Monday 2nd August: An opportunity to catch up!

planetschwa on flickr

Need a place away from it all where you can spend an hour or so catching up with some of the Things? Then we have the solution!

Come along to the English Faculty Library on Monday 2nd August between 11.30am and 3pm where you will find:

• computers - wifi is available if you want to bring your own lap tops


• support from members of the Project Team


• refreshments - a simple sandwich lunch will be provided!
  

For those of you who are up to date, well done! But if you have any queries about any of the Things, then do come along & talk to us.

Thing 19 - Marketing with social media

Welcome to Thing 19

After completing Thing 19...
You will have considered how social media impacts on how we market our services and identify a social media tool (or tools) that you are going to use for marketing purposes.

What is marketing?
In many ways it's easier to describe what marketing isn't rather than what it is. Putting a logo on a pen is not marketing – it’s simply putting a logo on a pen, at best its advertising and advertising is only 10% of marketing (if that). Marketing is more broadly about how we position ourselves and what we do for our customers, especially how we anticipate and meet their needs. A marketing strategy should be at the very heart of your day-to-day library work and inform what services you offer and how they can best be optimised for delivery. Marketing should lead you to question what messages you are putting out there, how they are being received by customers, and whether you are communicating your library's value effectively. In my experience a lot of libarians offer brilliantly appropriate services or tools for their users, but they just don't wield the megaphone enough in order to get the message out there, so they are not used or appreciated as much as they should be.

From 4 Ps to to 4 Cs
Anyone who has ever studied, or dabbled, in marketing theory will know about 'the marketing mix' the combination of the 4 Ps -product, price, place and promotion - that contribute to successful marketing. Crucially however, social media has now changed the rules and many marketers are now talking about the importance of the 4 Cs as well: content, context, connections and conversations.

Content could include blog posts, podcasts, images or other forms of service expression. Context is all about where the content is to be shared e.g. a blog, Facebook Group, Twitter, Flickr, a wiki, a forum etc. Through sharing content via these contexts you will make Connections with people, including your users, which crucially can lead in turn to Conversations – interaction through social networking sites, blog comments, forums, LinkedIn messages etc. These conversations can also be considered as content as they can lead to the creation of new content and so the cycle continues...

Participation rather than broadcast
The important point is that social media now allows anyone to become a content producer as well as a consumer and, as a result, services and companies that were previously using traditional communication channels now have no choice but to participate rather than just broadcast. As this is the case service providers like ourselves need to have even clearer marketing goals – to know what we are going to say, what we offer, where and for what purpose. The barriers are down and we should see that as an opportunity.

Getting in the eyeline
In many ways social media is a whole other avenue for us to explore and exploit: a chance to get in the eyeline of our library users, and better still to start conversations. How many users do you see with their heads in their phones or permanently on Facebook? If we don’t have a presence there too we’re missing a trick.

Professional conversations
Its also worth mentioning the value of our creation of content that leads to more conversations and networking with other librarians, conversations which can make us more aware and engaged and offer a significant contribution to our approach to marketing our services.

So what's going on out there in Libraryland?
You might want to check out the social media cards being produced in Illinois libraries, the tweeting and facebooking going on in the Orkneys or what the Library of Congress is currently up to...

What do I need to do for Thing 19?
Blog about how you feel about the marketing opportunities that social media now offers and specifically about one tool or strategy you are going to adopt to promote your service as a result of your participation in Cam23.

Find out more
The following presentations on Slideshare on this subject are all worth a look:
- Marketing library services
- Social networking and promotion of library services
- Innovate library web marketing practices

Next time
You will be creating a Google document and sharing it. Laters...

Thing 18 - Zotero

Welcome to Thing 18 in which you will have a look at Zotero for managing and sharing references.


After completing Thing 18....
You will be able to store and organise all the interesting articles that you have read in the course of 23 Things, and - if really keen and excited about this tool - share them with others. It is of course this sharing aspect that makes it a Web 2.0 tool, but if you know about it and then 'share' the idea with your library users I think it still qualifies!

