LIBR 246-04/13 Web 2.0 (Spring 2010)

Introduction

The University of Glasgow Library was built in 1968 and holds over 2 million books and journals. Joined by four small branch libraries and a research annex, it provides services to the University of Glasgow, Scotland’s 15,000 undergraduates, 5,000 postgraduates, almost 5,000 adults in continuing education, and 6,000 staff, including 2,500 researchers. The latest Annual Report, from 2006-2007, states that the library received 1,429,494 visits and the library’s homepage 1,266,623 visits that year. 2007 saw a number of changes for the library, as they redesigned their website and developed podcasts. There was a 17% increase in e-journal titles from the previous year, bringing the number to 23,143. Online interlibrary loan requests also rose dramatically, from 38% to 91%. These numbers illustrate the university’s growing demand for online resources and accessibility.

 

Marketing Efforts

The library has developed a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and Youtube. It also has an active blog. All of these features are displayed prominently on the library’s homepage.

 

Facebook

The University of Glasgow Library has a Facebook page with 881 fans. The page’s profile picture is a dismal grayscale image of the library surrounded by snow and bare trees. The page defaults to the Boxes tab, where visitors can search the catalog, access resources according to subject, find out basic library information, enter databases, and watch Library On Demand videos that explain the library’s resources. The Wall is populated almost entirely by the library's blog feed and news updates. The Information tab offers basic data about the library and a link to the website. There are two main photo albums on their Photos tab, hosting a total of 33 pictures of the library. These are not user-submitted photos. Their Discussions tab is empty. Finally, their Youtube tab offers links to 21 videos that show visitors how to use the library’s various databases; these are the same videos accessible through Library On Demand. These videos have been viewed between 0 and 12 times each.

 

Twitter

The Library’s Twitter page has the same foreboding image as the Facebook page, but it’s used as a tiled background instead. Since the library’s first tweet on May 27^th, 2009, it has posted 201 tweets. Days and sometimes weeks pass by between tweets, such as the most recent two tweets from February 10^th and March 3^rd. The library uses its Twitter page to make announcements about scheduled downtimes, building updates, presentations and programs. The library has 124 Twitter followers.

 

Flickr

Unlike the picture on Twitter and Facebook, the picture on the library’s Flickr page is an inviting image of a recently renovated study area. The library has been posting to Flickr since February 2009. The link defaults to the Sets tab. Under Sets, there are 23 albums with 4 to 132 pictures each. The pictures range in subject from archival photographs to maps to manuscripts to different areas of the building. If the user would like to find a specific image or groups of similar images in a different way, Flickr offers other organizational schemes through the Collections tab and the Tags tab.

 

Youtube

A different moody picture of the library is used for the background of its Youtube page. The library joined Youtube on August 24, 2006. It has 20 subscribers, 2,801 channel views, and 13,132 total upload views. There are 23 video tutorials on how to use the library’s databases. “How do I find exam papers?” has the most views with 2,668. “Most rated” has little meaning, as the “most rated” videos have one rating each. An administrator last logged on 3 weeks ago.

 

Blog

The library has maintained a blog through wordpress.com since February 2009. The header is the now-familiar grayscale picture of the library. The center of the page is dedicated to blog entries, written by staff from the library, archives, special collections, and photographic unit. There are 23 contributors all together. The goal of the blog is to share what these contributors do at the library while also posting news, hints and tips about the library’s services, building updates, and links to new resources. On their About the Blog page, the staff write that they would like to see the blog develop as a way to talk with their users and create an online community. Few posts are actually commented on. The blog fluctuates between daily and weekly posts.

The right-hand column offers large links to: the University Library’s homepage, RSS options (full blog, archive services, library, and/or special collections), Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr. These are followed by category and tag clouds. Below the clouds are a search bar, a drop-down menu to access the blog’s archives, and images from their Flickr account.

 

What’s Right and What’s Not Working

The library has set up a strong, multi-faceted foundation for its social presence by creating pages on various social media websites. The library’s Flickr and Youtube pages offer great image and video resources for users. The blog seems the most developed of the library’s social media sites, with multiple contributors, informative posts, prominently-displayed links to the library’s other websites, and an easy way to RSS all or parts of the blog. On Facebook, the Boxes tab offers users great resources according to subject matter and a quick way to search the catalog.

Unfortunately, the library has a relatively weak visible following. While 881 fans may seem impressive, there are 15,000 undergraduate students alone at the university. That’s about 6% of that population. The same goes for Twitter, with just 124 followers.

With their initial development behind them, it’s time to market these resources to users and get the users involved. There are very few user comments on any of the websites, and the Facebook page’s Discussions tab is completely empty. So, while pages are being followed and videos are being watched, there’s no back-and-forth communication. Users take what they need and move on.

 

Branding Efforts

The library has attempted to create a cohesive look by using a picture of the building on each of its websites. Their Flickr page, however, has a very different image. While this reading room scene isn’t as unique an identifier as the picture of the building itself, it does suggest a much more pleasing space. Their blog nicely pulls all of the websites together, including a link back to the main library website that has the University’s official logo.

Beyond that, the websites don’t feel particularly cohesive. Barring the image of the building and brief administrator information, it’s not obvious that these were all created by the same organization. If the library wants to market itself as the master resource of information that it is, it needs to push this message out farther and harder. The library can do this by getting users interested and involved; if users are aware of the services and are actively engaged by the sites providing them, they may be more likely to use them.

 

Suggestions

The library has been using these websites for at least a year. It’s time to start encouraging user activity. I would suggest looking to Zappo’s Facebook page for inspiration. The library could post simple getting-to-know-you questions to encourage dialogue and a sense of community. It could create discussions under the Discussions tab, asking users what changes they’d like to see at the library or to even post funny things overheard or seen. Users should also be encouraged to post pictures to the Facebook page and to the Flickr page. There could be little contests to encourage users to follow the library on Twitter: every week a follower could be randomly chosen to win a few pounds’ worth of free printing or to get a fine waived. The library could post riddles or bits of trivia near study carols or computer workstations, requiring the user to sign on to one site or another to get the answer. The dismal image used across the various pages is actually a user-submitted photo, and submissions are being accepted for a spring-themed photo to replace it. This is a great opportunity for a budding student photographer to see their work online, but the contest isn’t being marketed very well.

The library could develop a stronger presence in more general ways, as well. A much higher level of posting activity would keep users more interested. This would be easily done with more frequent Tweets, which could then be fed into their Facebook page. A stronger and more unified narrative voice across the pages would also help, giving a user the sense that there is an actual, approachable person on the other side of the website.

When social media websites ask for administrator information, providing more than just bare-bones information about the library may go a long way in developing the library’s brand. A more positive and cohesive design would help, too; there are plenty of glossy, bright pictures from inside the library posted to Facebook. Making these more apparent would encourage users to stop seeing the library for its intimidating exterior and instead see it for its user-friendly spaces inside. The library needs to give its websites more of a voice and more of a face in order for users to identify with the library and want to get to know it better.

These websites offer great information resources, but the majority of library users may not know about them or not care about them – yet. By developing an online presence and encouraging dialogue, users may be more likely to turn to these websites and access the library’s data points, rather than turning to Google or other generic search engines. Developing a loyal fan and user base keeps the library current, useful, and relevant to its users.