News & Views,March 2009 (mp3 file;4.8 MB; 5:06 min.)Participating in conversations; Be Creative! " Enormous Egg" Flannelboard
When people talk about Web and Library 2.0 you hear the words "connection," "community" and especially "conversation" often. That's because people are connecting online, and forming communities--and they're doing that through conversation. Sometimes we, in libraries, think mostly about the conversations that we are starting ourselves and that's a good thing to do, through a variety of means--blogs that allow comments, wikis, photo sharing, and whatever else we can think of to start conversation.
We should also be paying attention to those conversations that the library doesn't initiate. There is a great deal of conversation going on out there on the web--I mean A GREAT DEAL of conversation. We need to listen, especially when it is about us. They may be saying good things about libraries, and our library in particular, or they may take issue with the library services or policy. Either way, don't we want to be part of that conversation? We certainly don't want them to have those conversations without us. In the "old days" we used to say that if someone was happy with service they'd tell 3 of their friends; if they weren't happy they'd tell 10 of their friends. Now, think about the web and all those blogs and Facebook accounts and wikis and Twitter tweats....it isn't just 3 or 10 anymore, it's thousands. Or more.
It would be a good thing to participate in the conversation; when someone says something good about the library we can say, 'Thanks! We're happy to help. Did you know we could do this for you, too?" When someone says something not so good about the library it's also a chance for us to tell the library story--maybe it's a misconception that we can straighten out, or maybe we need to say, 'Oops! We're sorry. Here's what we're going to do to make this better." In either case, the library is better off for having been in the conversation, if for no other reason than it says that we're paying attention, and we care.
So, think about starting conversations, or new conversations in new ways. And listen; you may learn a great deal about your patrons (I'm beginning to like the idea of calling them "members," actually) and what they expect from the library. Use BlogPulse occasionally to search for your library--or your city; maybe someone has a question that the library can help with. You can do a Google alert on a search on your library's name and receive an e-mail whenever a new "hit" comes up in that search that Google will run regularly for you. Sign up for Twitter and search occasionally for conversations about your library or city. A vital part of conversation is listening. They're talking about you--wouldn't you like to participate in the conversation?
Links from today's podcast:
BlogPulse
Google Alerts
SWILSA Youth Services page
CE Catalog
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