommendations. There are also widgets to add such as the “At My Library” Facebook application which allows patrons to add their books to their Facebook page, showing their friends what they're reading.

Another cool feature is the Shelf Browse enhancement. This is an an application that shows patrons a virtual shelf with cover images. The shelf uses the library's call numbers to create a shelf similar to what someone would be looking at when they went to the physical library. I've always thought that the worst thing about finding books or movies online was the lack of browsing. I have often found some amazing titles just by browsing the shelves and randomly selecting something that looks interesting. For patrons who still want this experience but are unable or unwilling to leave the house they can still take part in browsing. This would be a huge help to patrons who are disabled or homebound. Our library provides a home delivery service, but the patron has to know or have some idea about what books they want. With the shelf browse feature they can go to the library virtually!

Patrons can also explore through the Series Browser and see all the awards that a book has won. Libraries also have the option of creating permanent links to their materials allowing patrons to more easily share books with friends. With all of this to offer, LibraryThing has also started to provide Library Anywhere mobile catalogs. Patrons can download apps for their iPhone, Blackberry or Android phones. The application can “search the catalog, place holds, see checked-out books, and more. It can showcase hours, branches, and events with a customizable homepage. It comes with an "accessible version" that provides a fully Section 508-compliant version of your existing catalog. And LibraryThing for Libraries customers get integration of tags, reviews, recommendations, other editions.” You can even play around with the application through the website getting a feel for what it would look like on a smartphone.

I think more libraries need to jump on board with LibraryThing or at least try and implement some of its features into their own OPACs. Spalding says in his video lecture that library OPACs are stuck in pre Web 1.0 mode. They are not providing anything more to patrons than a book location. The systems are old, outdated and need to be revamped. We live in a world now where nearly everything is connected. If you go someplace you can check in via an app on your phone, that then posts to your Facebook, and then gives you recommendations for other places to check out. You can write a review of the place you've been, add tags, photos and more. If libraries want to stay alive then they need to be more open and provide more connectivity to their patrons. I really think that LibraryThing has taken steps in the right direction with their personal and corporate applications. I'm excited to start using LibraryThing more and to see if libraries begin adopting better, more customer driven OPACs.

Do I Have to Share??

When you hear the words group project, what runs through your mind? Are you excited at the chance to share collective knowledge with your peer group? Or perhaps frustrated at the idea of shouldering all the work while others slack off and then get credit for all your work? Personally I know a little bit of both these things go through my head. After reading about internal collaboration in the work place, I wonder how many people think about workplace collaboration as a large scale ongoing group project.

The idea of sharing one's ideas and not receiving personal credit for them goes against most of what we're taught in United States schools. We are put into competition with one another from the beginning of our eduction. Top students are rewarded, when doing group work peer evaluations are done so as to not give everyone the same grade, and collaboration on school projects is called cheating. So when are we supposed to learn the skills needed to implement successful workplace collaboration?

The first step any company needs to take before starting a collaboration project is to take a hard look at their corporate culture. Are employees in constant competition or do they often work in teams? Do you encourage sharing of resources or keep files secure in only one location? While pretty much any business can morph into a more open workplace it is going to be much harder for companies with highly competitive cultures.

Once a company has decided to go forward in their collaboration venture they need to get their employees on board. No matter how open your company may be, if the majority of employees were schooled in the US they are probably going to have trouble learning how to share. All employees should understand that without everyone working together the business would not be as successful. No one should feel forced to add to an internal wiki, but instead should want to share their resources with team members. Consider trust building exercises or company retreats to help build a more community based culture.

Internal collaboration most likely isn't going to just work flawlessly overnight. Employees need to be gracefully ushered into a community that shares all their ideas, taking credit as a group rather than individually. Through internal collaboration companies can have the wisdom of the hive mind, which is much stronger than that of the individual. Each employee brings to the table their unique set of skills and knowledge to the whole making it more dynamic.

Exercise 5 - Social Bookmarking

I have to admit that I'm not really a huge fan of delicious. While I love the idea of social bookmarking, delicious just doesn't do anything special for me. I was really hoping this exercise would change my opinion of the site, but alas I'm afraid it has only made me less likely to use it much after this class. So what is it that I dislike so much about delicious? 


Well, the biggest problem I have is the user interface. To me it seems very non intuitive and quite a lot like I've transported in time back to the 1990s. While a site that hosts a bunch of links isn't and shouldn't be too complicated, delicious feels boring. For me of the biggest advantages of social bookmarking and folksonomies is that they encourage browsing and discovery of new resources. Farkas explains, “people who are looking for the best articles, or for all articles, on a specific subject will have a difficult time finding them in a folksonomy” (137). If I'm interested in finding specific and all inclusive information about a particular topic I don't go to a social bookmarking site. However, if I want to browse around to find awesome cupcake recipes then social bookmarking is where it's at... but still not with delicious. 