Information about Zotero
Although very easy to start using there is a lot you can do with Zotero.
Firstly here is the basic info if you're not familiar with it:

It's an extension to the Mozilla Firefox browser. It enables you to capture references from catalogues, Google Scholar, or anywhere where bibliographic information can be recognized. You can archive webpages, store pdfs, images, files etc. It is a good way of managing your resources or references, great for creating bibliographies and easy to cite-while-you-write with word processor plugins. You can set up a Group Library and share resources with others, choosing to make your group open to the public, perhaps to target the student population, or restricting membership and access, for example with a distinct research group.

Oh - and it's free

So, hoping to have hooked you..........

Instructions for using Zotero
1. Installation

• Install Firefox for free on your computer if you do not already have it available
• Download Zotero - if you have downloaded Zotero before check that you have the latest version (currently 2.0.3 on July 15 2010)
• Check your browser - the zotero icon should be installed
• For a full description of how to use Zotero look at the video on their homepage

2. Getting stuff into Your Library

• If you didn't bother to watch the video then there are two really important things you need to know! Firstly, your Zotero Library is always available in your web browser, normally at the bottom RH corner. Click on the icon to get your Library up. Secondly, when conducting a search, the little folder or icon that appears in the location bar of your browser is a good clue that there is downloadable information on that webpage.
• Try a search in JSTOR or Newton or Google Scholar or any of the other sites that are compatable with Zotero
• Click on the folder icon in your browser, select the items you want to download and they will pop into your Library
• You can edit them, add notes, create new libraries, create a bibliography from them etc. All of the basics are very well covered by the Zotero QUICK START GUIDE which is usually installed in your Zotero Library or which you can easily access on their website. They also have a really useful support page

Zotero and Libraries?
How can we use Zotero in our own libraries? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Find out what Cambridge libraries/librarians have already done

• Computing Service
• Blog about google docs and zotero
• Medical School Library documentation
• University Library toolbox

2. Write a web tutorial for your users - or link to others if appropriate
3. Offer practical help for library users on Zotero
4. Recommend it on your website - see COPAC
5. Try using the 'Group Library' facility and gather reading lists information, add notes and other valuable information for your users. For more help on using the Group Library functionality have a look at the Zotero website - an example of a recent group set up below:

6. Any other ideas? Blog about them!

Optional Extras

Don't just leave it at Zotero! You might like to explore Mendeley or Bookends (for Mac users), and it's always useful to know something about Endnote and Endnote Web as both the latter are supported by the University.

Further Reading - for if you are really really keen (or just find the references and stash them in your Zotero Library for later.......)

The first six tools for practical Library 2.0
Superpower your browser with LibX and Zotero Open Source tools for research

Next Time
You will be thinking about how to market your service with social media...

Light at the end of the tunnel?

This is just a quick heads up to ask you all to put Thursday 2nd September @ 5.30pm in your diaries as its the date and time of the Cam23 'Grand Closing Ceremony' at which 'vouchers will be dispensed and everything'. The Cam23 project team are currently planning a fly past from the Red Arrows, fire-eaters, trapeze artists and special guest appearances from the Princess Royal, Harry Hill, Mary Portas and Mr Tumble (all work committments permitting). Even if the budget doesn't stretch this far, this will be a great opportunity to wrap up Cam23 with drinks, nibbles and speeches (not too many speeches).

The last Things, 22 and 23, are due to be posted on 9th August. Between that date and Friday 27 August you will have a chance to catch up with all the Things. By this date you need to make sure that you have blogged about all 23 Things in order to be eligible for a voucher and completion certificate, which will be presented at this event.

In mid-August we will also be sending out a Cam23 'Red Carpet Blog Awards' survey in which you can vote on your favourite blog, favourite blog post etc. The winners will also be announced at the closing ceremony.

We always knew it was going to be a tough call covering 23 things in 12 weeks but we are almost there now. If you are finding it a struggle then you may want to attend our 2nd August drop-in, which will be less of a surgery and more of an opportunity to catch-up in peaceful surroundings.

Further details of that drop-in and the closing ceremony (including the venue) will be provided in due course.

In the meantime - keep on blogging. You can do it!

Thing 17 - Linkedin

Welcome to Thing 17...

After completing Thing 17 you will have ...
a grasp of the possibilities offered by LinkedIn for professional development.

