Mary DunneNational Documentation Centre

on Drug Use

A&SL conference February 2015

Connections

• Marketing is about people

• Understand your community by making connectionsEngage with them through conversation

Library

community

Library staff

Funders

Parentorganisation

Service providers

Library networks

Customers / members

Conversation – create knowledge

Media:

in-person, by telephone, email, through social media…

For a good description of conversation and related theory –Atlas of New Librarianship, RD Lankes, http://www.newlibrarianship.org/wordpress/

Conversation components:

At least two conversants (parties)

who exchange languageand seek agreements (shared understandings)

in the context of memory

Conversants – parties

Phase 1: Meta-Cognition (critical thinking)

Phase 2: Colleagues

Phase 3: Customers

Phase 4: Creators

Phase 1 - Meta-Cognition

Our inner dialogues are how we make sense of the world

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Thinker,_Rodin.jpghttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Think_different.png

Meta-cognition – inner dialogues

Marketing literature says we should target key

customers.I have an idea!

Oh no, what now.

We need to prioritise reaching

social workers.But practitioners don’t have time to

dig through our collection to find what they need.

Then let’s build them a new customised

resource.

Meta-cognition summary

• Meta cognition – our inner conversations.

• Be aware – be cognisant – of them.

• Recognise that you have considerable personal

knowledge to tap into.

• Self-reflection is essential for self-improvement.

• Take time to reflect on ideas and how they apply

to your context.

Phase 2 –

Conversation with colleagues

• We need to collaborate and share ideas in order to contextualise, clarify and refine them.

• Colleagues offer various, objective perspectives (derived from their own inner conversations).

• Constructive criticism is how we develop an idea into a coherent plan.

Conversation with colleagues

Practitioner resource -1. An idea - a resource for priority groups, such as

social workers.

2. Agree that this is a sound concept worth developing.

3. Establish fundamentals – e.g. base on existing library software, must be simple and easy to keep current.

4. Agree to revisit – add to agenda.

5. Percolate ideas until next meeting.

Conversation with colleagues –

Summary

• Utilize the expertise of our profession.

• Sharing your ideas benefits everyone - you may spark an idea and gain a partner.

• This is an increasingly connected age.

• Communities of practice – sharing knowledge.

Examples of collaborative spaces:• Special interest groups http://www.aslibraries.com/

• Repository Network Ireland http://rni.wikispaces.com/

• Michelle Dalton’s http://www.libfocus.com/

• Helen Fallon’s http://academicwritinglibrarian.blogspot.ie/

• Anne Madden’s https://libpartners.wordpress.com/

• Mary Dunne / Mairea Nelson - https://helpforumblog.wordpress.com/

Phase 3 – Customer conversations

Understand our customers’ wants, needs and motivations.

• Surveys rarely gain deep understanding.

• Interviews usually have a one-way flow of knowledge,

led by the interviewer.

• Focus groups encourage conversation, though the

exchange is between group members.

• Open conversation – a two-way exchange of ideas, in

partnership, learning from each another.

• Functional conversation – means some guidance.

Facilitation has a role.

• Choosing conversants – ask people from a variety of

sources.

.

Customer conversations

Practitioner resource -

• We used snowballing technique to recruit social workers.

• We met and described the context of our work and purpose of the proposed resource.

• Without revealing our ideas we asked our guests for their thoughts.

• Comparison (similar ideas)e.g. using classification subjects; and having a simple interface with large buttons.

• Contrast (insight that we didn’t know)e.g. social workers wanted to do research and would like key abstracted documents in subject areas.

Customer conversations –

summary

• Utilize the expertise of your customers.

• Without collaboration we would not have developed a

resource that matched our community’s needs.

• Develop strong ties to members

– who may become your advocate or champion.

• Treat others as we would want to be treated.

Phase 4 –

Conversation with creator

• Work with external providers to create resources.

• Use many methods of conversing – email, phone, and

face-to-face.

• Explaining what you want to achieve enables others to

include their vision.

Creator conversation – summary

• When working with external help, capture their

expertise as well as their skills.

• Multidisciplinary teams offer various opinions

and learning opportunities.

• Be aware of the language we use.

Conversations with…

Collaborative knowledge

creation

Cognition - oneself

Colleagues

Customers

Creators

Collection

Library

spaces

Information literacy

Loans & other

services

Reference queries

Core context

Community conversations

Spaces

Facilitatinglearning

Collection

Resources & services

what I mean?

C O N S I D E R C O N C I S E C H A N G E

C O N F O R M C O N V E R S E C O G N I S A N T

C O M M U N I C A T E C L A R I F Y C O N T E X T

C O M P L E X C L E A R C O N V E R S A N T S

C O N D U C T C A P T U R E C O L L E E C T I O N S

C O N N E C T C O L L A B O R A T E C R E A T I V I T Y

C R I T I C A L C O R E C O N S I D E R

C O N S T R U C T I V E C R I T I C I S M C H A M P I O N S

C R A Z Y C O L L E A G U E S C O N T R O L

C U S T O M I S E C U L T I V A T E

C O N T I N U O U S C O N D U I T

C O M P A R E C O N T R A S T

C O N T R I B U T E

mdunne@hrb.ie

Librarians facilitate knowledge by

providing access to conversations,

the knowledge necessary to

participate in the conversation, a safe

environment in which to pursue

knowledge, and motivation for pursuit.

Lankes RD & Jareller PH (2010) Conversations and the true knowledge of generations, in Boomers and beyond: reconsidering the roles of libraries, P Rothstein & D Dow Schull (eds), Chicago: American Library Association.

Tools (for future conversations)

Useful articles

• Casey ME & Savastinuk LC (9/1/2006) Library 2.0 Service for the next-generation library, Library Journal. http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2010/05/technology/library-2-0/

• Dunaway MK (2011) Connectivism: Learning theory and pedagogical practice for networked information landscapes, Reference Services Review, 39(4), 675-685.

• Lankes RD, Silverstein J, Nicholson S, & Marshall T (2007) Participatory Networks: The Library as Conversation” Information Research. 12(4). http://www.informationr.net/ir/12-4/colis05.html

• Nguyen LC, Partridge H & Edwards SL (2012) Towards an understanding of the participatory library, Library Hi Tech, 30(2), 335–346. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/50107/

• Porter M & King DL (Nov/Dec 2007) Inviting participation, Public Libraries; 46(6), 34-36. http://www.ala.org/pla/sites/ala.org.pla/files/content/publications/publiclibraries/pastissues/pl_46n6.pdf

• Stephens M (2007) Best practices for social software in libraries, Library Technology Reports, 43(5) 67-74.

Web resources

• David Gurteen: Knowledge communities and cafes http://www.gurteen.com/

• RD Lankes: Atlas of New Librarianship http://www.newlibrarianship.org/wordpress/and blog: http://quartz.syr.edu/blog/