Flicc Institute for Library Technicians 2011 @ the Library of Congress

Social Media in Federal Libraries

Rosalind Romain & Aileen MarshallNational Transportation Library

FLICC Library Technicians InstituteSeptember 29, 2011

• What is Social Media: A Definition • Goals of Social Media • Federal Legislation, Regulation, and Agency Policy• The Universe of Social Media• Breakout Exercise• Social Capital and Social Media Etiquette• The NTL Experience: A brief overview of NTL’s use of social media • Refine Your Social Media Skills

Agenda

• Rosalind Romain has served as the NTL law librarian since 2001. In addition to her reference, research, and collection development duties, Ms. Romain serves as the NTL’s social media coordinator and wrote the current social media strategy and policy documents for NTL. She received her MLS from the Catholic University of America and her JD from the University of Maryland School of Law. Rosalind is a member of the American Association of Law Libraries Continuing Professional Education Committee and contributes a quarterly “Librarian’s Corner” column to the American Bar Association’s Transportation Quarterly newsletter.

• Aileen Marshall joined NTL as Information Specialist right after receiving her MLIS from the University of South Carolina. She also holds a MA in English Linguistics from the Westfaelische Wilhelms-University in Germany in 2006, and moved to the States in 2007. Since living here she has worked in various library settings, including public and correctional libraries.. Aileen has a passion for social media in library environments and how these dynamic networks can help librarians to reach out to their customers and provide exceptional service. In the past two years she has contributed to professional publications and conferences. She loves to advocate for the profession, is an active member of the DC Chapter of the Special Library Association, and serves on various committees.

About the Presenters

"Social media" or "Web 2.0" technologies - Though many definitions of Web 2.0 exist, it is consistently characterized as the collection of Web tools that facilitate collaboration and information sharing. Web-based communities and hosted services include social-networking sites, video and photo sharing sites, wikis, blogs, virtual worlds, and other emerging technologies.(Source: GSA Social Media Handbook)

What is Social Media?

• Reach a larger population and the millennial generation.• Get to know your patrons and their perception of the library.• Increase overall awareness of the library and its resources.• Attract more people to events and programs. • Provide public point of contact in the event of a natural disaster or similar event.• Provide new services or same services in new media.

(Source: L.Solomon, Doing Social Media So It Matters, 2011)

Goals of Social Media

• Expand educational reach of library.• Build community support.• Provide timely, germane information resources in response to current events.• Engage library stakeholder community in decisions (i.e., suggestions for acquisitions or

new services).• Enable collaborative project development and work across departments and libraries.• Streamline workflows across departments and between libraries.

(Source: L.Solomon, Doing Social Media So It Matters, 2011)

Goals of Social Media

• Federal Guidance• Agency Policy and Guidance• Elements of a Library Social Media Policy

Federal Legislation, Regulations, and Agency Policies

Strategy and Procedure • - What: What outlet(s) will you be using?• - Where: Where is the outlet located? (e.g. URL) • - When: When did you start using the social media outlet? What is your timeline or deadline?• - Why: GOALS! Be specific about what you hope to achieve.• - How: How do you get an account? How do you get training? What content will you post (be

specific)? How frequently will you post? Who will be responsible for monitoring? Is final approval needed?

Elements of a Social Media Policy• Purpose• Scope / Applicability • Background• Properties • Policy Review Schedule • Strategy and Procedure • Definitions• Legal Authorities and Guidance• Ethical Conduct • Intellectual Property

• Comment Moderation • PII (Personally Identifiable Information)• Brand Management • Access and IT Security• Licensing • Accessibility • Information Collection from the Public • Soliciting Official Public Comment • Record Keeping • Disclaimer

• Social Networks• Micro Blogging• RSS Feeds / Content Aggregation• Social Bookmarking• Wikis / Collaborative Workspaces• Photo and Video Sharing• Blogs• Virtual Worlds• Communication Dashboards• Life Streams

The Universe of Social Media

DEFINITION:Tools used to connect people who share the same interests and/or activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others. Social network services are internet based and provide a variety of ways for users to interact. (GSA Social Media Handbook)

National Library of Medicine Facebook http://www.facebook.com/nationallibraryofmedicine

Smithsonian Libraries Facebookhttp://www.facebook.com/SmithsonianLibraries?ref=s



DEFINITION:Extremely short blog posts in the vein of text messaging. The messages can either be viewed by anyone or by a restricted group that is chosen by the user. Twitter, a popular micro-blog client, allows for posts of up to 140 characters in length to be uploaded and read online or through instant messaging or mobile devices via text messaging. (GSA Social Media Handbook)

