Social Networking After the Shine Wears Off

PLA 2010Bill Pardue

Arlington Heights Memorial Librarybpardue@ahml.info

The early days (a simplification)

A staff member creates a facebook "page" for the libraryA few enthusiasts post messages, try to get fans.You spend a lot of time tinkering, finding out just what you can do, etc.The "sandbox" period.

Early days (cont'd)

Most of the library is somewhat unaware...or taking a "wait and see" attitude. You build up a few hundred fans (1/3 of them librarians from other libraries!)You pick the "coolest" news and post it.You're just basically seeing "what might work"

It just becomes part of what you do...

Social networking starts to become an end in itself.Time and resources are spent focusing on

how to get more content therehow to generate more conversations add more events, widgets, etc.

Fans, comments, etc. become the goal.

Are we missing the point?

Have we stopped to ask the most fundamental questions about social networking?

1)  How does this further our mission?

2) Does it further the mission efficiently?

How much staff time will be dedicated? Can some work be automated?

 Can it serve enough people to justify the staffing commitment?

3) Does it further the mission better than competing projects?

Is there some other avenue (1.0, 2.0 or otherwise) that will give you more "bang" for the buck?Does it need to be either/or, or can it be both/and?

How do you determine value?

Fans? 

Comments? 

Increased circs? 

Increased attendance at events?

This isn't just a 2.0 issue

Can you justify all your online projects against your mission?Your blogsEven the various sections of your website

Some thoughts from Kathleen Kern

Create a mission statement for everything. A, mission statement and vision of your tech implementation will help guide development, roll-out, and evaluation. For your tech plan, create an overarching mission and vision. Are you well-funded and well-staffed? One goal might be to experiment with emerging tech -- testing the waters if you will. Tighter budget? Limited staff? Create your mission with that in mind: our institution may move a bit slower, (could it be faster?) but the decisions will be wise and based on evidence from what those folks out at the cutting edge of our marketplace are doing.

Evaluate your service. This is the next step in all the 2.0 talk. Sure, we've rolled out the library blog, IM reference service, wiki, and more but the final part of the antitechnolust, on-the-money technology plan is a detailed, ongoing means to gauge the use and return on investment for these new technologies. This will be the next wave of discussion you'll probably be hearing by the time you read this. How do we track use? How do we prove the usefulness of the virtual branch and digital librarian to governing bodies, boards, trustees, and those who make the funding decisions? For this, we need new models of tracking statistics and gathering stories. In my mind, the return on investment for many of the emerging technologies will be proven with qualitative data such as positive stories from users and an increased amount of participation via commenting and content creation.

M. Kathleen Kern, "Taming Technolust Ten Steps for Planning in a 2.0 World"  Reference & User Services Quarterly 47 no4 314-17 Summer 2008