Building a Successful eBranch

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Building a Successful eBranch

• Sarah Houghton-Jan
• Information and Web Services Manager, San Mateo
  County Library
• Librarian in Black http//www.librarianinblack.ne
  t

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What well talk about

• Why its important
• Staffing
• Organization
• Components
• Beyond the eBranch
• Gauging success

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Importance of the eBranch

• Your users expect
• you to be online when and where they are.
• to be able to do what they can do in your
  libraries on your website too.
• your website to match the quality and features of
  other websites (Amazon, eBay, Google, Netflix,
  etc.)
• Your eBranch is the most important public face of
  your library.

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Benefits of the eBranch

• Your eBranch can be open 24/7your brick mortar
  libraries cant.
• The eBranch will be your cheapest branch to run!
• Minimal staffing in comparison
• Rent vs. web hosting
• Materials are cheaper ( no processing)
• Hundreds of free add-ons to take advantage of

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I have a dream

• of a self-sufficient eBranch where users can do
  anything online that they could do in a library.
• accessing all content video, audio, text
• connect live with a local librarian any time
• take a class, place an ILL, hear a story hour,
  participate in a book club, talk to other users,
  get book recommendations, on and on and on

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What makes a good eBranch?

• Focus on content
• Customizable by the user
• Interactive and feedback-seeking
• Free of library hubris and lingo
• Professional and feature-full
• Focused on what the user wantsnot what the
  librarian wants, not what the Board wants

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Staffing

• You must dedicate appropriate staff to your
  eBranch for it to be successful.
• This does not mean
• a 10 hour/week webmaster
• someone who is not getting paid for their unique
  skills
• someone who has three other areas of
  responsibility as well
• This does mean
• a branch manager with the necessary technical,
  management, and librarian skills as well as
  appropriate authority and responsibility for
  running the eBranch.

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• The library website is no longer an extra,
  another PR outlet, or an add-on to your other
  real library services.
• It is its own branch.
• Treat it as such, or perish.

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Organization youre not in a library

• Organize your website based on what people are
  likely looking for when visiting your website
• CONTENT
• not based on the format of the materials you
  have or the layout of the physical library.

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Organization what do they want?

• Theyre looking for things like
• Materials to check out from the library
• Online information about a particular topic
• Something to read for fun online
• Local information
• Ways to connect with other people
• Ways to connect with you

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Organization emphasize the online

• What people want from your website is very
  different from what they want when coming in.
• Give them what they wantPLEASE?

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Components of the eBranch

• Databases (but dont call them that for petes
  sake)
• eBooks
• A good catalog (bwah ha ha ha ha ha)
• Social software
• IM, blogs, RSS, podcasting/vidcasting, wikis,
  social networks, social libraries
• Mash-ups
• Multiple ways to contact you

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Components Databases

• Focus on what your databases containnot the fact
  that theyre databases (online magazines and
  newspapers, Consumer Reports, online test help,
  homework help, FREE, FREE, FREE)
• Consider subject guides instead (w/ DBs, eBooks,
  canned catalog searches, websites, classes,
  specialized ask-a-librarian, news headlines)
• Your subscription databases are your eBranchs
  bread and butter!

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Components eBooks

• Buy multiple eBook collections
• Focus on things that are downloadable
• Text and audio
• Get them into your catalog
• eBooks are cheaper than print books (plus no
  processing, shelving, check-outs) and cheaper on
  a cost per circulation basis

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Components A Good Catalog

• Oxymoron?
• Biggest point of online contact with users
• Put staff time, money, and thought into improving
  what you have.
• Cant change ILS? Consider an overlay product
  like AquaBrowser.

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Components Social Software

• Instant messaging
• Internet forums
• Blogs / RSS / podcasting
• Wikis
• Social network services
• Social guides
• Social bookmarking
• Social citations
• Social libraries
• Virtual worlds and multiplayer online games

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Why should libraries care about SS?

• There is a great potential for new and enhanced
  services
• There are free marketing opportunities just
  waiting for us
• Our patrons are therewhere are we?