National Agricultural Libraryhttp://twitter.com/#!/National_Ag_Lib

National Archives Twitterhttp://twitter.com/#!/usnatarchives



National Library of Medicinehttp://www.nlm.nih.gov/listserv/rss_podcasts.html

DEFINITION:RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a format for sharing and distributing Web content. Using an RSS reader, you will be notified when new content is published on the feeds that interest you, without cluttering your inbox with e-mail messages. (GSA Social Media Handbook)

RSS / Content Aggregation



DEFINITION:Web-based services where users create and store links. Although web browsers have the ability to bookmark pages, those links are tied to that browser on that computer. Social bookmarking, in contrast, is tied to an online account, which can be made public. These bookmarks can be shared and discovered by others.Examples of social bookmarking sites include del.icio.us, Digg, and, Reddit. (GSA Social Media Handbook)

National Transportation Libraryhttp://www.delicious.com/NationalTransportationLibrary

LibraryThinghttp://www.librarything.com

LibraryThinghttp://www.librarything.com



FedSpace (Beta)https://www.fedspace.gov/landing/anonymous

DEFINITION:A collection of web pages that encourages users to contribute or modify the content. By using a simple web interface, a community can collaborate on developing a document or web page, no matter where they're located. (GSA Social Media Handbook)

DiplopediaDepartment of State Wiki (Internal)http://www.state.gov/m/irm/ediplomacy/115847.htm

PBWorks http://pbworks.com/

Transportation Research Collaboration Websitehttp://www.transportationresearch.gov/Pages/index.aspx



DEFINITION:Photo Sharing – Websites which allow users to post and share digital photos. These sites typically allowcommenting and meta-data to be attached to photos.Video Sharing – Websites on which users post video they have taken for others to view and comment on.Such sites allow viewers to “embed,” or display others’ video on their own sites. (GSA Social Media Handbook)

Library of Congress’ Flickr Photo Streamhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress

Smithsonian Libraries YouTube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/SmithsonianLibraries



DEFINITION:A web-based forum with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other materials wherethe blog host posts material on the website, and others may provide comments. Blogs may be moderated by the host or may allow any material to be posted. (GSA Social Media Handbook)

Library of Congress http://blogs.loc.gov/law/

Blogs

National Archives Blogs http://www.archives.gov/social-media/blogs.html



DEFINITION:Imagined places where users can socialize, connect and create using voice and text chat. (GSA Social Media Handbook)

Second Life – Info Islandhttp://secondlife.com/

Designing Digitally, Inc. - Virtual Worlds for Military Training Purposeshttp://www.designingdigitally.com/



Communication Dashboards

DEFINITION:A dashboard is defined as a graphical user interface that organizes and presents information in a format that is easy to read and interpret. (Source: F. S. Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data. Cambridge, MA: O’Reilly Media Inc, 2006.)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/metrics/socialmedia/index.html



DEFINITION:An online record of a person's daily activities, either via direct video feed or via aggregating the person's online content such as blog posts, social network updates, and online photos.(Source: P. McFedries, Word Spy : The Word Lovers Guide to Modern Culture 2004)

New York Public Library Wire Tumblrhttp://nypl.tumblr.com/

Homewood Public Library, AL – FriendFeed http://friendfeed.com/homewoodpubliclibrary

Breakout Exercise

Social Capital• Give Credit: Thank people, recognize them for their contribution, even if it is negative.• Ask for Opinions:Nearly everyone likes to give their opinion. Don’t be afraid to ask controversial

questions as this will facilitate discussions and the exchange of ideas. • Link to Others: Don’t make the mistake to only link to your library’s assets. If you see an

interesting or relevant blog post from another library or organization, pass it along. • Share Your Community’s Ideas:If one of your community members says something that might be

of interest to others, pass it along.

Social Media: Social Capital & Etiquette A good reputation offline does not automatically translate into a good reputation online.

• Make Your Library “Human”:Let your community know that the staff welcomes opinions, compliments, and criticism. Encourage your community to express their feelings and opinions towards the library or a particular service.

• Provide Useful And Interesting Content:Promote information and events that people care about. Ensure that your posts answer the following question: What’s in it for me?

• Respond: 24 hours online is a long time. People expect fast responses and service. • Remember That You Represent Your Agency:Follow your agency’s policies and guidelines in

regards to social media. (Source: Doing Social Media So It Matters)

Social Media Etiquette A good reputation offline does not automatically translate into a good reputation online.

National Transportation Library (NTL)

Mandate: • Maintain a collection of statistical and other transportation information;• Facilitate access to that collection; and• Coordinate with other transportation libraries and information providers in support of first two goals

Goals & Objectives: • Provide and direct USDOT staff, Congress, the public, transportation stakeholders and others to

relevant, accurate and timely information and data• Support the information needs of USDOT, other government agencies, and the transportation

community. This is accomplished through training, high-quality resources and collections, partnering (e.g., science.gov), and coordinating standards for information exchange (e.g. transportationresearch.gov).