Through this exercise I did find some related articles to what we've been researching in class, but nothing more exciting than what a quick Google search using the same tag keywords could have provided. Going through the exercise steps delicious felt cumbersome and hard to navigate through. To me delicious lacks what StumbleUpon (SU) provides, discovery. Not only can I bookmark sites that I find interesting, add tags, and descriptions of those sites, I can also stumble or randomly find sites of interest to me. This can be done by searching all users on SU or just one person. I can search the favorites of people, I can follow them, they can follow me, and best of all the user interface is simple and encourages searching. Links can be displayed based on their format (video, photos,  etc.), show the sites that myself and another stumbler like, what reviews have been made, or what tags a person has added. 


Take a look at the two site screen shots below. They show what my favorites (or bookmarks) page looks like on SU and delicious. You can see the differences in the user interfaces are  pretty striking. There are big photos next to each of the links in SU and many more browsing options.  I highly encourage you to check out StumbleUpon if you haven't already. Get the plug-in for your browser and then set aside an hour of your time to play around. You can have all the features that delicious provides plus a bunch more. What do you think, do you have a social bookmarking preference?

Community Wikis Rock

Have you seen the DavisWiki? If not I highly encourage you to check it out. Created and maintained by the community of Davis, California, it is an amazing example of a highly functional wiki. A person can find nearly anything and everything on the DavisWiki. There is information on how to live cheaply, local gyms, the single scene, lost pets, and event calendar and more! Needless to say I've been coveting the wiki a little bit and thinking of ways that it could be implemented through libraries.

If a library is looking to get involved in and highlight their value to their community a city resources wiki would be a great place to start. There is a need for pages like the DavisWiki which I've noticed just among my own friends group. My friends maintain a listserv and every few weeks someone was asking for a recommendation to something (mechanic, doctor, restaurant etc.). So one friend decided enough was enough, deciding to start his own wiki for the group. After trying a few different platforms the group has created a home through PBWorks. There are already lists of places to camp, restaurants, things to do at 2am, event calendars etc. The group uses the wiki frequently, but all this great knowledge about hotspots in our community is only being shared with about 100 people. What if the local public library began the project allowing all members of the community to share their recommendations?

The library should be the information epicenter for any community. Anyone should be able to stop in and find out what is going on locally. Wouldn't it be nice to only have to visit one site to find out everything about a city? I've traveled before only to find myself hitting up one site for restaurant reviews, another for local night clubs, and another parks, only to be fairly dissatisfied with all of them. If the community themselves were adding the content it would probably be much more detailed and include a wide range of tastes rather than whatever the city web developer chose to add to the site.

In order to start a community driven wiki a library would only need to get the ball rolling. People will be much more comfortable posting if there is some structure and the beginnings of content. Once the basic framework of the wiki is put together consider having all of your library staff add their favorite places or some other detail to the site. Libraries can hold workshops teaching the community about how to add content of their own. A short YouTube video promotional video might be made as well. Consider talking to your local city web developer to see if the video clip could appear on the main city website. You may also consider enlisting the help of your teen advisory board, encouraging them to create their own teen section with places to shop, hang out, eat or whatever. The wiki will not succeed without community involvement, so make sure to advertise it and keep it updated.  

Denver Public Library Marketing Critique

The Denver Public Library (DPL) is by far the most social media involved library I've ever seen. Their commitment to their patrons is amazing and they can boast that “79 percent of all Denver residents hold Library cards and borrow close to 10 million items annually.” The Library states that they “constantly seek new ways to serve its customers” and that's what they are doing by putting their brand out into the World Wide Web. At a time when other libraries are hurting for funding, and laying off staff, DPL is thriving. While they have had reductions in their operating hours their budget was increased in 2010 by $910,800.

So what are they doing over there at DPL that is giving them so much success? Besides providing amazing programming, a very well done website, and a wonderful collection; DPL has created a huge social networking presence. When you arrive at the main DPL website you are greeted with a navigation menu at the top of the page. One of the headers is “Social Media” which a user can click on finding all the ways DPL information can be found online. Instead of hunting around the page looking for Twitter or Facebook icons, DPL puts all their links in one easy to find location.

On the main Social Media page a user is greeted with many options. There are several main categories including: Facebook, MySpace, Video, Flickr, Twitter, Newsletters, Podcasts, and RSS. The side bar provides even more options including: Blogs, and Video/Audio/Online Exhibits. Under each of these main headers is a multitude of sites. The Denver Public Library doesn't just feature a main Facebook page, instead they have one for the main library, another for Fresh City Life, Western History & Genealogy, the Denver Public Library Friends Foundation, and Evil Companions. There is a teen MySpace page, Flickr account, and Twitter feed. DPL provides 16 different Newsletters ranging from Mystery Books to Special Events. They even have podcasts of children's books and poetry being read aloud (along with several others).

