Inspiration is a hard thing to come by this late in the school year. However, that's just what I found today at Nancy Jo Lambert's presentation, "Tell Your Story: Designing Your Library Presence," at Region 10. The usual tech tools were mentioned: blog platforms, website layouts, and OF COURSE Twitter, but what set this presentation apart from other Web 2.0 information sessions was the fact that it went beyond the basics of setting up these various platforms and focused on displaying information that people actually care about.
Lambert made the point that while it's easy to become consumed with what YOU think is really important in the library, like an adequate budget, good furniture, working with teachers, etc., what people are going to want to read is the information that relates to them. For students that could be the latest books, for administrators that could be how the library is improving learning, for parents that could be how research will help students muddle their way through those college papers. Looking at the library through the eyes of someone else can inform what we do/don't discuss on our blogs, sites, and social media.
One ah-ha moment came when Lambert said not to worry about grammar and spelling so much that it keeps you from posting as often. The fear of making mistakes throughout a post is one of the main reasons I don't post more often. I feel that I need time to write uninterrupted and that I should have something REALLY AWESOME to write about, but that just simply isn't the case. I smiled when she said that we were being selfish by not posting our wonderful librarian knowledge for others to take hold of. :) So, I'm going to try posting more often, which will inevitably result in more grammatical errors, but will also lead to a lot more information being shared.
Lambert made the point that while it's easy to become consumed with what YOU think is really important in the library, like an adequate budget, good furniture, working with teachers, etc., what people are going to want to read is the information that relates to them. For students that could be the latest books, for administrators that could be how the library is improving learning, for parents that could be how research will help students muddle their way through those college papers. Looking at the library through the eyes of someone else can inform what we do/don't discuss on our blogs, sites, and social media.
One ah-ha moment came when Lambert said not to worry about grammar and spelling so much that it keeps you from posting as often. The fear of making mistakes throughout a post is one of the main reasons I don't post more often. I feel that I need time to write uninterrupted and that I should have something REALLY AWESOME to write about, but that just simply isn't the case. I smiled when she said that we were being selfish by not posting our wonderful librarian knowledge for others to take hold of. :) So, I'm going to try posting more often, which will inevitably result in more grammatical errors, but will also lead to a lot more information being shared.
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