Marketing, communications and outreach at your library?

At great risk of being a typical Torontonian, I’m placing our lovely town at the centre of my post today. A few weeks ago we were once again host to the Ontario Library Association’s Annual Superconference, and while it’s my third year in attendance, it’s my first time showing up as a bona fide librarian.

A common theme that ran its way through several of the sessions I attended was the issue of effective marketing and promotions in libraries. In particular, I attended a great session by three marketing and communications librarians from universities across Ontario (Catherine Baird, Marketing Communications and Outreach Librarian, McMaster University Library; Nancy Collins, Communications Librarian, University of Waterloo Library; Cecile Farnum, Communications Librarian, Ryerson University Libraries), who discussed effective marketing and communications strategies, successful undertaking in their libraries, and how they pulled them off, and what they focus on in their work. Thereafter I found myself in a session about outreach, put on by Jennifer Easter and Caroline Stewart, from the University of Guelph-Humber. The discussed their experiences with student outreach on campus, and how they have been working to improve the library's presence on-campus, and to encourage students to take advantage of library services and resources.

I'm wondering if marketing, communications and outreach are discussed at your organization, beyond tradition (and often individual or ad hoc) liaison activities. I'm interested in integrating these principles and practices into my own work -- but is this area of interest to others? Do you see it as integral to library services and resources, or an ancillary afterthought? Comments welcome!

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Ambassador Visit to SLIS

This week, I was fortunate to convene an ambassador visit organized by CACUL's Re:Generations committee (thanks Christina and Dale!) at the University of Alberta's School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS). Our thanks go out to LISSA (SLIS's Library and Information Studies Student Association) for providing bagels and other snacks which were greatly appreciated over the course of the lunch hour!

On the panel, we were fortunate to have two librarians representing the University of Alberta Libraries, as well as a librarian from MacEwan University and King's University College. The strength of the panel was the breadth of the experience, from new librarian to experienced librarian to library director. Also, the diverse natures of the academic libraries the panel represented, including large research university, medium size and small college environments, gave the students present a wide range of opinions to consider. 

Our hour long session was structured as an informal Question & Answer session. The students were eager to ask questions, and the range of questions differed as much as the range of experience on the panel!

A popular topic was current academic library trends, and the panel discussed issues such as the:

• state of the post-recession job market 
• increasing emphasis placed on user experience
• shift from library as a place for books to a place of social gathering
• increasing importance of information literacy instruction
• delivery of library services and programs to students who are already technically savvy

The panel also discussed doing research and obtaining tenue - the extend of which differently greatly depending on the institution. All librarians stressed the importance of marketing the library to and nurturing relationships with faculty. Also mentioned were possible conferences to attend (don't forget about ALA!), professional development opportunities and training provided to new-hires. 

The two newest librarians on the panel talked about their job interviews, which again differed greatly: one librarian was asked to present a short lesson to the interview panel, whereas the other was only required to answer questions about instructional methods. All the panelists stressed the need to consider non-traditional library jobs, such as working for a research institute or creating contract opportunities via networks.

While holding this informal Question & Answer panel meant this ambassador visit differed slightly than previous visits, I got the impression the students learned a lot about academic librarianship. I expected more interest in job hunting, so was surprised by the student's desire to learn more about many diverse areas of the profession. If you are interested in specific job hunting tips, you can read more about Re:Generations past ambassador visits to McGill (2009) and SLAIS (2008).

Overall, it was a fantastic opportunity for library students to meet and hear from librarians currently working in the field, an opportunity I for one greatly appreciated!

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E-book frustration

I feel a bit of a rant coming on. Because e-books are very frustrating.

I've felt this way for a while, but my emotions have risen to surface following a talk given by Michael Porter at the recent Web 2.You conference. (I cribbed some phrases here from an e-mail that I wrote to him; hope he doesn't mind!)

My library, like many academic libraries, has purchased thousands of e-books that are essentially PDFs to be read on the computer screen. Indeed, as Mark recently discussed, e-books are inevitable. At first, I thought, "ok, great, students can read books at home without having to borrow them from the library." The main drawback seemed to be the potential discomfort of reading off a screen. Professors, too, are excited by this type of e-book as it allows them to reduce the size and cost of their coursepacks and to lessen the burden of textbook prices on their students. But alas, it is too good to be true, as many other before me have found.

My frustration especially arose after Michael Porter's exhortation for libraries to "give users what they want in the format they want" during the Web 2.You talk.

On the one hand, many students are uncomfortable reading off screens and want their print books. A session at the 2009 EDUCAUSE conference reported on a user study that found that students exhibited emotional reactions to e-books, often describing feelings of psychological distress and confusion when reading them. They needed a tactile experience of annotating and seeing page numbers to feel like they were really reading. Although the students had an affinity for handheld devices, they expressed a preference for physical print books. These students were using "real" e-books on Sony Readers, but the interfaces for browser-based e-books are miles vis-à-vis clunky navigation. They also restrict printing and downloading.

Even worse, many publishers and/or platforms place nonsensical limitations on concurrent users. Maybe it's just me, but I find it difficult to explain to professors that the online version of a required textbook for a class of 600 students can only be read by one or two students at a time, and that nope, the provider will NOT let us buy additional copies or licenses. It seems to me that this model is broken. (N.B. some providers sell licenses for unlimited users...why can't they all?)

