News & Views, June 2009 (mp3 file; 4.9 MB; 5:11 min.)Making Your Website Their Own; Pajama Party Kits;
Every library needs a website, and these days people expect more from a website--they don't want just the library's address and hours. How do you make the library's website your own--or, rather their own? Address and hours are important to include, of course, but there are a few more things to think about when you're working on your website:
1) Give them a good reason--or lots of good reasons--to keep coming back to the website. This means something new and interesting on the home page--often. The photo and your address and your hours just aren't going to change all that often, so why would they feel a need to come back to the site?
How about a list of new books and videos? And I mean books and videos that have arrived within the last week or two. Library Thing makes that very easy--and makes for a very nice online display, too.
Do you have information about upcoming programs and events? RSSCalendar or a Twitter feed widget make it easy to keep those current.
2) Do you have something uniquely local, that makes it YOUR community's library? Perhaps a community history project, using the web to share photos or stories. Flickr or WikiTree are tools that can help you with that. (And I'm guessing you have some people in the community who would love to dig in and help!)
3) Next, do you have timely information, up front? You could have links to tax forms during tax season, or right now, information on job seeking or starting a small business. The "Help in Tough Times" website can help you with that.
4) Finally (though by no means should you limit yourself to just these suggestions!), do you provide an easy way for your patrons to connect and converse with you? E-mail is good, but live chat is almost expected these days. Meebo, with its "MeeboMe widget" makes it easy to do, for both you and your patrons. (A library in SW Iowa did it a few weeks ago, and they love it!)
Keeping the website alive and current tkes time, but it's a solid investment. Look for a series of online workshops starting later this summer that will show you how to use the tools I've mentioned, and more. Invest in that website--it can yeld high returns!
Links from today's podcast:
Library Things
RSS Calendar
Flickr
WikiTree
Help in Tough Times
Meebo
Storytime Kits on the Early Childhood Literacy Website
No comments:
Post a Comment