What is LinkedIn?
This is another social networking site which works in a similar way to Facebook in that individuals create a profile and form networks by linking with others, however it is largely used by the business community, especially for recruitment, sales and for maintaining contacts lists. It's benefits seem more long-term than immediately obvious, but may become more apparent in the current economic climate. So far librarians have a limited constituency here, but you may find it useful for current awareness and keeping in touch with others in the profession both inside and outside Cambridge.

Step by step instructions

1. View an individual's profile. Go to http://www.linkedin.com/ and by using the Search for someone by name box you can view the basic details of an individual's profile without creating an account yourself. Here are some examples of some profiles to search for:

Colin Higgins (St Catherine's College)
Clare Aitken (Information Specialist at Schlumberger)
Sarah Stamford (Selwyn College/ebooks@cambridge)
Libby Tilley (Faculty Librarian, University of Cambridge)
Andy Priestner (Head Librarian, Judge Business School)

However you won't be able to view the full details, and these include that person's connections and the groups to which they belong, unless you create a profile yourself. Now in case you are exhausted with creating accounts by now I have copied my own profile in here for you to peruse. It comes in two screenshots (click them to enlarge), here's the top bit

and here is the bottom bit:

I've included this screenshot in particular because I think LinkedIn comes into its own with its discussion groups.

2. If you don't already have a LinkedIn profile and would like one, you can set yourself up by following through the sign-up boxes (I guess you know how to do this now) and remember to check your privacy settings.

3. You can search for and send requests to link to people whom you know. You will see you will be asked to indicate how you know that person and, as with Facebook, you will have to wait for your request to be accepted.

4. Meanwhile you can search for groups (click on the Groups tab) with shared interests, why not start by searching for the Cambridge Library Group. Membership/support of groups such as this, CILIP etc are useful additions to your profile. If you are not sure what to look for, take a look at some existing LinkedIn profiles or use the Groups Directory. You'll notice that you will be able to contact people you find in LinkedIn groups without necessarily needing to know their email address.

Under More you can find a reading list option which links to Amazon. Here you can be updated with new publications in a field which interests you, or set up a list of books you have read yourself.

Optional extras

• Check newsfeeds from groups
• Create your own group
• Add your Twitter feed to your LinkedIn profile
• Add a recommendation for someone you know to their profile.

Further reading
The Economist ran a special report on A world of connections in Jan 2010 which is available online at their website but requires a free 14-day registration to read.

Also:
http://www.library.ohio.gov/marketing/Newsletters/TheNews/2010/February/LinkedIn
http://chris.pirillo.com/top-reasons-to-use-linkedin/

Now post to your blog ...

Thanks to Colin Higgins and Clare Aitken for their contribution to this post.

Next time...
We'll be exploring Zotero and Mendeley.

Thing 16 - Explore library Facebook pages

Welcome to Week 9, Thing 16!

After completing Thing 16...
...you will have gained a better idea of some of the possibilities of using Facebook for libraries.

What is Facebook?
Facebook is one of the most popular social network services. With over 300 million profiles worldwide, its users build online communities by connecting with others who share interests and/0r activities ("friends"). It provides a variety of ways for users to interact, such as email, messaging services, status updates, comments, games and quizzes. And because it so widely used it is becoming embedded in our contemporary social, economic and political culture.

It is also used by companies to market their products, using the information which individuals add to their profiles. Libraries can take advantage of these opportunities; for example if your library has a Group Page or Business Page you have another channel for promoting your services to those who sign up to it. You can include your contact information, opening hours, the libraries@cambridge widgets and live messaging to increase readers' engagement with library services and those of other information providers.

Step by step instructions

If you already have a Facebook account or do not wish to set one up, go to Step 5. If you don't have an account you will still be able to complete this Thing but your experience of Facebook will be more limited. You can delete your account later if you wish.

1. Create a Facebook account. Go to http://www.facebook.com/ and enter your email address and password in the Sign up boxes. You also need to enter your gender and date of birth but (and I haven't told you this) it doesn't have to be truthful.

2. Follow the steps through for creating your profile. Bear in mind that minimal information is perfectly acceptable but do check your Account and establish your privacy settings. Personally I restrict everything to friends only and avoid email alerts. Join the Cambridge network in Account Settings, Networks.

