Saturday, July 18, 2009


Libraries, Outreach and Technology
By Cathy Colella
Wayne State University, LIS 6010

With all of the challenges that technology can bring to libraries, it can be easy to forget all of the really positive things that come along with the new tools. Happily, there are many rewards to point to. With this blog entry, I would like to explore some of the exciting outreach programs that have been created because of new tools and technology. When I refer to outreach, my intention is pointing to activities that libraries engage in to improve relationships with individuals, organizations and the larger communities they serve.

First, I will look at some examples of how public libraries use technology to reach out to members and keep them connected to the library even when the members are not attending the library physically. I reviewed three public libraries here in Michigan in order to get a taste of what some public libraries may be doing with technology and outreach.

Since I am from the west side of the state—I looked at my two local public libraries, the Kalamazoo Public Library and Portage Public Library. And then I also looked at Chippewa River District Library after hearing great things about that library from my sister. Technology allows public libraries to stay in touch and provide important services to patrons via the internet and website. Here is a small sampling of outreach services via new technologies.
1. Monthly library newsletters via e-mail that feature what is new at the library.
2. Member services via websites such as: event listings, catalog search and reserve, and suggest items, renewals, reference services, recommended reading lists, clubs and so on.
3. Notifications and messages via all of the latest networking and communication programs like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and Blogs.
4. Online research tutorials.
5. Video on Demand.
6. E-book and Audiobook Collections.
7. Government Document services.
8. Genealogy services.
9. Homework Help (grammar guides, almanacs, math and science help, and more)
10. Fun on the Web for Kids (safe and educational sites for kids to explore).

Next, I will briefly look at how academic libraries reach out to other cultural and community organizations taking advantage of all of the technical tools and research that an academic library uses today. I came across these examples while reviewing a book regarding that had a number of case studies regarding academic libraries doing some very creative programming and outreach with cultural organizations and the community at large.

The book is a great resource for librarians who are looking for inspiration and examples of how outreach programs are set up. It even provides helpful hints how to set up your own outreach program, data regarding success rates and how to even how to improve on the examples given. The book is entitled: Academic Library Outreach, Beyond the Campus Walls, Edited by Nancy Courtney (2009). I found these two examples to be especially exciting but there are many, many more examples:

Digital Dress: 200 Years of Urban Style, A Model Web Portal for Library-Museum Collaborationn:
http://www.lib.wayne.edu/resources/digital/projects/digitaldress.php
As noted from the project website:
“From 2003-2005, the Wayne State University Library System (WSULS) collaborated with WSU College of Fine and Performing Arts, the Detroit Historical Museum, the Henry Ford, and Meadow Brook Hall. In partnership we created a universally accessible, unique, research quality web portal for increasing access to a multi-institutional collection of 5,000 digital images of men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing and accessories representing fashion during a period of urban transformation (1800-2000). The final product of this unique collaboration is Digital Dress. To our knowledge, no such shared historic costume database exists, as most comparable collections represent the holdings of a single institution.”

Virtual Motor City:
http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/image/image-idx?page=index;c=vmc.
Virtual Motor City is the name of an
IMLS sponsored digitization project, carried out by the Wayne State University Library System and the Walter P. Reuther Library.
As noted from the Virtual Motor City website:
“The digitized images in the project represent a small subset of the Detroit News Collection, one of the premier photojournalistic resources freely available from a national-level newspaper and held at the Reuther Library. The full collection consists of more than 800,000 specially selected glass and nitrate, acetate and polyester film-based negatives. These date from the late 19th century, but the bulk fall between 1900 and 1980. They range in size from 8" x 10" to 35mm in both black and white, and color. As a part of the Virtual Motor City project a number of 1920's Detroit News Newsreels have been digitized. We currently have over 400 available for browsing online through
this website.”

Finally, here is an example of how one academic library offers tools that reach out to international groups out using multiple technologies.
http://www.lib.washington.edu/Music/projects.html#progress
An interesting example of a specialized library featuring international digital databases and projects is the University of Washington. There are huge lists of projects contained within the website, indicating a lively and forward moving uses of technology and library tools.

REFERENCES
Courtney, N. (Ed.), 2009. Academic Library Outreach, Beyond the Campus Walls, Libraries Unlimited.
CRDL Online, Chippewa River District Library, retrieved July 13, 2009 from: http://www.youseemore.com/chippewa/.com
Digital Dress: 200 Years of Urban Style, A Model Web Portal for Library-Museum Collaborationn, retrieved July 14, 2009 from: http://www.lib.wayne.edu/resources/digital/projects/digitaldress.php
Homework Help, Portage District Library, retrieved July 12, 2009 from: http://www.pdl.lib.mi.us.
Music Library and Listening Center, University of Washington Libraries, Retrieved July 15, 2009
Virtual Motor City, retrieved July 15, 2009 from: http://dlxs.lib.wayne.edu/cgi/i/image/image-idx?page=index;c=vmc.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for reminding us of all the positive things technology has brought to libraries! I think in the discussions of technology and libraries, we often focus on the negative aspects rather than the positive. It's nice to hear some of the benefits technology provides to libraries and their patrons.

