Running Head: SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY

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The Intersection of Us and Them:The Use of Social Media

by Seattle Public Library

Introduction

The advent of electronic and online technologies over the past twenty years has proved to be bittersweet for libraries of all types. While on one hand, such rewards as the availability of public computer access and virtual reference desks have enhanced the library environment, the proliferation of digital books and materials, as well as the perception of Google as the ultimate research tool has prompted many to question continued, or increased, funding of staff and resources for the traditional physical library.

A dilemma is thus created: how to keep library services relevant and thriving in the minds of user populations, with limited marketing resources. Ironically, one development of the technological tsunami that has engulfed (and in some cases, threatened libraries) is being used as a powerful and inexpensive tool to attract and engage library consumers---social media.

In this paper, I shall examine, and reflect upon, the social media tools and strategies utilized by Seattle Public Library (SPL) that provide an outstanding example of the potential of Web 2.0 to engage users, build communities and promote services. In effect, SPL has created an intersection of entity and users that has resulted in real value for all.

SPL Social Media Tools

In this section, we shall first examine the tools that SPL uses that stand alone from the SPL website, after which we will include the site in our discussion.

Facebook

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http://www.facebook.com/SeattlePublicLibrary Figure 1. Screenshot of SPL Facebook page header

The SPL Facebook page, created in 2007, impresses with its creativity of updates and subsequent reader activity. With over 20,000 “likes”, the page is updated at least once, if not more, per day. For example, during March 2013, between 65 and 70 status updates were recorded.

The status updates occur in a seemingly casual manner, but further analysis reveals a specific pattern based on the aforementioned principles (which we will refer to again) of engage, build and promote. Here, we roughly divide the month’s updates into categories, with examples:

Photos, images, graphics (one-third of updates contained such)o Archival Seattle photos o Library branch buildings o Book covers

Figure 2. SPL Facebook Status Update

Connecting popular culture, current events, holidays to bookso E-books to help with spring travel planso Books for spring break?o Books to relate to Game of Thrones characters

Promotion of events and serviceso New appso Expansion of holdso New service hours

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Figure 3. SPL Facebook Status Update

Questions to readerso What was your favorite book?o What do you think of our cataloging system?o What book changed your life?o What song pumps you up on a Monday?

Figure 4. SPL Facebook Status Update

In nearly all cases, the status update did not merely inform---it invited readers to comment, to contribute, to engage with SPL or more importantly, other SPL “fans”. And the efforts were successful. At the very least, each status update collected two comments and two “likes”, but in most cases, numbers in the latter category ranged from 50 to 400.

In addition to status updates from SPL, 18 reader-initiated comments are also included on the page. Several are worth examining, as they reveal important clues as to how adroitly Seattle Public Library has constructed their social media persona with regards to how negative comments or complaints are dealt. Consider the following examples:

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Figure 5. SPL Facebook Status Update with comment

Notice that the complaint regarding the SPL employee was acknowledged quite promptly, with a promise of investigation. Below is another case where SPL is confronted regarding service problems:

Figure 6. SPL Facebook Status Update with comment

Once again, SPL promptly responds to the reader, and in this case, offers an apology, while gently justifying its actions based on policy. It is a well-crafted reply that seeks to diffuse and hopefully end further negative exchanges, while exhibiting a sense of sympathy and humanity for those following the thread.

In both cases, SPL shows great care in avoiding one of the inevitable traps of social media for institutions—heated public exchanges that cast the brand as coldly bureaucratic or indifferent.

In addition to update/comment activity, the SPL Facebook page offers simultaneous live posts from its website RSS events feed, as well as its accompanying Twitter account. Also, various photo albums with approximately 200 images are contained on the page. Finally, many “recommendations” were posted by readers with positive comments regarding SPL or its page.

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Overall, the Seattle Public Library Facebook page appears to be an excellent social media enhancement, and I can offer little or no suggestion for improvement.

Twitter

http://twitter.com/SPLBuzz Figure 7. SPL Twitter page header

Seattle Public Library also makes heavy use of its presence on the Twitter platform. In March 2013, over 100 tweets were recorded. As a reflection of its overall excellence in the use of social media, SPL shows great care in avoiding common mistakes for the tool.

For example, tweets are not retreads of SPL Facebook posts, nor are there any direct links to the Facebook page. SPL tweets forge a different direction than the Facebook persona—content is still fresh and engaging, but also points to new media inventory arrivals, such as CDs or DVDS, or links to book-related articles, or directs readers to the two SPL blogs (discussed later).

In addition, the SPL Twitter account contains hundreds of images and videos for reader perusal.

The SPL Twitter account is successful due to how it uses the Twitter format, realizing and exploiting its unique messaging value, apart from Facebook.

Blogs

In this section, I will briefly discuss the two blogs maintained by Seattle Public Library: Shelf Talk and Push to Talk.