So let's take a look at some of these social networking applications, how well they're being utilized and what improvements can be made. First, we'll look at the main DPL social networking involvement. The DPL has a Facebook page that is dedicated to general library news and announcements. The page is updated frequently and all patrons who write on the wall are answered within a day or two. One patron posted: “what happends [sic] if I loose my card”. The next day a response was given and a thank you received. Posts tend to cover a broad range of things which is to be expected from the main Facebook page. There are photos from new branches, event announcements, book recommendations and more. DPL is reaching a large audience with their Facebook page as well with 4,189 'liking' their page.

For however active the DPL Facebook page is, the Twitter feed has got it beat. The Twitter feed has about half of the followers that the Facebook page has which is great considering that Twitter has a smaller overall audience. The feed seems more personal on Twitter than Facebook with the moderator posting many times a day. The posts tend to cover a broader range of subject matter, not just reporting on library events. Whoever is posting also makes sure to reply to Tweets from followers when they mention a favorite book or comment about volunteering. This small personal touch allows patrons to feel more connected to their library seeing that they care about more than just disseminating information to the masses.

The DPL also has a Viemo page and a YouTube channel. However, neither of these is of much use. The Viemo page hasn't been updated in over a year and only included 9 videos (none of which are that interesting). The YouTube channel has around 40 videos, but again hasn't been updated in seven months. On YouTube DPL has added their commercials from PBS, some patrons explaining how the library changed their lives, tutorials, and some staff picks videos. While some of the videos are interesting, there was nothing too captivating or any reason to return again.

Another popular area within the DPL social networking world is Fresh City Life. Advertised on their Facebook page:

Fresh City Life hosts programs each month that entertain, educate and invigorate Denver Public Library customers. From DIY classes to fashion shows to writer's workshops, Fresh City Life is always free and always fun!

Essentially Fresh City Life (FCL) is a community engagement program which hosts most of the DPL workshops. If any area in the library needs a strong online presence it's the workshop department! In order to make sure patrons attend events libraries need to reach out into the community building a name and image for themselves. This is just what FCL and the DPL have done.

On the main DPL website there is a page for FCL. This page has links to the Twitter feed, Facebook page, Blog, a Newsletter, Event details and even Recipes. Pretty much any of the information that you could gather from the social networking sites can be found on this main page. A patron could even subscribe to the newsletter and have all the event information sent to their email. The blog can also be subscribed to via RSS allowing patrons to receive event details through an aggregator. People like to get their information delivered to them in different ways and the FCL program really speaks to that. They don't limit how their patrons receive information, instead giving them multiple options and allowing them to pick which one works best for them.

Besides the main web page, FCL has a Twitter feed and Facebook page, with around 1,000 followers each. Both of these get updated regularly with Tweets sometimes appearing four or five times a day. Both outlets seem to mainly get used for event announcements, but since that's the purpose of FCL doesn't seem like there needs to be more.

The other thing FCL has is a YouTube channel. Yet much like the DPL YouTube channel, FCL's is pretty lacking. The channel has 15 videos, but is not updated much at all. It seems like they do post a once a year overview of their workshops and a few other workshop related videos.

Last, let's take a look at what DPL offers their teen patrons. There are a few different ways that teens can access information. First, is the main teen web page through the DPL. The site is fairly basic, but does provide some great resources. On the home page there is a “Follow Us” area with links to the teen Twitter Feed, MySpace page, Flickr, and the main DPL YouTube channel.

With over 1,000 friends it would seem like the MySpace page was very active with teen patrons. Instead it seems that the Twitter account feeds the MySpace page providing the same status updates in both locations. If you look in the comments section you'll find the last post was made 97 days ago. Seems like in many ways the MySpace page is kind of dead in the water.

When taking a closer look at the Twitter feed, also with a little over 1,000 followers I found the tweets to be interesting; announcing events and things like Ron Weasley's birthday. Tweets are made every couple of days, usually only one a day. Taking a look at the followers I was kind of disappointed. There were almost no teens following. Followers included librarians, companies and a teen here and there. The Flickr does have a lot of photos of events and artwork. Yet it seems to be geared towards younger teens and tweens.

So with all this amazing social networking going on what can Denver Public Library to do improve their service? My first suggestion would be to abandon sites that are not updated regularly. If the library is not going to take the time to put videos up on YouTube or Vimeo on a regular basis, then they should focus their attention elsewhere. The Web is an ever changing environment where it's important to keep up. The first thing I think when going to a site and seeing there haven't been updates in a year is to never visit there again. Why would patrons want to waste time checking back in to see if there have been more videos loaded?

