Building a Successful e Branch Sarah Houghton-Jan Information

Building a Successful e. Branch Sarah Houghton-Jan Information and Web Services Manager, San Mateo County Librarian in Black: http: //www. librarianinblack. net

What we’ll talk about l Why it’s important l Staffing l Organization l Components l Beyond the e. Branch l Gauging success

Importance of the e. Branch Your users expect… l you to be online when and where they are. l to be able to do what they can do in your libraries on your website too. l your website to match the quality and features of other websites (Amazon, e. Bay, Google, Netflix, etc. ) Your e. Branch is the most important public face of your library.

Benefits of the e. Branch l Your e. Branch can be open 24/7—your brick & mortar libraries can’t. l The e. Branch will be your cheapest branch to run! ¡ ¡ Minimal staffing in comparison Rent vs. web hosting Materials are cheaper (+ no processing) Hundreds of free add-ons to take advantage of

I have a dream… …of a self-sufficient e. Branch where users can do anything online that they could do in a library. accessing all content: video, audio, text l connect live with a local librarian any time l take a class, place an ILL, hear a story hour, participate in a book club, talk to other users, get book recommendations, … … on and on l

What makes a good e. Branch? l Focus on content l Customizable by the user l Interactive and feedback-seeking l Free of library hubris and lingo l Professional and feature-full l Focused on what the user wants—not what the librarian wants, not what the Board wants

Staffing You must dedicate appropriate staff to your e. Branch for it to be successful. l This does not mean ¡ ¡ ¡ l a 10 hour/week webmaster someone who is not getting paid for their unique skills someone who has three other areas of responsibility as well This does mean ¡ a branch manager with the necessary technical, management, and librarian skills as well as appropriate authority and responsibility for running the e. Branch.

The library website is no longer an “extra, ” another PR outlet, or an add-on to your other “real” library services. It is its own branch. Treat it as such, or perish.

Organization: you’re not in a library Organize your website based on what people are likely looking for when visiting your website… CONTENT …not based on the format of the materials you have or the layout of the physical library.

Organization: what do they want? l They’re ¡ ¡ ¡ looking for things like: Materials to check out from the library Online information about a particular topic Something to read for fun online Local information Ways to connect with other people Ways to connect with you

Organization: emphasize “the online” l l What people want from your website is very different from what they want when coming in. Give them what they want—PLEASE? Walk-ins e. Branchers Physical materials e. Materials Personal service Convenient service In-library events Online classes and programming Your help No need for help

Components of the e. Branch l Databases (but don’t call them that for pete’s sake) l e. Books l. A good catalog (bwah ha ha ha) l Social software ¡ IM, blogs, RSS, podcasting/vidcasting, wikis, social networks, social libraries l Mash-ups l Multiple ways to contact you

Components: Databases l Focus on what your databases contain— not the fact that they’re databases (online magazines and newspapers, Consumer Reports, online test help, homework help, FREE, FREE) l Consider subject guides instead (w/ DBs, e. Books, canned catalog searches, websites, classes, specialized ask-a-librarian, news headlines) Your subscription databases are your e. Branch’s bread and butter!

Components: e. Books l Buy multiple e. Book collections l Focus on things that are downloadable l Text and audio l Get them into your catalog e. Books are cheaper than print books (plus no processing, shelving, check-outs) and cheaper on a cost per circulation basis

Components: A Good Catalog l Oxymoron? l Biggest point of online contact with users l Put staff time, money, and thought into improving what you have. l Can’t change ILS? Consider an overlay product like Aqua. Browser.

Components: Social Software l l l l l Instant messaging Internet forums Blogs / RSS / podcasting Wikis Social network services Social guides Social bookmarking Social citations Social libraries Virtual worlds and multiplayer online games

Why should libraries care about SS? l There is a great potential for new and enhanced services l There are free marketing opportunities just waiting for us l Our patrons are there—where are we?

