I am a firm believer that Social Softwares should be used in Libraries, however, in order to use them, the libraries (librarians/techs/or who ever else is monitoring/setting-up, etc) has to be aware of its community and how the tools can be and should be set-up for their community. There seemed to be so many examples of "botched" social software being used in libraries. I believe that a lot of libraries are disconnected with their communities (however, some have really good social software tools, and do a great job!). Having a tool, and not being able to use it, is a very big handicap. It's the same concept as a construction worker who doesn't know how to hit a nail with a hammer, if the librarian doesn't know how to appeal to it's users, it simply won't work. To make it work I believe that the library has to look at certain things, and find what suits them best. By looking I mean:
- Take the initiative!
- Have focus groups, find out what the community wants, what is appealing to them!
- Keep on top of the literature, stay ahead of the game, stay informed.
- Keep reviewing and updating what you do. In today's society, things change in the blink of an eye, so be prepared to change, and re-adapt!
- If at first you don't succeed, try and try again.
my 2cents!
3 comments:
...and a very valuable 2 cents they are, Jeremie! I think your five-point list is bang on, especially the parts about focus groups (if you're giving your users something they don't want/need, your initiative will most certainly fail) and trying again (if at first you don't succeed... etc.!). Well done.
Hi Jeremie,
I also agree with your 5-point strategy. I think its important for libraries to not only keep on top of things, but be proactive. This doesn't always have to be a huge step - as you say, it could be as simple as keeping on top of trends/ literature. Or finding other feedback avenues such as directly asking patrons what they think, what they like.
Keep up the good work.
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