For instance, Fresh City Life could do great things with their YouTube channel. Consider creating tutorials of workshops. These can be posted after a workshop has been given allowing patrons to revisit a skill. If they took a knitting workshop it could be a big help to have another video lesson when they get home. Perhaps doing a more advanced lesson online while teaching the basics in a class. Adding a Flickr account may also be useful for FCL as they can post photos of patron projects and workshops.

I also think there could be quite a few improvements done to the teen social networking involvement. DPL seems to be going in the right direction with their main page and FCL, but for some reason that is not translating over to the teen area. Why no Facebook for teens? Why no dedicated YouTube channel? Teens are going to be the most wired demographic and yet DPL isn't reaching out to them nearly as much. Their Twitter feed isn't updated very often, the MySpace is fairly dead (and redundant considering it's updated via Twitter), and while they do have a newsletter many teens view email as a thing of the past. The teen feeds and pages should be getting updated regularly and there should be more involvement between librarian and patron. It would be great to see tweets replying to teens, or a Facebook page where teen questions could be answered quickly. DPL should also consider ways to reach out to older teens, perhaps leaving the MySpace page for its younger audience and adding a Facebook page to reach out to the older teens.

Overall, Denver Public Library is doing an amazing job with their social networking. They have created a brand for themselves that works. The library is showing that they care about their patrons and want to make sure they provide any and all possible means for them to access their services. They may want to refine a few things, focusing their efforts on the most effective tools, but no one can say they're not trying! I think most libraries would be ecstatic to have over 4,000 followers on Facebook. My best guess is that over time DPL will only get better with their social networking involvement.

Librarians Reaching Out Through Facebook

Behler et al. suggest that “while it might be tempting to seek out some of your students and add them as your friends on Facebook, it is our experience that this is not the best approach. It is great to be where our users are, but let them decide when and where they need you.” While I feel this may be true of a professor – student relationship (in some situations), I don't feel this same quote should apply to libraries. If all businesses just let their users come to them when they needed their product there would be no need for advertisements. Think about how much money most corporations spend trying to reach their audiences anywhere and everywhere! Libraries need to start looking at themselves in a more business like manner. Patrons have many other information outlets to chose from now. Sometimes they need the library to seek them out and tell them why they're the best resource.

Let's pretend that your local public library has decided to join Facebook. They've chosen to have two separate profiles, one for teens and another for the general public. The library has decided to use the Facebook “Page” feature, allowing users to “Like” the page and become “Fans”. The pages give the library many of the same features that regular user profiles have, plus they can mass email all their fans. The emails come through to fans under their “Updates” inside the Facebook email client. This feature is particularly useful for sending event reminders or letting all fans know important information at the same time.

So, your library has these two amazing pages on the Book. Yet, both pages have no fans. No one seems to know about the pages and as such all that hard work has gone to waste! How can your libray successfully 'recruit' fans to their Facebook pages without feeling like they are violating patron privacy? The first thing to do would be to encourage all your library staff to have professional profiles and to become fans of the library pages. This will allow patrons to see a more personal side of the library, finding out more about the staff behind the scenes. Plus, this is an easy boost to your number of fans.

The next step is to reach out into the community. For the teen page find the moderator for the local high school Facebook page and send them a message encouraging them to join your fans. Contact high school teachers via phone, email, or Facebook and let them know about the new page. Highlight why it would be of value to their students. Talk to your teen volunteers and advisory boards about the new page. Most everything on the Web spreads by word of mouth and once you get a few teens on board, their friends will join, and then their friends etc. until you have a solid fan base.

For both pages, create flyers, handouts, and posters to display at local branches. Ensure that all handouts given now include the new Facebook address. With the general page look for your city's Facebook page and speak to their moderator about promoting your library's page. Look for local book group pages, genealogy clubs, or other organizations that might be interested in being connected virtually to the library. If your library has the email addresses for patrons send out a mass email with directions on how to follow the library on Facebook. Include information about the page, how to sign up, and promote your newest Facebook how-to class in the monthly newsletter.

Most importantly, don't be shy about promoting your Facebook page. Much has changed since Behler et al. wrote their paper on Facebook in 2007. No longer is Facebook just a place for undergrads to socialize. Instead it has evolved into a platform that has many uses. I have almost all my high school teachers and some of my favorite college professors on my Facebook. Some sent me requests, others I requested. The lines between institution and patron or teacher and student have become a bit more blurred in this day and age. Information exchange goes both ways now and I don't believe students would feel violated if a library Facebook page sent them an invite to follow or if they were encouraged to do so by other means.