Description: Microsoft SharePoint 2010 makes it easier for people to work together through an intranet environment. Using this software, staff can set up basic websites using templates to share information, manage documents, and publish reports. This is a collaboration tool for companies and organizations.

Service Provided: Libraries can use SharePoint as a Knowledge Management System to manage their own organizational knowledge. This will allow the library to improve services and effectiveness by using information generated and stored about processes and services.

Benefits: SharePoint will increase productivity by empowering employees through the use of real-time access to shared documents and information, provide increased opportunities for collaboration, as well as supplying library staff with the capacity to access information about policies and procedures in an organized fashion.

Evidence: See the following articles-

• Knowledge Management and Academic Libraries
• The Social Tools of Web 2.0
• The utilisation of an intranet as a knowledge management tool in academic libraries
• Who Moved My Intranet? The Human Side of Introducing Collaborative Technologies to Library Staff

Possible Roadblocks: As with any technology, one possible hurdle to overcome is proficiency with computers and technology. Other potential hurdles include the institutional culture (for example, how well the organization will respond to change), support of the technology, and finding the means to implement it (financially and physically).

Overcoming Roadblocks: Before implementing SharePoint, the library should designate several people as leads on learning and planning the library’s strategy for launching the software. These people will become the point of contact for training and troubleshooting. By having staff become well acquainted with the system before launch, they will have a better understanding of the software and how it will best be utilized within the organization.

Specific Software:  Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Enterprise

Ongoing Maintenance Plan: The staff who are most familiar and comfortable with the system, likely those who were designated as early adopters, will continue to monitor the system and offer training, support, and troubleshooting for staff. They will also be responsible for publishing clear documentation on how the intranet should be structured to allow for consistency within the system.

Assessment: Periodic staff feedback, particularly after the first six-months, and use statistics will be used to determine if the software is having the desired collaborative effect and impact on the library staff.

The Wake County Public Library system has a YouTube channel that includes some quick and dirty video tutorials. The most recent is this one, Downloading a library eBook on an Android tablet.

This is definitely a timely and relevant topic as eBooks are gaining momentum right now, and for a 2 minute tutorial, the video was quite adequate. It took you through the process, start to finish with some minor editing. It hit all of the major points for how to download an eBook through Overdrive.

A few things I would change:

• The tutorial assumed people were intimately familiar with the Android tablet and skipped steps like how to find and download the Overdrive app in the marketplace.
• There were a few screens of information that he had to hit the Close button on and he didn’t say a word about what those screens were.
• He didn’t tell you how to search the Overdrive site for books. He said, “I’m going to quickly find an eBook that’s checked in so I can walk you through the download process.” And then… the video cut to the search results.
• He glossed over authorizing the device with an Adobe ID in order to download from Overdrive. For less tech-savvy individuals (and yes, I know several who own tablets) this would be very confusing.
• He did not explain if the eBook will automatically be “returned” after the checkout period is over, even though he explained how to manually return it.

Overall, the tutorial works for those who are familiar with the technology, just not this particular process. But if it’s meant to teach those who are less than comfortable with technology, it falls short.

A few things to consider:

• Is this online community necessary? There are so many dead and defunct communities out there that simply did not meet a need and therefore never gathered active participation.
• Do you have the time necessary to devote to generating new content as well as actively participating in other, similar, communities? One of the things I’ve learned from my own experiences blogging is that if I want to generate traffic to my own blog, I must comment, comment, comment on other blogs of the same genre to actively engage other people like myself. If you just create a web site or blog and don’t actively try to generate participation, no one will know it’s there.
• Is there someone out there doing what you want to do, only better? If your target is a specific demographic that’s already being targeted, you have to make sure you’re doing something the other communities aren’t already doing – otherwise, what’s the incentive to engage with you?

I have used Yahoo! Answers on several occasions when I haven’t been able to find the answers I need via Google. And each time, it was hit or miss with whether or not the question was actually answered. More often than not, internet trolls are looking to provide you with silly or degrading answers, rather than actually help you with your query. The user has to be discerning when choosing to accept answers. While sites like these provide you the opportunity to provide sources for the answer, more often than not there is either no source listed or the source is something akin to “my own brain”.