DRM (digital rights management) is also a huge concern when discussing "real" downloadable e-books. DRM often prevents people from using media in valid and lawful ways due to "overprotection" of the distributors' rights. A post on the schooling.us blog gives a great illustration: DRM is "as ridiculous as telling someone that they are only allowed to read in certain rooms of their house, but it's roughly the equivalent." How can librarians fulfill their professional responsibility of connecting people with information if there are technological walls blocking the way?

However, on the other hand, students want everything to be available online all the time. Furthermore, the same study presented at EDUCAUSE found that students' reading comprehension was the same whether they read electronic or paper books. And although most of our e-books are currently digital reproductions of the printed page, the technological possibilities are enormous—for example, to include multimedia content, interactive features, custom content, integration with assessment and grading, or social learning features.

At the EDUCAUSE session, a representative from McGraw-Hill argued that we are still early in the process of e-book development. The book is only one part of the larger learning process or “learning ecosystem,” so more research is needed on the ergonomics and “ethnography” of study.I can only hope that this way of thinking comes to pass in reality, with distributors of content, whether they be publishers or libraries, paying attention to the evidence and giving people what they want.

In the meantime, what can we do when our options are limited in terms of meeting users' needs? Do we provide less-than-ideal materials in spite of the limitations? Do we wait until better e-books exist? How can we make e-books better?

References

EDUCAUSE 2009 session: "E-Books, E-Textbooks, and E-Readers," featuring panelists from Penn State University, Northwest Missouri State University, McGraw-Hill Higher Education, and VitalSource. November 4, 2009. http://www.educause.edu/E09+Hybrid/EDUCAUSE2009FacetoFaceConferen/EBooksETextbooksandEReaders/176075

Web 2.You 2010 session: “2 Point Where? Technology Evolution and the Uncertain Future of Libraries” by Michael Porter. February 5, 2010. http://web2pointyou.pbworks.com/

Thanks to Flickr user baking_in_pearls for use of the image. License: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic

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Teaching Tips

I find teaching to be the most stressful part of my job. Being on the spot, in front of a room, anticipating questions, technical glitches, and wardrobe malfunctions... it all makes me a bit nervous. But the anxiety has definitely decreased over the past 1 1/2 years; I'm to the point now where I can actually sleep through the night before a class (!) and I don't quite dread them as I once did. Even though the outcome is almost always positive, and nothing major has yet to go wrong in a class (touch wood), I always have a bit of nervous anticipation beforehand - especially if I've never taught that particular lesson before.

Today was one of those days - my first time teaching EndNote to a room full of grad students. A three-hour workshop, to people who really have a vested interest in what I'm showing them, as opposed to disengaged undergrads - talk about intimidating! So needless to say, I'm glad the day is done.

But what can you do about pre-class jitters, other than practice, practice, practice? Run-throughs certainly make me feel more confident. But one of the BEST pieces of advice that I got from one of my colleagues before my first teaching session, nearly 1 1/2 years ago when I was brand-new on the job, was this: Just remember - you know more than they do. And really, that sums it up, doesn't it? No matter what, you are likely going to show them SOMETHING they don't already know. Every time I get worked up about a class, I try to recall that sage piece of advice and it immediately puts me more at ease. Because she's right; I AM going to show them something new. Even if these students have seen me in other classes, the evaluations I get back invariably say "I saw you before, but it was great to be reminded of..." this or that search tip, database, idea, etc. And even if I look out over the class and am greeted with blank stares, bored faces, and glazed eyes, my evaluation forms belie my fears - they are almost always positive, saying how much they learned, how valuable the session was, etc.

So the moral of the story: you're always more effective than you think you are. A bit of nervous anticipation is probably good, as otherwise you'll get a little complacent in your preparation; but ultimately, it always goes better than you think it will/did. And remember: you know more than they do.

Any other tips/tricks to help with pre-class nervousness or preparations?

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Being a generalist vs. being a specialist

In case anyone was wondering after reading my last post, I'm pleased to say that I will be starting a new position next month. I'm not leaving McGill, but I will soon be a liaison librarian at the Howard Ross Library of Management (i.e., the business library).

I'll admit that I don't have any background in business. My undergraduate degree is in psychology, and I've never taken any business classes. Some people would say this puts me at a disadvantage as a business librarian; without any specialized knowledge of the subject matter, how can I hope to serve students performing high level research? Indeed, many libraries require their subject librarians to have a second Masters in a relevant subject.

So here's the question: should academic librarians who are responsible for serving students in a certain subject area be required to have a background in that area? Or, to look at it another way: should librarians only apply for jobs that match their previous academic experience?

As I'm sure you can guess, I support the generalist model for librarians. I feel that the library experience (not to mention other customer service experience) that I've already acquired puts me in a good position to serve students and faculty in any subject area. It will certainly be a bit of an adjustment for me to learn the most important business terminology and concepts, but there will be a lot of learning for any new position I take on, especially at this early stage in my career.

I'm not saying that having subject knowledge is not valuable at all; certainly, if I were choosing which of two applicants to hire, and their skills were identical except that one had a second Masters in a relevant subject, it would make the decision much easier. And if someone has a particular passion for a certain topic, it might make sense for them to hold out until they can find the position that fits them perfectly. All I'm saying is that I am confident that I will be able to handle the challenge of my new position.

I've already joined the Business Libraries group on the Canadian Academic Libraries Network, and I'm looking forward to learning from experienced business librarians. Does anyone have any suggestions for learning a new subject area?

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