The Elements of Digital Outreach: Making Your Web Presence More Human

June 9, 2010

The Web is a big place, and library users can be found almost anywhere.  During this program, guest speaker Toby Greenwalt, Virtual Services Coordinator for Skokie (IL) Public Library talked about ways to develop an active model of online service, using a variety of Web tools to identify patron needs and create new relationships.  Some examples that were given included:

• Using Twitter (www.twitter.com) to connect with your community for reference questions and reader’s advisory.
• Using Facebook (www.facebook.com) as “your home away from home” to distribute content about your library and as an opportunity to introduce library staff through reference games.
  
• Using Flickr (www.flickr.com) as a content repository; organizing and documenting the activities and achievements of your library for your community to view.

Toby also discussed ways for staff at all levels to participate and get involved in the process.  He stressed the importance of taking baby steps, making your content work for you, and how to get others involved.  Participants were encouraged to keep the conversation going and this could be done with via Twitter, where he tweets as @theanalogdivide.

Presentation Slides:

Special thanks to attendees, Toby, and the Brentwood Public Library for hosting this event.

Twitter, Libraries, and Skills for the Future

October 5, 2009–Guest speaker, Joe Murphy (libraryfuture on Twitter), Science Librarian, Coordinator of Instruction & Technology, Yale University Science Libraries, explored with an audience of public, academic, and school librarians what Twitter is and why libraries should be using it.

So what exactly is Twitter? A basic introduction to Twitter is available in this video, Twitter in Plain English:

Other resources for Twitter include:

• Twitter Explained for Librarians, or 10 ways to use Twitter (http://pages.citebite.com/d7o7e3cnbce) by David Lee King
• A Guide to Twitter in Libraries (http://oedb.org/blogs/ilibrarian/2007/a-guide-to-twitter-in-libraries/) by Ellyssa Kroski
• Library Instruction Wiki for Twitter (http://instructionwiki.org/Twitter)

Joe shared some interesting definitions from fellow Tweeters (#libtwit) as related to libraries.  Twitter is a flexible communication tool that allows us to explore what we are doing and connect with others.   The conversation continued with a discussion on the importance of quoting on Twitter and giving credit to original sources, filtering information, the need to be in real-time, and avoiding information overload.

As demonstrated by Yale University Science Libraries, Twitter can be used to connect patrons with library services, including reference services.  However, Joe stressed the importance of institutional buy-in, establishing policies, managing work-flow, and most importantly, providing “a training culture where it is okay to fail.”

So go ahead, give Twitter a try!  New users can create an account here: https://twitter.com/signup.  Join the conversation on Twitter and libraries and share your ideas and explore your colleagues’ ideas.  As Joe tweets, “getting familiar with Twitter is key to being a successful tweeter.  Best method is playing.”

Special thanks to the Sachem Public Library for hosting this event.