When a user is looking for actual, serious information – these just aren’t sources you would turn to. These sources can often provide wisdom in the form of life experiences and opinions, but they can’t provide credible resources. Wikipedia is more credible than these web sites – and we all know that we can’t use it as a scholarly source!

Here are a few of the barriers to effective collaboration that I see on a near daily basis:

• Your co-workers are less tech savvy than you are. This generation is coming up on the heels of the baby boomer generation, who are generally less knowledgeable about new technology. My office just switched from a desktop email client that had been in place for 20 years to Google Apps. This switch allows for easier collaboration via the technology, but too many of our employees are digging in their heels and choosing to complain about the new system rather than learn how to use it the way it’s meant to be used. Change is a hard pill to swallow, especially when it involves learning something new.
• Office Politics. Yes, I am opening this can of worms. Office politics are present in every organization. And they often get in the way of productivity. Consider the case of two employees. One has worked in the office for 6 years while the other was hired last year. The two positions are supposed to be nearly identical in description. Yet, during the previous year many responsibilities were taken away from Employee 1 and given to Employee 2. While this may be a better move for the office, it creates a strain between the two employees that destroys  any collaborative environment.
• Lack of Information and Communication. If we have not been able to effectively communicate with one another, it is quite likely that I will resist collaborating with you. If I can’t figure out how to do what you do (and vice versa), any attempt at collaborating will become a tangled jumble. Last year I was tasked with collaborating with a team of software developers from a well known company in order to tweak a new product in ways that would be useful for us. As much as I tried, I was never able to clearly communicate with them what exactly we needed from the product. My knowledge of our processes never jived with their perceived knowledge of what we needed. They never understood what we wanted and the whole project tanked (well, they spun it into positive PR, but as far as our office is concerned we got zero benefit from the project).

It doesn’t matter how many technology gadgets you have if the human element isn’t behind collaboration. Once the human element is on board, then you can go have fun with the technology…and find even more barriers!

What is the library doing to market themselves online?

The most basic online presence that the library has is the website. The website has the standard items you’d want to see – the ability to access your own account, the ability to search the library’s catalog, sections specific to interlibrary loan and digital media, as well as events and demographic-specific sections (ie kids, teens, or research). One thing I really like about the website is the “Ask WCPL” section – it’s a knowledgebase of questions that have been previously answered, but easily gives you a way to ask your own question if the answer you’re looking for isn’t found.

Part of the website is a “Blogs” page. The library maintains 5 blogs, and the main blogs page tells you who the intended audience is. One is for news, one is for kids to discuss what they’re reading for mock Newberry awards, and two are for teens. My favorite blog on the list is the last one – it’s a “Book-a-Day”. Library staff blog about a different book every single day.

The library also has a Facebook page. This page is updated every few days with news and events that are relevant or specific to the library. There is also a collection of photos that are primarily from the Summer Reading Kickoff. My favorite part of the Facebook page is the “Book News” section – it’s an archive of monthly newsletters that detail the new acquisitions of the library.

WCPL also uses Twitter. There aren’t always tweets posted daily, but they always have a purpose. Events and news items are posted, but the primary focus of the Twitter account seems to be book recommendations. WCPL also occasionally interacts with patrons using replies or retweets.

Finally, WCPL also has a YouTube page. The videos uploaded on this page fall into two categories – a series of patron interviews called “Why I Love My Library” and video tutorials for technology. The video tutorials cover topics like using Overdrive on a mobile device or how to download ebooks.

What are they doing right in their marketing efforts? Where are they falling short?

While I love that WCPL are embracing the idea of social media, the scarcity and inconsistency in posting lead me to believe that there is no focused effort or plan in place to manage these social media tools. The sheer fact that they have taken the time to get started is a step in the right direction. By using these tools, they are actively trying to be a part of the community that they serve. Where they fall short is the inconsistency in posting and the lapses in posting. The Facebook content is lacking – they have never used the events function, and there are often days between postings. One thing they do well is to respond to patrons who post on the Facebook Wall. Their efforts with Twitter are nominally better – I really like the book recommendations and links to news about e-readers (but why aren’t these same items found on their Facebook page?). Most of their blogs are frequently updated (especially the “Book-a-Day” one), except the two teen blogs haven’t had a new post in several weeks. This is something to be concerned about because when you stop posting new content, readers stop coming by.

