Rudaí23 thing#18: the visual world of libraries

An screenshot of the
 National Geographic's Instagram account

Although there are many photo sharing social media platforms, Flickr and Instagram tend to be the ones we think of when we upload our photos. Although previously they served very different functions, those differences are becoming less pronounced as they adopt popular social media practices. While in the past, Flickr may have been associated with a more 'professional' type of photograph, with the all-important metadata, Instagram's appeal was inherent in its name: uploading your photos could be done 'instantly'. Now, however, Flickr has become far, far easier (and quicker) to upload photos since they have launched their mobile app, while with Instagram it is becoming increasingly more likely to see professional photos from sources such as the National Geographic.

My interaction with Flickr and Instagram

 

I have had accounts with Flickr and Instagram since the early days of both, although I use them in very different ways. While the recent innovations that Flickr has introduced are most definitely welcome, I still associate it with a photo storage site, rather than something I actively engage with. Despite this, there are still many positives: the quality of the photos that you upload tend to be better than on Instagram and the detail that people use to describe these photographs tends to be of a higher quality (my appreciation of this may be due to all those countless hours spent cataloguing over the years). With the new mobile app, it is becoming easier to share and interact with others. Also, doing research for this blog post has brought up a wealth of fascinating photographs that I had never come across before, so it's definitely something I need to devote more time to. Buildings under construction aren't everybody's thing, but I love both of these images. The photo on the left is Marina City, Chicago, taken in 1963 by C. William Brubaker. It's taken from the Digital Collections, UIC Library. The one on the right is the Liberty Hall building, taken a little later, in early 1964 (from the NLI's Flickr Commons page).


There are still some issues with Flickr (particularly with the rather cumbersome feel and look of the new beta additions) but hopefully they will be ironed out in time.

Instagram is something that I've been getting more and more comfortable with over the last year or so. It's incredibly easy to use, and everything about it is geared towards sharing and interacting with others on the app. This is especially so with the introduction of hashtags to make finding photos more intuitive. I find that the tendency on Instagram is towards being more relaxed about the quality of the photographs that you're uploading: they don't have to be perfect and often the goal is more about what the picture is trying to say rather than its quality as a piece of art or a historical document.  Having said that, more and more cultural institutions and businesses are embracing Instagram which makes using it an even more rewarding experience.

Libraries sharing their collections

Given the popularity of both of these apps, it is not surprising that many libraries have realised that they are a great way of advertising their services as well as interacting with users that may have either forgotten they were there or are unable to get to their library for whatever reason. A great example of this is the National Library of Ireland's Flickr account.

An example of the selection of photographs available on the NLI's Flickr Commons page

The first thing we notice is a range of high-quality photographs that advertise an essential quality of the NLI: it's a cultural institution of Ireland, and has photos not simply advertising their services but sharing their collection directly online. There's a wealth of information about the photographs, and a lot of interaction with users online. It's interesting to compare this resource and the amount of time that must be put into selecting photographs, cataloguing, and so on, with the NLI's presence on Instagram which is ... nonexistent. There are lots of people posting images about the NLI, but they are not connected officially with the institution. I think with the growing popularity of Instagram, and the fact that other institutions like the New York Public Library and the National Gallery of Ireland embracing the format, there is a opportunity for the NLI to engage with its users through Instagram. Below we can see the National Gallery of Ireland's Instagram account: it's a nice mix of showcasing its considerable quality of world class art, as well as advertising its services and some interesting photographs of staff members.

Using photo sharing apps in your own library

 

Is photo sharing suitable for all types of libraries? I have thought about this question while doing research for this topic, and was initially very skeptical, especially when thinking about the library that I work in. However, seeing how different types of libraries adopt different platforms for photo sharing, and also the different ways that they interact with these apps, has made me reappraise the situation.

As with most things in a library, planning is essential. The first thing that needs to be ascertained is whether there is enough people available to manage the project and whether the library can set up another social media platform within the marketing parameters that may exist in the college. An important thing to keep in mind is that any social media platform should be considered a long-term marketing tool, and may not see any achievable results in the short-term. This means that it may be difficult to argue for its implementation with the relevant college authorities as well as being aware that the library will have to update its account on a regular basis. A general rule of thumb might be to update at least a couple of times a week.

Where I work, the only social media presence that we are engaged in is Facebook. We highlight any news that might be of interest to the students, and have recently started highlighted the services that we provide. As I mentioned previously, I was initially unsure as to whether Instagram or Flickr would really suit a small academic library like ourselves and this was only highlighted when I investigated accounts like the NLI's Flickr Commons and the National Gallery of Ireland's Instagram account. These accounts are showcasing a collection, and the photos themselves are works of art or interesting historical documents. Does somebody really want to look at a photo of the latest statistics must-have textbook?