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Components instant messaging

• Instantaneous, simultaneous text chat
• Add-ons like video, audio, file sharing
• Use aggregator software (Trillian, Gaim, Meebo)
  to aggregate multiple accounts
• Youre right there where your users areon their
  buddy lists
• Consider circ reference IM accounts
• Free, free, and more free

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Web-based IM with Meebo

• Completely web-basedno installations
• Sign in with multiple accounts at once
• Even if IM is blocked, this still works
• MeeboMe Widgetanonymous chat right on the
  website, no software

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Example of Library IM webpage
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Components Blogs

• Websites frequently updated with new content
• Dont call it a blog and allow comments!
• Examples
• St. Joseph County Public Library Game Blog
  http//www.libraryforlife.org/gameblog/
• Framingham Public Library Teen Blogomatic
  http//fplya.blogspot.com/
• Marin County Free Library - Whats New
  http//www.marincountyfreelibrary.blogspot.com/
• Waterboro Public Library H20boro
  http//www.waterborolibrary.org/blog.htm

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Sample blog H20boro
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Components RSS (Really Simple Syndication)

• RSS is more than just blogs
• New books and other items
• News at the library
• New content in subscription databases
• Examples
• EBSCO feeds for new articles (favorite searches)
• Hennepin County Library feeds for all types of
  things
• Edmonton Public Library feed for new teen books
• Seattle Public Library feeds for favorite authors
  and subjects
• FirstGov feeds for government information

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Sample RSS feeds Hennepin CL
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Components Podcasting Vidcasting

• Creating audio and video content and pushing it
  to users through an RSS feed
• Book reviews, programming, library tours,
  classes, library news, story hours
• Examples
• Thomas Ford Memorial Library audio teen book
  reviews http//www.fordlibrary.org/yareviews/
• Manchester Public Library video book reviews
  http//feeds.feedburner.com/primesboxlive
• Cheshire Public Library - audio of local teen
  magazine http//www.cheshirelib.org/teens/cplpodc
  ast.htm
• University of Sheffield Library audio library
  tours http//www.lbasg.group.shef.ac.uk/downloads
  /mainlibrary.html

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Sample podcast Thomas Ford ML
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Components Wikis

• Collaborative resource creation
• Multiple authors, ongoing creation
• Subject guides, book reviews, etc.
• Examples
• Wikipedia http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
  
• Wiktionary http//en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Main_Pa
  ge
• St .Joseph County Librarys Subject Guides
  http//www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.
  php/Main_Page
• University of Minnesota Libraries Staff Website
  http//wiki.lib.umn.edu/

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Sample wiki St .Joseph CLs Subject Guides
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Components Social networks

• Places to meet people and communicate
• Examples
• Friendster, Dogster, MySpace, Facebook
• Youre there where they are
• Libraries with MySpace accounts
• Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (Teens)
• Denver Public Library
• Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library
• dozens of others

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Library MySpace Page Denver PL
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Social bookmarking

• Putting your favorite websites in a web directory
  to share with others
• Examples
• del.icio.us http//del.icio.us/
• furl http//www.furl.net/
• La Grange Public Librarys del.icio.us ref links
• Thomas Ford Memorial Librarys del.icio.us ref
  links
• San Mateo City Librarys del.icio.us ref links

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Library del.icio.us La Grange Park
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Components Social libraries

• Keep track of collections
• Uses tagging, user-created metadata Folksonomies
• Examples
• Flickr.com for photographs
• discogs.com for music
• LibraryThing.com for books
• Stuffopolis.com for everything else

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Social library Reading PL on Flickr
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Components Mash-Ups

• People are doing things with your library
  content be aware and advertise/educate users.
• Library ELF Library account tracking and alerts
  via e-mail RSS
• LibX Toolbar Direct access in web browser to
  catalog and more
• Steal This Library RSS feeds for new items
• Library LookUp click on it when on a webpage
  with an ISBN to look up item in your catalog

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Components Multiple ways to contact you

• Phone
• E-mail
• web forms are easiest and most spam-proof
• Have forms for various purposes (catalog help,
  eBook help, website help, suggest a purchase,
  general feedback, my account help)
• Web-based chat (AskNow)
• Instant Messaging
• Cell phone text messaging (SMS)
• Dont differentiate between Contact Us
• and Ask a Librarian

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Beyond the eBranch Online Outreach

• Ego RSS feed set up RSS feeds for variations of
  your librarys name
• Wikipedia add your library to community entries
• Wireless network directories add your library
• Reviews of libraries on Yelp etc. check,
  monitor, and participate appropriately
• Watch others monitor local blogs and forums and
  offer help and information when appropriate
• Online Games consider being present in
  SecondLife and other game environments

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Gauging Success

• Gather database and eBook statistics
• Count eReference questions separately
• Gather detailed website statistics
• Monitor RSS/podcast subscribers
• Survey your online users
• Build the content, make it findable,
• and they will come.
• Watch your usage soar!

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Questions? Contact Sarah any time E-mail
houghton-jan_at_smcl.org IM LibrarianInBlack
(AOL, Yahoo!, MSN)