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Shelf Talk

http://shelftalk.spl.org/ Figure 8. SPL Shelf Talk blog header

Shelf Talk is maintained by several SPL librarians and is mainly concerned with new book reviews for adults. During March 2013, updates appeared almost daily. Constructed on a traditional WordPress template, the content is well-tagged, as well as including a good use of anchor texts, and features a good blogroll, as well. Overall, Shelf Talk is a good blog, but not great.

However, the individual posts are not accompanied with social media share links--only the page itself, and no RSS feeds, details which are puzzling, given the attention given to SPL’s second and more dynamic blog: Push to Talk.

Push to Talk

http://blog.spl.org/yablog/ Figure 9. SPL Push to Talk blog header and entry

While SPL’s Shelf Talk blog is well-done, it does not reflect the energy and passion of Push to Talk, which might be understandable, considering the latter is aimed squarely at young adults.

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During March 2013, the blog averaged 1-2 posts per day. Much of the content was built on book reviews provided by blog readers; however, wisely, the readers were provided with a short template that helped easily-distracted teens quickly focus on main plot points through a “six word recap “and more importantly, what the reviewer, a usually anonymous peer, personally thought of the book.

Also, the page layout featured a social media share links for each post, a tag cloud, two RSS feeds, and a large blogroll and related link list.

Push to Talk appears to be carefully-maintained, with an stronger eye towards its more socially media-conscious demographic than its sister blog.

YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/user/SeattlePublicLibrary Figure 10. SPL YouTube page header

The SPL YouTube channel, created in 2011, contains 58 videos divided between five categories: Global Reading Challenge 2012 and 2013, News, Annual Report videos, and Book Talks.

The Global Reading Challenge series and Book Talk consist of short book reviews, presumably by SPL librarians, ranging from 30 seconds to a minute. Annual Report videos are segments of patrons staged outside their respective branches, usually extolling the virtues of the library. Overall, the videos are well-produced, well-rehearsed and the content is kept short and lively.

However, it was only through a general social media search that I discovered SPL maintained a YouTube channel. It would seem to be an obvious oversight that no YouTube link

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appeared on any SPL social media that I encountered, because its YouTube site reflects the same care and consistency seen in the other SPL social media platforms.

Seattle Public Library Website

http://www.spl.org/ Figure 11. SPL website—partial header

It is worth taking a few moments to note the social media interactivity and further tools available through the main SPL website.

Two podcast archives are listed:

http://www.spl.org/library-collection/podcasts Author readings and interviews)—not updated since 2012

http://www.spl.org/audiences/teens/podcasts-for-teens YA literature-oriented interviews and programs—not updated since 2011

SPL should either decide to continue the podcast initiative or else explain its termination, since its lack of updates give a negative impression as effective social media demands fresh content at the risk of losing users.

The SPL site also offers one RSS feed for news, an e-mail news service, and a full-featured app for mobile device, allowing users to search the library catalog, reserve and renew books, seek virtual help, and features links to other SPL social media. Links, tech support information, and a QR code directing users to app download sites are displayed prominently on most pages.

As mentioned previously, while Facebook and Twitter links, as well as ShareThis widgets, are available, no YouTube icon is present.

In general, the SPL website does an average job of supporting its brand social network.

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SPL Social Conversations

Figure 12. SPL Social Mention Rankings—March 2013

All searches performed pertaining to social media conversation regarding Seattle Public Library returned the same basic results as are seen above in the March 2013 Social Mention rankings. In general, SPL is regarded well, if not passionately at times, among social media users.

Other than the few complaints on Facebook previously discussed, no other damaging chatter was found; the negative sentiment in the rankings above was based on an erroneous interpretation of a single word.

Conclusion

With regards to the neutrality measured in the Social Mentions metrics, and the fact that social mentions occurred on the average of once an hour, I might suggest that especially after examining the SPL Twitter feed, perhaps SPL is pushing out too much information in return for the amount of emotional engagement earned.

The output across its social media platforms is almost staggering, considering most libraries do not have any sort of dedicated social media managers. However, using myself (a voracious consumer of social media) as an example, I came to the conclusion that I might have to seriously filter any feeds from SPL social media, if I were a subscriber.

This issue is amplified by the fact that an entity knows as Friends of the Seattle Public Library exists, and is as almost as active in some respects as SPL is, in terms of social media output. Friends of SPL has a Facebook page, a Twitter feed (which rivals SPL) and a YouTube channel. While both entities are working towards the same end, it might behoove the two

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organizations to be more strategic in regards to each other’s social media planning and execution.

Social media, like any channel of communication can become cluttered to the point where noise overcomes the signal. Seattle Public Library does a masterful job with its social media platforms, but it should carefully monitor engagement with regards to output.