I thought this article was interesting, however, and shows how an imaginative approach to something like an Instagram account can pay real dividends. There are some great ideas, including a 'Flashback Friday' focusing on old yearbook photos, as well as the occasional picture of a historical document. What seems to be the key to a good Instagram account (for a non-traditional cultural institution) is to mix up the informative with the silly and the esoteric. The article does mention, however, that there are very few students following the account they are using as an example, which might lead to some serious questions as to its purpose and viability.

A good example of how it might work is the Oregon Libraries Instagram account, which you can see on the left. We can see some historical photographs mixed with some quirky ones, as well as library notices advertising opening hours over a holiday period. There is a very brief bio at the top, and appropriate notice of suitable hashtags where you can interact with the different libraries that make up the service. There is considerable interaction with regards to liking the photographs, although interaction in the comments section is somewhat minimal.

Overall, I think an Instagram account might work in the context of the library where I work if we follow some of the good examples mentioned above. I think we might have to wait until we've tried some of the more obvious social media platforms, like Twitter, but it's an exciting prospect.

Rudaí23 thing#17: (the final) reflective practice

I must admit that I find the reflective practices harder than most of the more 'traditional' things on the course. I think it's because it's less about something tangible, where you can chart your progress and see whether you've succeeded or failed. Having said all that, I like how the reflective practices build on each other, and get you to completely reassess how you write a blog entry. And of course, given what Rudaí 23 is all about, it makes you reassess how you look at developments in the library world. And when you look at it like that, the reflective practices are something tangible. It's not just thinking about something, in fact, as mentioned in thing#17,  "action without reflection leads to meaningless activism, while reflection without action means we are not bringing our awareness into the world".

A reflection on reflections

Gibbs' Reflective Cycle, from cumbria.ac.uk

I definitely think I could have used Gibbs' chart on some of my blog posts (for example, thing#5 about social media). I went in to a lot of detail about my own experience of using social media, but failed to make the connection between that and how social media is used where I work (and also in the library world in general). What a thing to miss! It's not even that I missed that social media is huge in the library world (and even if I had, the rest of the Rudaí course would've been a real eye opener!) but it's pretty important where I work. Even a short paragraph about how we use social media to advertise our services to students and whether it works or not would have been a nice way to end the blog.

It's hard to look back over something you've written so long away (in many ways), but I think I was more concerned with completing the task rather than describing the process. I'm beginning to realise the importance of the process: how you approach a task, what preparations you make, and particularly how you apply that task to your career is very important.

Using reflective practice in your job

The task that Rudai has set for thing#17 is "write a blog entry describing how you could use reflective practice in your library experience". As I mentioned before, I like when tasks are concrete and apply to our real world experience, so I'm going to apply this to my job which is in a small academic library in Dublin.

I've worked on some exciting projects since I started in the library, but the one I'm going to apply what I'm learning about reflective practice is a user-testing project I did over the summer. This is because user-testing was something I had never done previously, and had never even (necessarily) associated it with a traditional library role. Either of those descriptions (and sometimes both) can usually be applied to any of the Rudaí 23 things.

Some background about the project

I was lucky in that my boss was very helpful and encouraging about it. She knew I had never done anything like it before, but was keen to give me (nearly) complete control of it. She suggested some reading that I could do to prepare myself for both the theory behind user-testing as well as how to plan and implement it. After doing some reading around the subject, I focused on one particular book, Steve Krug's Don't Make Me Think, which seemed to be geared towards exactly what we were looking for: a cheap model of user-testing that could be conducted with hardware and software that we already had access to. I had regular meetings with my boss about what she wanted from the project and who we wanted to participate.

After this, I needed to take care of some practical issues. I needed to contact various people in the college that might know of some students who would fit our parameters and then book a room in the library based on their availability. I quickly realised that I would have to be very flexible to accommodate a whole group of people who were essentially doing us a favour. This meant that the project would not be completed in the way that I had originally envisaged: students booked in at the beginning of a three-week period, with time in between to write up the reports. It would be messy, but it would be okay. Or at least, I hoped it would be.

What I did next and how I felt about the project

Steve Krug's book, which was
the key to a successful user-testing
project.

After I had got all the practical issues out of the way, I followed the steps in Krug's book about how to prepare for the actual testing. Things flowed relatively smoothly from this point. In nearly all tests I discovered something that would be useful for our new website, and, such is the nature of user-testing, even when you think you're not getting anything from a particular test, the very fact that you're 'getting nothing' is actually telling you something (some users will find the whole process very easy and straightforward). I was beginning to feel more and more confident about the project at this stage, as I could see real, verifiable results, and I was already seeing basic things about navigation of the website that were important issues that needed to be addressed.

