Networking

Social networking sites are, for me, primarily a marketing opportunity for the library. If a presence is established in online social networks, then it is a great opportunity to draw new users to us. The trick is to attract current users to our online presence. If we can do that, then hopefully we can use that as a base to expand. Doing so however, is not as easy as it sounds. Someone else might have pointed it out already, but the Facebook group "State Library of New South Wales" has 30 members, whilst "I MAKE THE NSW STATE LIBRARY BADASS" has 179 members. I believe the trick to establishing an online presence in these networks successfully is to achieve the right mix between informality and authority. We don't wish to denigrate ourselves, but we do need to make any presence casual enough that clients are attracted to it and are relaxed enough to engage with us through our online presence. An overly formal presence reinforces our image as stern gatekeepers, and effectively discourages clients from talking to us. And that's the second use of these networks: to engage with our clients. A greater online presence allows us to have a discussion with our clients in regards to what they see as our successes and failures, and what we can do to improve our services. By observing any discussions between themselves, we can also gain further insight into how they use the library and its services.

I think some of that might have actually been coherent.