3. Click on Profile to see your progress so far, don't worry if it doesn't look very exciting.

4. You will see a box at the top of your account called Search. In this box type 23 Things Cambridge and click on the Group result. You will see our group page here, which you can join. On the lefthand side you will see colleagues who have already joined. You can click on them to view their Facebook profiles and send Friend requests to them if you wish. (Facebook etiquette is that you only send a Friend request to someone whom you have already met or know personally). You can also search for people you know using the Search box.


5. Now take a look at some library pages, using the Search box again. I've listed some Cambridge examples but I am sure you will want to explore on your own. As you go along, see what information has been posted and how many people have signed up for their page.

Cambridge Libraries
Classical Faculty Library
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=124129957620197#%21/pages/ebookscambridge/73310615392
English Faculty Library
Jerwood Library, Trinity Hall
Judge Business School Library Services
The Marshall Library of Economics

Further reading

Libraries and Facebook - an interesting LSE case study
Facebook Group vs Facebook Fan page: what's better?
Marketing your business on Facebook: Group or Page?

Facebook has attracted criticism over its policies on privacy. We've already blogged about this generally, but you may like to take a look at these articles:

Facebook's privacy policy
Managing your privacy on Facebook
Facebook's culture problem may be fatal

Optional extras
If you already have a Facebook profile you might like to add applications (such as COPAC, the lib@cam widget) or set up a Group to reflect a personal interest.

Next time...
In Thing 17 we'll be looking at LinkedIn which is a different sort of social network.

Thing 15 - Create a library or personal LibraryThing account

Welcome to Thing 15!

After completing Thing 15...
You will have created a LibraryThing account and added some books to your catalogue.

Step-by-step instructions
1. First of all decide whether you're going to create a personal LibraryThing account or one for your Library. (It's probably wise to consult with colleagues also on the Cam23 programme as to who will have the honour of creating your Library account otherwise you may end up with multiple LibraryThing personas!)

2. Go to the LibraryThing website and click on 'Join Now'. Enter the username (member name) and password you want to use and select either 'personal'or 'organization' as the type of account. Although it's optional, LibraryThing advises that you also enter an e-mail address as this makes it easier to retrieve your password if you forget it. (N.B. If you do enter an e-mail address you can edit your profile to hide this from view.) Click on 'Join Now' again.

3. On the next screen you'll see an image of a book cover and you'll be asked to enter some information from the cover to confirm that you're a real person and not a machine - a LibraryThing version of verification codes! Your LibraryThing account will now have been created and you should be on your 'Home' page.

4. Next edit your LibraryThing profile. Under 'About you' you could enter a mini biography, your location and your Twitter ID. You may also want to add a photo (under 'Pictures'), choose to hide your e-mail address and opt not to receive automated e-mails from LibraryThing (under 'Account settings'). All of the fields are optional so you can enter as much or as little information as you wish. N.B. Remember to click on 'Save changes' on each page ('About you', 'Account settings' etc) otherwise you'll lose the information you enter. Once you've finished editing, click on the 'profile' tab to see how it looks.


5. Now we're ready to add some books to your account. Click on the 'Add books' tab (beneath the LibraryThing logo in the top left of the screen). Enter a title, author or ISBN into the 'Search' box and then click on 'Search'. A list of matching books will appear on the right hand-side of the screen. Simply click on the title of the correct book to add it the library you're building. (N.B. If the book doesn't appear in the list, you'll need to enter it manually. Click on the 'Add the book manually' link beneath 'Other ways to add' and enter the information that you have.) Once you've added a few books to your library, click on the 'Your books' tab to see a list of them.

6. We'll now edit the books' information by adding tags (subjects), further bibliographic information, reviews etc. Click on the title of one of the books in your list and then on the 'Edit book' link on the left hand-side of the screen. Add any additional information that you wish to and click on 'Save'. Repeat for the other books in your library as appropriate.

7. Blog about LibraryThing! What are your thought on LibraryThing? Do you think it could be used in your library? Do you know any other libraries already using LibraryThing?