Throughout the whole process, my main thought was reminding myself that preparation was the key to it succeeding or failing. I needed to remember the theory, to have everything booked in advance, and to have my generic script altered prior to each individual test. I also needed to set aside time to prepare for the test before it occurred, as well as keeping numerous documents updated about participation, notes, etc.

Evaluating the project

I found the whole project a great learning experience. It definitely challenged my preconceptions about what librarians did and I felt that I was doing something that was important. I could also see how it fit in with the many changes that the library was going through over the summer (we were getting a new website, new libguides, a new LMS). It was also frustrating in parts, but I think any project - especially one that you haven't done before - is going to have elements of that. Another thing that I learned was always go with your gut (in this case, by 'gut' I mean Krug's book). He kept saying that anything over approximately five users meant you were just increasing your workload with no visible impact on the overall test, but we had agreed that we wanted to test as many users as possible, and specifically students in different stages of their academic career as well as international students. After approximately five user-tests, I could see that any issues that students might have with the system were starting to repeat themselves, regardless of their status. Despite this, I think it was good to see in practice what Krug was trying to get at, and when we next do some user-testing, we can avoid this.

Analysis

The most important aspect of the project was that it achieved its main aim: identifying possible issues with navigation around our new website. It was also really interesting to see first-hand how students did this, as well as their reactions to some of our new services that we were offering. On a personal level, I realised that I could manage every detail of a project: planning, implementation, and successful delivery. The project was well-received, both in the library and in the college in general, and it was great to see how it would benefit all the changes that the library were in the process of introducing.

Conclusion

After the project had finished, I used my reports to write up a basic document about what issues the testing had focused on. Those deemed urgent were acted on immediately, while other issues were set aside (either for looking at in the future or because they weren't high up on the list of priorities). This is, of course, an important part of user-testing, and while it seems self-evident (what's the point in user-testing if you're not going to act on the recommendations?) it is repeated in most of the material I read about user-testing, so it seems like it is something that keeps coming up.

I think that for any future user-testing that I do, I will try and follow the theory more, specifically with regards to how many people we use in our testing, as well as trying not to cover too much in the tests. Also, despite my obsessing over keeping notes, I would like to keep more time for this, as well as keeping screenshots to give a better overview of how the project progressed. Using the tips from thing#17 will definitely help with this.

Rudaí23 thing#12: A librarian set loose in the real world

What do you think of when you think of library conferences? I started attending conferences soon after I graduated from UCD, and was struck by how varied they are. They range from the intricately organised to the wonderfully loose interpretation of the term 'conference' (we've even had the term 'un-conference' bandied around), from the traditional speaker-and-audience affair to the more collaborative, and even one or two that offer a very fancy meal option. They may seem (to the non librarian/information professional) to be the epitome of all the stereotypes of what librarians are, but I've found them to be (depending on the conference) informative, interesting, radical, sometimes even funny.

Attending a conference

An image from Library Camp 2014

Of course, as with so many things nowadays, there are numerous ways in which to 'attend' a conference. Even if the conference hasn't offered a live stream, chances are you will find you can interact and participate through Twitter or catch up with the slides after everything has finished.

I think there is a lot to say for physically attending a conference, however. Seeing things in a real-world environment is (for me, anyway) a positive, more engaging experience. I tend to interact more with what's said and with the people with whom I'm attending the conference. Even the very act of committing to attending a conference means I make preparations that I have to stick with. I find that I engage more with people in the field and take away points of interest that I may not do if I am checking out live tweets on my phone.

Of course, it can be difficult to get time to attend conferences, especially if you're in a full-time job. And if you're not in a full-time job, it can still be difficult, especially if there is a fee to attend (although many will offer bursaries or reduced fees for unemployed or those still in education). Another issue can be location. That conference in Sheffield may look very attractive, but you will have to add transport costs and time, which may make it somewhat less attractive.

Some practical issues

I tend to come to conferences with my phone, some paper and a pen. I take notes of things that I might want to follow up on during questions (or after the conference). Caroline Rowan’s Rudai post has a great idea that you should take notes of people you meet and what area they are working in. I have that terrible affliction that causes me to immediately forget people’s names even as they are being introduced to me.

An example of tweets during a recent LAICDG conference

On breaks from the conference (and sometimes during the talks), if I have a spare moment I will try and see what’s happening online, share my thoughts and interact with others (either at the conference or those who couldn’t attend).