G-man said...

Your post reminded of the purpose of technology because I get caught up in the sheer quantity of it all that I forget it is just a set of tools to be used for a greater end, which, as you say, is “outreach” or “activities that libraries engage in to improve relationships with individuals, organizations and the larger communities they serve” (Colella, 2009). It does seem from your review of the technologies that libraries are currently using that there is no template for success: something like, have a Facebook page, a wiki, and virtual reference and you will be a successful library. Rather it looks like trial-and-error is in order as well as sharing experiences through blogs like yours or writing a book like Academic Library Outreach.
I also wonder because there are so many technologies to choose from and because a kind of shotgun approach is needed how successful they are. And that leads me to wonder how do you evaluate the success of a Facebook book for “improving relationships” with current patrons or future patrons, or even potential financial donors? As they say in the business world, are there “metrics” that can be used to judge the success of “online research tutorials” or newsletters for example (Colella, 2009)?
This is obviously a period of learning and we don’t have all the answers yet. A blog post on The Other Librarian got me thinking about how effective Facebook can be. Ryan Deschamps makes the point that an application that searches your library catalog is “not taking advantage of what Facebook offers its clients” because it’s not “something your average person wants to show their friends” (2007). In effect if we do not understand the culture that goes along with certain kinds of technology we will be seen as “intruders” into something that’s working fine without us. A similar thought is expressed by librarian Angel Rivera: “I think at times libraries, in the rush to be where their patrons are, may jump in without fully thinking things through. This can be exemplified by the many library blogs out there that are now defunct or at least moribund” (2009). So do we have established guidelines for planning ahead of time whether our technologies are going to work? Is there a standard way for libraries to track usage statistics?
Again, I found it enlightening to see technology put in the proper context of library outreach. Knowing the reason for doing something helps me get my head around why I should care about the hundreds of software applications that seem to come out every day. I was just wondering if it makes sense to have a standard way of judging whether your use of technology is working or whether an evaluation like that is best left to each individual library.


References

Colella, C. (2009, July 18). Libraries, outreach and technology. Message posted to
http://lis6010blog.blogspot.com/

Deschamps, R. (2007, September 10). Facebook and rapport. Message posted to
http://otherlibrarian.wordpress.com/2007/09/10/facebook-and-rapport/

Rivera, A. (2009, July 10). Article note: On libraries deciding to use Facebook for outreach or
not. Message posted to http://gypsylibrarian.blogspot.com/2009/07/article-note-on-libraries-deciding-to.html

Amanda H. said...

Great post! I am curious about the usage of e-books and books on mp3s in libraries. If patrons are liking them and how often they are checked out. It is something that I know a lot of libraries are getting but is also expensive in this world of little monies coming in.

Holly said...

I was surprised to read your entry about technological outreach. To me, when I hear the word outreach I think of literacy. But it makes total sense that library outreach would include technology. I love that there are notifications via Facebook- what a way to reach this generation!

Jillyan said...

When I visited the Orion Public Library last week, we spoke about how much the library has started to reach out to the community. They offer classes and informational meetings on issues such as resume building, job searching, avoiding forclosure, and other topics that are clearly needed during this economic crisis. It truely reflects how libraries need to be a part of the community.

HeidiJoGustad said...

What I liked the most about your blog was that it was, appropriately, the "bloggiest" of the posts we've seen thus far in 6010. Lots of relevant external links, a nice photo, not too wordy, etc. Thumbs up.

Cathy Colella said...

Thanks for the great comments. Everyone had really good thoughts about outreach. I thought "G-man" had some good questions about how to effetely measure the results of the various methods of outreach. Many times, I know that results are tracked by the number of individuals that use the services or visit blogs, etc. But the tools do change rapidly -- for example Facebook versus MySpace. Getting a grasp on that is probably really tricky. Especially if the library doesn't have the staff and expertise.

I have really tried to expand the idea of outreach by including technological ideas of reaching out and developing relationships with individuals and other organizations. And using technology is a really great way of doing it these days.

L.M.Martin said...

I, like G-man, am curious as to how we would be able to evaluate these new services offered through technology advancements, such as Web 2.0 applications or other social software? How would one be able to prove their value to those that deny their validity? It seems to me that we have yet to create tools in order to evaluate. Maybe I'm wrong here, but as Shueller points out in Elizabath Bennett's article, these benefits are "quixotic."

References

Bennett, E. (2008, February 21). Social Software's Culture Clash. Baseline Magazine. Retrieved July 20, 2009, from http://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/Messaging-and-Collaboration/Social-Softwares-Culture-Clash/

Gail said...

Great job! This reminded me of the outreach OCL for the Spanish communities. They have made available many online sources that look very helpful. One of our local libraries offers a course in Word 2007 for seniors. The seniors are excited when they leave the class because they learned some new and relevant skills to show the grandkids.