Components: instant messaging l Instantaneous, simultaneous text chat l Add-ons like video, audio, file sharing l Use aggregator software (Trillian, Gaim, Meebo) to aggregate multiple accounts l You’re right there where your users are —on their buddy lists l Consider circ & reference IM accounts l Free, free, and more free

Web-based IM with Meebo Completely web-based—no installations l Sign in with multiple accounts at once l Even if IM is blocked, this still works l Meebo. Me Widget—anonymous chat right on the website, no software l

Example of Library IM webpage

Components: Blogs Websites frequently updated with new content l Don’t call it a blog and allow comments! l Examples: l ¡ St. Joseph County Public Library Game Blog: http: //www. libraryforlife. org/gameblog/ ¡ Framingham Public Library Teen Blogomatic: http: //fplya. blogspot. com/ ¡ Marin County Free Library - What’s New: http: //www. marincountyfreelibrary. blogspot. com/ ¡ Waterboro Public Library H 20 boro: http: //www. waterborolibrary. org/blog. htm

Sample blog: H 20 boro

Components: RSS l RSS ¡ ¡ ¡ (Really Simple Syndication) is more than just blogs New books and other items News at the library New content in subscription databases l Examples: ¡ ¡ ¡ EBSCO feeds for new articles (favorite searches) Hennepin County Library feeds for all types of things Edmonton Public Library feed for new teen books Seattle Public Library feeds for favorite authors and subjects First. Gov feeds for government information

Sample RSS feeds: Hennepin CL

Components: Podcasting & Vidcasting Creating audio and video content and pushing it to users through an RSS feed l Book reviews, programming, library tours, classes, library news, story hours l Examples: l ¡ Thomas Ford Memorial Library audio teen book reviews: http: //www. fordlibrary. org/yareviews/ ¡ Manchester Public Library video book reviews: http: //feeds. feedburner. com/primesboxlive ¡ Cheshire Public Library - audio of local teen magazine: http: //www. cheshirelib. org/teens/cplpodcast. htm ¡ University of Sheffield Library audio library tours: http: //www. lbasg. group. shef. ac. uk/downloads/mainlibrary. html

Sample podcast: Thomas Ford ML

Components: Wikis l Collaborative resource creation l Multiple authors, ongoing creation l Subject guides, book reviews, etc. l Examples: ¡ ¡ Wikipedia: http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Main_Page Wiktionary: http: //en. wiktionary. org/wiki/Main_Page St. Joseph County Library’s Subject Guides: http: //www. libraryforlife. org/subjectguides/index. php/Main_ Page University of Minnesota Libraries Staff Website: http: //wiki. lib. umn. edu/

Sample wiki: St. Joseph CL’s Subject Guides

Components: Social networks l Places to meet people and communicate l Examples: ¡ Friendster, Dogster, My. Space, Facebook l You’re there where they are l Libraries with My. Space accounts ¡ ¡ Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (Teens) Denver Public Library Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library dozens of others

Library My. Space Page: Denver PL

Social bookmarking l Putting your favorite websites in a web directory to share with others l Examples: del. icio. us: http: //del. icio. us/ ¡ furl: http: //www. furl. net/ ¡ La Grange Public Library’s del. icio. us ref links ¡ Thomas Ford Memorial Library’s del. icio. us ref links ¡ San Mateo City Library’s del. icio. us ref links ¡

Library del. icio. us: La Grange Park

Components: Social libraries l Keep track of collections l Uses tagging, user-created metadata: Folksonomies l Examples ¡ Flickr. com for photographs ¡ discogs. com for music ¡ Library. Thing. com for books ¡ Stuffopolis. com for everything else

Social library: Reading PL on Flickr

Components: Mash-Ups People are doing things with your library content: be aware and advertise/educate users. Library ELF: Library account tracking and alerts via e-mail & RSS l Lib. X Toolbar: Direct access in web browser to catalog and more l Steal This Library: RSS feeds for new items l Library Look. Up: click on it when on a webpage with an ISBN to look up item in your catalog l

Components: Multiple ways to contact you Phone l E-mail l ¡ ¡ web forms are easiest and most spam-proof Have forms for various purposes (catalog help, e. Book help, website help, suggest a purchase, general feedback, my account help) Web-based chat (Ask. Now) l Instant Messaging l Cell phone text messaging (SMS) l Don’t differentiate between “Contact Us” and “Ask a Librarian”

Beyond the e. Branch: Online Outreach l l l Ego RSS feed: set up RSS feeds for variations of your library’s name Wikipedia: add your library to community entries Wireless network directories: add your library Reviews of libraries on Yelp etc. : check, monitor, and participate appropriately Watch others: monitor local blogs and forums and offer help and information when appropriate Online Games: consider being present in Second. Life and other game environments

Gauging Success l Gather database and e. Book statistics l Count e. Reference questions separately l Gather detailed website statistics l Monitor RSS/podcast subscribers l Survey your online users Build the content, make it findable, and they will come. Watch your usage soar!

Questions? Contact Sarah any time… E-mail: houghton-jan@smcl. org IM: Librarian. In. Black (AOL, Yahoo!, MSN)