I'm quite lucky in that I can reasonably expect to attend a conference, providing there is adequate cover in work and that the conference is broadly suited to my career development. I find that I got the most from conferences that I attended where I was required to write up a brief description of the day for a Committee that I was involved with at the time. I have attended conferences since, and while I take brief notes, and usually participate online, I have definitely noticed that my engagement isn't as complete as it was before. Another important aspect of conferences is the opportunity to talk to people that you don't know and don't interact with on a regular basis. This can be difficult to do at the best of times, but it's important to get outside of your comfort zone.

Rudaí23 thing#7: The wonderful world of podcasts

Okay, I'm going to cheat a little on this one. I have been grappling with the audio on my laptop for a while now, and whether it's because it's on its last legs or if there's just something wrong with the audio (I'm pretty sure it's on its last legs), I won't be able to make a podcast that is in any way listenable.

An Old Recording

However, here is one I prepared earlier! We did a podcast for a class in the MLIS I did a few years ago, and were introduced to recording techniques and applications that would help us in our experience. Obviously things change so fast in terms of anything to do with online stuff, but I have been looking around at what it takes to make a podcast, and the basics are still the same, apparently.

I used my podcast to tie in with a photography project that we were doing for the course (primarily because I found that I was stuck for something to talk about at the time). The programs we used at the time were PodOmatic and Audacity. After we were happy with our recording, we then uploaded it to iTunes. I see that Rudaí23 recommends SoundCloud, which is a great service that I notice a lot of bands and musicians use to upload new songs.

The wonderful world of podcasts

I have been listening to podcasts pretty much as soon as I got my iPod. Initially, I used it as a way of catching up with Newstalk's history programme (I'll just leave this here), and slowly branched out from there. I think podcasts and my interest in them reached peak with my discovery of Serial (which happened because I had been a regular listener to This American Life, another wonderful podcast). Serial brought podcasts to a new level, introducing the subtleties and complexities of the better TV series of the last few years, as well as having a fascinating look into how a presenter may (or may not) be influencing how you think about somebody's role in a particular crime. Only recently, I have been listening to a great series of documentaries called Crossing Continents by the BBC. There was a fascinating programme about drug addiction in Guatemala City and a really sad but amazing one called Losing Louisiana, about how Louisiana is losing its coastline at a rapid rate (and it's not necessarily down to climate change as we understand it, either) as well as featuring some amazing Cajun folk songs. Unless I'm missing something that's not something that I'm seeing on TV. Podcasts fill a niche and do it very, very well.

Issues with podcasting

There was a Q&A that I heard recently on The History of Rome podcast. Of course most of the questions were about the history element, but I remember one person asked about practicalities of recording a podcast. The presenter spoke about how he worked on a podcast (which would normally last for 20 to 30 minutes) for the whole week before uploading it, although this of course did not include time he spent reading numerous books and articles about the general period of history. He also spoke about the audio recording techniques (including an interesting note about how, after some advice, he records everything twice, so if there's a mistake, he can switch to the 'clean' recording) as well as concerns about investment in audio recording equipment. He also spoke about copyright issues regarding music he uses for his intro (he used a free sample track that came with his computer). Another interesting comment he made was on the concerns he had about bringing in advertising to his podcasts, which he allowed his listeners to decide (they were generally in agreement that he should be allowed to have them). It really opened my eyes as to how much time and cost goes into a podcast that takes up only 30 minutes or an hour.

Podcasts for libraries

And what about libraries? Context is everything. In my own situation, working in a small library in a small academic institution, I am going to go out on a limb and say that a podcast is never going to happen. It would cost far too much in terms of time and money, and is a service that I don't see being used in any way by the students or staff that we're supposed to be serving. It may serve a function in justifying the service either to the management or to the wider community, but if the staff and students aren't using it, then it might backfire. However, I think that podcasts for libraries that are cultural institutions is a brilliant idea. I would absolutely download a podcast from the NLI, the IFI, or one of the many fantastic museums that we have.

Of course (and this is true of almost everything nowadays) if you think about something, chances are somebody has already thought of it, and it's already in existence, ready for you to download or stream online. A quick search online brought me to this article with a list of podcasts geared towards librarians. And of course, there are many, many podcasts from cultural institutions such as the Library of Congress and the British Library. And it's not just limited to bigger institutions overseas (with, presumably, bigger budgets and a bigger potential listener base). Irish libraries are getting in on the act too.