• Outlets: Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Delicious, RSS, Wikipedia• Our Policy and Strategy• Intern Activities• Plans for the Future

"Social media" is a broad term that encompasses the various web-based applications that integrate technology, social interaction, and content creation (the term “web 2.0” can also refer to social media). The systems allow users to interact and share data via instant messaging, chat, forums, RSS, blogs, wikis, image and video sharing, virtual worlds, social network services, social bookmarking, social libraries, and more. Applications include, but are not limited to Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, Second Life, Skype, Meebo, Google Talk, LinkedIn, Library Thing, Delicious, Twitter, and Bloglines. (Source: NTL Policies and Standards for Use of Social Media)

The NTL Experience

• Five Weeks to a Social Libraryhttp://www.sociallibraries.com/course/Five Weeks to a Social Library is the first free online course devoted to teaching librarians how to use social media in their libraries. It was developed as a hands-on learning opportunity for librarians who would benefit greatly from learning about social media, but do not have access to traditional continuing education programs.

• AALL CS-SIS Web 2.0 Challengehttp://cssis.org/w2c2009/The American Association of Law Libraries Computing Services Special Interest Section developed this online course to introduce law librarians to social media and how to use it in their libraries. The courses are free, hands-on learning experiences that are beneficial for any librarian who wants to gain experience using web 2.0 technologies. The courses provide a series of course materials, instructional screen-casts, hands-on exercises, and examples of social media use in libraries.

• CommonCraft.com’s “Plain English” Video Tutorials http://www.commoncraft.com/video/social-mediaJargon-free short videos that provide concise descriptions of several types of social media including, social bookmarking, social media and the workplace, Twitter, wikis, social networking, and RSS.

Refine Your Social Media Skills

• Federal Consortium for Virtual Worlds (FCVW) http://www.ndu.edu/icollege/fcvw/The Federal Consortium for Virtual Worlds was established in 2007 by the National Defense University. NDU’s iCollege hosts a 2 day annual conference in Washington, D.C. on online virtual worlds. The conference provides a unique forum for federal agencies to share their experiences with virtual worlds.

• ForeSee Results Digital Citizen Satisfaction Summit http://www.foreseeresults.com/news-events/user-summit.shtml

This free event is a full day of educational presentations designed to help government and non-profit staff to manage websites and social media. Experts provide strategies for collecting and using citizen feedback to meet organizational goals and improve agency initiatives.

Refine Your Social Media Skills

Getting Started• Doing Social Media So It Matters: A Librarian’s Guide . Laura Solomon. ALA Editions, 2010.• GSA Social Media Handbookhttp://www.gsa.gov/graphics/staffoffices/socialmediahandbook.pdfThe GSA

Social Media Handbook provides guidance for social media use and expands on the GSA Directive on Social Media Policy.

• GSA Social Media Navigatorhttp://www.gsa.gov/graphics/staffoffices/socialmedianavigator.pdfThe Social Media Navigator is a guide to GSA’s official use of social media, which augments the GSA Directive on Social Media Policy. It provides guidance for the use of social media hosted on non-Federal government as well as internal Federal government servers.

• How To.govhttp://www.howto.gov/social-mediaA tool kit of how-to videos, policy guidance, strategy and more. The website helps the user to tackle the unique challenges of implementing social media in a federal government setting.

References for Further Reading

Federal Guidelines Governing the Use of Social Media▪ OMB Memorandum 10-23 Guidance for Agency Use of Third-Party Websites and Applicationshttp://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/memoranda_2010/m10-23.pdf

• OMB Guidance on Paperwork Reduction Act and use of Social Media: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/inforeg/SocialMediaGuidance_04072010.pdf

• Guidelines for Secure Use of Social Media by Federal Departments and Agencieshttp://www.cio.gov/Documents/Guidelines_for_Secure_Use_Social_Media_v01-0.pdf

• Implications of Recent Web Technologies for NARA Web Guidancehttp://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/initiatives/web-tech.html


Sample Agency Policies▪ GSA Recent Updates to Social Media Policy and Guideshttp://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/25809

• Health and Human Services Center for New Mediahttp://newmedia.hhs.gov/standards/index.html HHS created the Center to promote and support the strategic implementation of new media across HHS, but the guidelines provided can be easily applied to all federal agencies.

• CDC Social Media Tools, Guidelines & Best Practiceshttp://www.cdc.gov/SocialMedia/Tools/guidelines/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention created a guide that can be used by federal agencies to plan, develop, and implement social media activities. The guide provides critical information on lessons learned, best practices, clearance information and security requirements.


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Flicc Institute for Library Technicians 2011 @ the Library of Congress