Further reading
A short introduction to LibraryThing
LibraryThing for Libraries

Optional extras
1) Set up collections within your LibraryThing catalogue to organise your books. There are six pre-defined collections (including 'Your Library', 'Wishlist' and 'Currently Reading') but you can also create a number of customised collections e.g. for a particular subject or author. You can create a collection from the 'Your books' page. Click on the arrow to the right of 'All Collections' and select 'Edit Collections' from the drop-down menu. In the 'Collection Manager' box, click on 'Add Collection' and give it a name. Click on 'Save'. To move books into the collection, click on the folder icon and select the relevant collection.


2) Create a LibraryThing blog widget and embed it in your blog.

3) Explore LibraryThing alternatives Shelfari and Goodreads.

Next time...
In Thing 16 you'll be exploring how Facebook can be used in libraries.

Thing 14 - Explore LibraryThing

Welcome to Week 8, Thing 14!

After completing Thing 14...
You will have explored LibraryThing and understand how it can be used by libraries.


What is LibraryThing?
LibraryThing is an online resource, which allows users (libraries and/or individuals) to easily catalogue book collections, add reviews and interact with other users who have the same books and interests. LibraryThing was launched in August 2005 and currently has over a million users and over 49 million catalogued books. The resource is free to use for the first 200 books and then a small charge ($10 per year or £25 for life) is required.

How does it work?
You can add a book to your LibraryThing catalogue by entering the title, author or ISBN. LibraryThing then searches a number of online sources (including Library of Congress, 690 library catalogues and Amazon) and retrieves the book's data. This data can then be edited e.g. if you want to add your library's shelfmark number.

How can libraries use LibraryThing?

• Small libraries can use LibraryThing to catalogue their collections removing the need to invest in a more expensive piece of cataloguing software.

• Libraries can create a LibraryThing widget to display new or featured books on their website.

• Libraries can integrate LibraryThing data (tags, recommendations, reviews etc) into their existing catalogues. (A list of libraries that have already integrated data is available here.)
  

Step-by-step instructions
1. Read Social networking for bookworms and LibraryThing and the library catalog: adding collective intelligence to the OPAC.

2. Look at the following examples of libraries using LibraryThing:
Central Science Library (Cambridge)
Nuffield College Library (Oxford)


Optional extras
1. Check out Thing-ology blog and The LibraryThing Blog.

2. Browse the Librarians' LibraryThing forum.

Next time...
You'll be registering for a LibraryThing account (either for your library or for yourself), adding books to your catalogue and editing data/tags as appropriate.

Thing 13 - Reflection

Welcome to Week 7 and Thing 13

Reflection week...

Well done for getting this far!

We're half way through 23 Things and it's time to stop and reflect on how it's all going. Reflection is very useful in helping you to take stock and, if neccesary, make some changes to what you are doing or how you are tackling something. It's important to evaluate what you've learnt and reflect on the individual component parts of the course and the course as a whole.

From: islampoetry.wordpress.com

What you need to do

Take some time this week to look through all your blog posts so far and think about all the exploration you have done and the new things you may have learnt. Write a reflective post on this. There are some questions below to ask yourself that may help you to do this.

Questions to ask yourself when writing reflectively

1. And so what?
2. How have your skills/knowledge improved?
3. Have the 'Things' covered everything that you need to know, or think it relevant to know?
4. Have the activities suited your learning style? (If you're not sure what your learning style is you can complete a very short VARK questionnaire which gives an indication of your learning style. There are lots of other similar questionnaires on the internet)
5. Do you feel more competent and confident?
6. How can you apply this learning?
7. What would you do differently - and what might change about how you approach the next 12 Things?
8. Is there one (or more) Thing that you would be happy to recommend to a colleague? Why?

Further reading/Optional extras

Some reflections from the Oxford 23 Things blogs
To read is to voyage through time
Jane's 23 Things

Other blogs
Is it too late for blogging?
You might like to look at CILIP's 'The Conversation' - and especially the posts on qualifications and chartership. A lot of interesting reflection going on there........

Book to read
Watson, M. (2008) Building your portfolio: The CILIP guide. London: Facet.

Article to read
Sen, B.A. (2010) Reflective writing: a management skill, Library Management, 31 (1-2), pp. 79-93

Next time (next week) you'll be exploring LibraryThing...