Irish libraries and podcasts

Dublin City Council have a section devoted to podcasts, although the interface and accessibility leave a lot to be desired. I think it's interesting to compare this to DLR's podcast section which is much more inviting and easier to navigate. Regardless of this, it shows that there's an appetite for podcasts from Irish libraries, especially from the larger institutions. Knowing how to podcast, and getting to grips with all the technology associated with it, is something librarians will have to get a handle on.

Rudaí23 thing#6: A librarian gets all reflective

I think I'll probably always be behind on my Rudaí 23 tasks, so taking a break to go away on holidays probably wasn't the best idea (for completing Rudaí 23, but a great idea in nearly every other aspect).

Having said that, having time to reflect is probably the perfect thing to do at this stage. I can look back over the tasks that I've done, and have a look at how other people have been doing their blogs. Checking out other people's blogs (both those that are doing the Rudaí 23 as well as other librarian related blogs) is very interesting (although it does remind me constantly of how far advanced they all are. Of course, by 'far advanced' I mean actually keeping up with the time frame). It's interesting that despite Rudaí 23's name, this project isn't just an Irish thing: there are so many involved from the UK. It's great reading about their experiences, as well as seeing how the 'differences' they experience sometimes aren't all that different from what librarians in Ireland experience.

A great blog was Anaglow's talking about the radical conferences she was attending. It's a reminder of the difficulties that some in the library world in the UK are experiencing, but also about the radicalism which seems more prevalent there than it is in Ireland. 

I also came across a very interesting entry (in a very interesting blog) that made me question my use of images and that murky (or perhaps not so murky) area of copyright. I won't go into that in too much detail (as I am aware from peeking ahead that it's one of the tasks further down the list) but it is an example of how easy it is to overlook an important aspect of your job because social media is different, right? That brings me on to another blog which deserves praise because of how well written it is, but also its attention to detail in referencing everything that needs to be referenced. 

I'm also seeing a few blogs by people that I went to library school with and haven't seen in a while. It's a reminder that Rudaí 23 isn't just about improving your own abilities but about connecting with people in the library world, whether it's people you haven't seen in a while or people that you've never met before.

Reflection is something that is probably best enjoyed by those who have been keeping up to date with their tasks, so with that in mind, off I go to research my next post. Looking ahead, it looks like things are going to get a little more 'complicated' but also more interesting!

Rudaí23 thing#5: Getting to grips with social media

The librarian online or: how i learned to stop worrying and love Twitter

Thing#5 is all about how we interact online. Although there are lots and lots of social media options out there (either on a personal level or professionally) there is a huge dominance at the moment by the two big players, Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook

 

I signed up to Facebook sometime around 2009. After an initial flurry of interaction, I quickly became one of those dormant users (or ‘lurkers’, if you want to use a less appealing term). The Rudaí23 post introduced a lot of options for expanding my interaction on Facebook, particularly the use of Groups. Apparently there are a huge number of very specific library-related groups on Facebook. I was aware of Facebook Groups before today, but would always have been hesitant about joining them because I would have been concerned that my posts would inundate my friends' feeds. This article suggest that this isn't the case, and also has a lot more information about how to really utilise the Groups option. The whole thing is kind of making Facebook appealing again. What a scary thought.

Twitter 

Twitter, however, is different. I joined Twitter late, after some prodding from a friend on the MLIS course. I had always been sceptical about the appeal (and the near cult-like status it was gaining) and the arbitrary character limit seemed gimmicky, but I eventually capitulated. And then did nothing with it for a long time. I didn’t have a smartphone at the time, and I think this seriously hampered my interaction with the site. When I did log on, I was confronted with a torrent of information that felt overwhelming. 

I am now a relatively frequent user of Twitter, primarily for keeping up to date with developments in the library world, but also with regards to current affairs, music, literature, and friends. So what changed? Well, firstly, I got a smartphone. This meant that I could check Twitter more regularly and the information wasn’t so overwhelming. I think the best piece of advice I received about Twitter was to view it as a stream of information that you can dip your toe in when you feel like it. If you haven't been able to log on for a while, then don't feel like you're missing out or that you have to 'catch up'.

Another way of stemming that overwhelmed feeling is to create lists. I have a few lists, but definitely need to update them in order to get them working for me again. Siobhan’s post on Rudaí23 also suggested numerous lists that I could follow, which is very helpful, as well as a whole lot of librarians I didn’t know were online, so I will be updating those I follow as soon as possible.

As always with the Rudaí23 project, I started off doing some research on a topic that I assumed I knew everything there was to know, but found some interesting tips to increase my knowledge. I have some updating of my Twitter lists and people that I follow to do today and I will have a look at those Groups on Facebook. Who knows, maybe it will make me turn back to an active user again.