Meredith Farkas, keynote speaker at a symposium sponsored by Librarians Association of the University of California, spoke about Building Academic Library 2.0. Although focused at Academic Libraries the advice given can be used by other libraries. Choosing just 5 was difficult as there were so many great tips.
Create Partnerships
Farkas spoke about creating partnerships with other libraries and how important it is to create partnerships within your own organisation. She continues to promote library/faculty partnerships in her blog.
M Farkas (2012, November 29). The entrepreneurial library [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2012/11/29/the-entrepreneurial-library/
Know your users
Farkas, referring to work done at the University of Rochester, described an example of “knowing your users” in which staff discovered that students asked parents for help with assignments. This led to arranging an orientation breakfast for parents to showcase what the library can offer. A key message was the importance of not just knowing what patrons value in existing services, but what new services would be beneficial. She described this as doing more than “doing a survey to ask what patrons value about your stuff – you need to ask what is of importance to them”.
Use 2.0 tools to highlight your c collection
Using flickr to showcase special collection material and RSS to push content out to users offers libraries an opportunity to market their service. It is not enough, however, to simply use these 2.0 tools. Libraries need a marketing strategy to communicate to patrons that the tools are in use, and help them get the most from 2.0 services.
Build a learning culture
To reach a 2.0 environment in your organisation you need to build a learning culture with all staff, not just the professionals in your department. While not all staff will require 2.0 tools as part of their work, an organisation-wide approach to promoting a learning culture can provide the foundation for building a 2.0 environment in those work teams where information technologies are part of core business.
Capitalize on your network
Social networking has made it easier to have a broader network base. Prior to tools such as MySpace and Facebook opportunities to network came predominantly through conferences. Farkas shared that for her Facebook was a Rolodex. I presume this enables her to have her contacts available anytime anywhere 24/7.
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