Participants logged in from as far away as Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Alberta in Canada to Hawaii, Oregon, California, and other regions of the US to chat and interact with program presenters and authors during the two-day Public Library Association (PLA) 2012 Virtual Conference, March 15–16, held in conjunction with the ALA division’s national conference in Philadelphia March 13–17.
I joined a group of more than 100 participants both days for one program each of those days: “Social Media and Your Marketing Strategy” on Thursday, and “Library-To-Go: Putting Your Library Virtually Anywhere” on Friday. The programs included handouts, instant polling, and downloadable videos, all of which are archived on the PLA website.
The “Social Media” program featured Julie Theado, social media manager at Columbus (Ohio) Metropolitan Library (CML), Johannes Neuer, eCommunications manager at New York Public Library, and Nate Riggs of the Karcher Group, a web marketer based in North Canton, Ohio. All of the presenters stressed the importance of library involvement with social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest.
Theado said social networking should be customer-focused. The success at CML, she said, involved the development of a strategic plan, experimentation with new tools and programs, and engaging staff experts to help answer questions and provide ideas. “If it doesn’t create results, we stop doing it,” Theado added.
Neuer said NYPL selects and prepares staff for social networking with classes, an Internet Google Group, and a Social Media Summit. He added that libraries should choose an organizational model that works for their institution and to determine a publishing platform based on interest, content, type, and format. Libraries should meet patrons “within their social neighborhoods,” Neuer told the group, suggesting collaboration on content curation, “especially when there is no dedicated staff to this effort.” In addition, he suggested use of a social flow app to measure how content is being posted, using such tools as Foursquare to market locations.
Riggs discussed QR codes and the growing industrywide discontent with them and questioned whether they are “something that have come and gone.” But he did suggest that QR codes are “a great way to connect from library to online experiences.” Riggs recommended using social customer relationship management and social analytic tools, such as PageLever, Tweet Adder, or Spredfast to turn data into actionable items.
“If you’re just getting started [with social media], pick one thing and get good at it before moving on,” Riggs advises.
The “Library-To-Go” program featured two Missouri-area library directors: Melissa Carr of Daniel Boone Regional Library (DBRL), and Steven V. Potter of Mid-Continent Public Library (MCPL). They said the concept of Library-To-Go was to bring the library to the people. It involves a modular approach with locked shelving, 24/7 holds, a browsable audiovisual collection, Wi-Fi, and public computing.
Carr said DBRL has 30 branches spread over three counties and “there is no library building everywhere,” indicating the concept allowed them to work with a business partner and involved delivery and pickup of materials by a single staffer.
For MCPL, Potter said the library supplies the hardware and internet connection while the business partner provides the overhead, furniture, and staff to watch the equipment. Items are not actually checked out until they are picked up. The employees maintain and stock each remote location once a day. Computers available for use at each location are 100% filtered.
In addition to programs, the PLA Virtual Conference included a Q&A with author/librarian Nancy Pearl and an interview with author Liz Moore (The Words of Every Song and Heft).
Does a virtual conference satisfy the PLA information gap and replace the physical presence? For some, it’s better than nothing at all. Asked why they choose the virtual experience, the responses included:
- “So multiple staff could attend.”
- “I couldn’t afford to send any staff to PLA because of budget constraints.”
- “I am a student, and the virtual conference was practical and affordable.”
- “I can still meet family obligations.”
- “It is a way for me to stay in touch without taking off work from my part-time job.”
The upcoming ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim in June and the ALA Midwinter Meetings, as well as most of the Association’s division national conferences, all have a virtual component. If you can’t be there in person, consider attending right from your home or office. It’s the next best thing!