What do you think of their branding efforts? Have they built a strong and consistent brand online?

I see no efforts at branding. The library system itself, as far as I can tell, has no logo or graphic representation. Both the website and the Twitter account exclusively use the Wake County logo. The Facebook page tried to be more original and tied to the library specifically, but it falls short – especially since it’s not something that’s seen anywhere else. Overall, there is nothing that screams Wake County Public Libraries when you see it.

If the library hired you as a social media marketing consultant, what would you suggest to them?

The first thing I would suggest is a plan. I would ask the library staff who their target audience is and what information they want to convey via social media. I would suggest that information be the primary goal of these accounts. Information comes in many forms, particularly in these mediums, so I would post news articles of interest and event information. I would also continue to post book recommendations, but I would post them on both accounts, not just Twitter. While it is true that there is overlap between the users of each, there are those who only use one account or the other.

I would also post the questions asked at the reference desk (real or virtual) – I may even suggest posting the answers, as if it were a Q&A session (this sort of thing works best in the Twitter format). It wouldn’t hurt to occasionally post an FAQ with a link directing back to the knowledgebase on the website. The goal of this would be two-fold: 1) to interact with the community at large and 2) to build trust within the community that the library really is there to help you find information.

While it’s nearly impossible to have a “Social Media Librarian” or one who is dedicated to running the social media of a library, someone should have the reins of these accounts and should find the time to actively use them every single day.

After this week’s reading, I see that it could be a very powerful tool – even if it does still have a few weaknesses. The trouble with tagging is that you have to be consistent with your tags for them to work effectively. At my work, our database is capable of tagging records with keywords. It was decided on that we would use keywords to group sets of data together – for example, all agreements within fiscal year 2011 would get a corresponding keyword. While this idea worked in principle, it did not work in practice. I recently had to go in and clean up all of these keyword records because we had such variations in vocabulary as “FY2011″, “FY11″, “FY11 – Licenses”, “FY2011 – Licenses”, and so on and so forth. It was a mess! There was no central SOP in place for using keywords, so whenever people needed to group records, they did it on their own without consulting what may have already been in place. These keywords went back as far as 2006, and 5 years later it was impossible to tell which, if any, of the tags were correctly used.

This is, of course, a risk you take when you relinquish control. In a setting like my office, this control is not something that should have been given up because it effected the data in our database. In a library setting, when you’re using tags for shared content that doesn’t effect daily operations of the library, giving up that control is less risky, especially when considered in the context of the information that is gained.

I completely support libraries that proactively reach out to students in online spaces. Students today are far more tech-savvy than previous generations, and most have Twitter and Facebook accounts along with a myriad of other social networking accounts around the Internet. As of 2007, “MySpace and Facebook combined are reported to cover more than 85 percent of all students in high school through college” (Mack). Today’s students like to connect online – with each other, with family, with businesses, with celebrities, and even with libraries.

It makes sense that libraries would use the online spaces that students invest in to reach out to them. It’s far less likely that a student will notice a flyer on a bulletin board or an event listing in a newsletter than it is for them to see an event posted on Facebook or announced on Twitter. When today’s students want information, the first place they go is online. Libraries should take advantage of this and use it to their benefit to educate and inform. I have previously written about how libraries can use RSS and Twitter. Facebook can be used in much the same way to get the word out about what the library is doing.  Libraries need to go where the students are – online.

Mack, D., Behler, A., Roberts, B., & Rimland, E. (2007). Reaching students with facebook: Data and best practices. Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship, (8)2. Retrieved from http://southernlibrarianship.icaap.org/content/v08n02/mack_d01.html

Libraries can utilize this tool to stay on top of current events and industry trends without having to waste time surfing around to different websites. It’s also an easy way to see how other libraries are utilizing web space without having to click through to several other sites.

Libraries can also create RSS feeds for patron use. Libraries can use an RSS feed to showcase new catalog acquisitions, to announce library events,or  to announce job openings. You can even tie an RSS feed to a specific library card account to list items that are checked out or overdue.

As information repositories, all libraries should be using this tool to gather and disseminate information.

1. Tweet the questions you’re being asked. Many libraries tweet the questions that come up at the reference desk – some choose to tweet the answers, others don’t.
2. Share the headlines. Sharing links to current events is a great way to keep patrons informed.
3. Tweet upcoming events. Story time in the children’s section? Book club meeting? Have an author event? Tweet it!
4. Host an interactive Q&A. I love the idea of letting patrons ask questions via Twitter – and even letting them chime in to answer!
5. Promote community events. Libraries are integral to the communities they are a part of, and using Twitter to promote other community events is a great show of support.
6. Promote new acquisitions. Did your library finally get a copy of the book everyone wants to read? Announce it on Twitter!
7. Interact with the community. Don’t just broadcast tweets – respond in kind! Opening a dialogue with your patrons can promote library accessibility.

First, you need to have a niche. If you write about anything and everything, you end up stretching yourself too thin. It’s likely that someone who wanted to read your cheesecake recipe really does not care how long it took you to wash your dog. Write about what you know. Some examples of blogs that do this really well are the Annoyed Librarian and the Librarian in Black.

Second, your blog should have a voice. Personality. There should be no question at all as to who is writing. You should also be active within the community that your blog is a part of. Respond to comments that are left on your blog and actively comment on other blogs that are similar to your own. An example of someone who does this really well is Ree Drummond of the Pioneer Woman franchise.

Third, be original. While there are some successful blogs that make their living by re-posting others’ content (nearly any Tumblr, Cynical-C, BoingBoing, and Whedonesque, to name a few), original content is what will keep readers interested and coming back*.  See Agnostic, Maybe as an example.

*This is not to say that you cannot re-post information that you find interesting or believe that your readers will be interested in.

Your personal brand is what makes you unique. It’s what people see when they look at you. Personal branding is not limited to online forums, but in this day and age, it is often true that you are known for the information that is online before you are ever known as a person.

In 2009, 45% of employers were using social media tools to screen candidates before offering them a position¹. It seems likely that this number has gone up in the two years since the study was done given that the use of technology is constantly climbing in our society. What this means is that the way you present yourself online will almost certainly have an impact on future employment opportunities.

I personally believe that potentially questionable Facebook photos of legal activities should not jeopardize anyone’s career, which is why I am a big fan of privacy settings. Privacy settings allow you to control the information that is visible to the public, and this is the best way to manage your personal brand online.

I have had the misfortune of paying the consequences for an errant remark on Facebook (Tip #1 – if you are unhappy in your current place of employment, don’t advertise in public online forums that you are actively seeking new employment). The day I lost my job was the day that I learned what privacy settings are for. When you Google my name, you will find links to all of my social media profiles and blogs. But you won’t be able to access much information from them, other than professional accomplishments and goals. My Facebook profile is restricted to friends only so that I can control exactly who sees what information I choose to post. My LinkedIn profile is full of information that I want potential employers to see.

Personal branding is about projecting who you are (and even who you want to be) to the world around you. If you aren’t paying attention to the information out there about you, then you aren’t in control of your own personal brand and you aren’t showing the world who you really are – you’re showing them who other people think you are.

¹ Source: More Employers Use Social Networks to Check Out Applicants

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When the network decided to make the branding switch from SciFi to SyFy in 2009, the blogosphere exploded with critiques and complaints. The network soldiered on, however, and their fan base is stronger than ever – something I believe has come about from SyFy’s use of social media.

SyFy uses three methods of social media – Twitter, Facebook, and discussion boards. Fans use all three to talk about the company. A Google Blog Search of SyFy also shows that many people post about SyFy in their blogs, primarily to discuss new shows and favorite characters but also to lament the cancellation of fan favorites (like Eureka).

Syfy uses these methods of social media to provide information, but to the best of my knowledge only uses Twitter to converse with fans.

Craig Engler, a senior executive at SyFy, is running the Twitter account and is very active at not only providing information about the network, but also responding to questions (he even hosts a weekly Q&A via Twitter), retweeting other folks, and linking to information SyFy fans would find interesting, even if it isn’t directly related to the network. A sampling of SyFy Tweets from Sept 1 looks like this:

I believe that the use of all of these social media tools have helped the network build a solid fan base, but I think that the effective use of Twitter has really set the network apart as being accessible, friendly, and genuinely caring what the fans thing.