The University Library was originally founded in 1867, along with what is now known as the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It is “the largest public university library in the U.S.” with over 11 million volumes, and third in North American academic libraries overall after Harvard and Yale. The Library consists of a Main Library, an Undergraduate Library, and 30+ departmental libraries. It serves a student population of over 30,000 undergraduate and 10,000 plus graduate students, as well as university faculty and staff and visiting scholars.
The Undergraduate Library first opened in 1969. Its architecture is somewhat unique in that it was built underground and is connected to the Main Library by an underground tunnel. This library “provides in one location more reference resources for undergraduate instruction than any other undergraduate college library in the United States” (History of the Undergraduate Library, 2010).
For the most part, all library web pages are set up similarly with a blue and orange navigation bar at the top and three columns filled with links and information underneath; heading and link colors are also blue and orange. One noticeable difference is the Undergraduate Library home page; although it has the same top navigation bar and stays true to the blue and orange color scheme, the arrangement of content and page set-up have a different look than other library pages.
Undergraduate Library’s (UL) Online Marketing Efforts
While the University Library and a handful of departmental libraries have each dipped their figurative “toes” into the online world of social media, the Undergraduate Library has delved much deeper into this marketing world and so the focus here will be on this particular library.
1. Facebook
Undergraduate Library @ UIUC has 496 people who like this or “fans”. On average the library posts 2-3 times per week and these are typically different than their Twitter postings. The majority of posts are by the library with occasional posts by other university entities such as the Union. There doesn’t appear to be a great deal of interaction by students on the Wall although the library does respond in a timely manner when there are student questions.
Besides the Wall, there are five additional tabs; these include Events which lists upcoming and past library events that invite student attendance and allow them to RSVP as well.
A potentially useful link is UIUC Library Search under Likes which is described as a “handy widget [that] searches the UIUC Library catalog, as well as some of our journal article databases, right from Facebook.” It is unclear how much this widget is used by patrons since there are only two reviews of 1-2 stars out of 5. Since Facebook login is required to use this app, and I don’t have an account, I was unable to test this out myself. Apparently it is the same search assistant that is available on the MySpace page, but that one no longer works. Over a year ago there was quite a lot of discussion on this site by outside librarians asking how to set up this app.
One way to get to the UL Facebook page is by clicking on the Facebook button located on the library’s home page. I had also Googled “university of illinois library facebook” and the first result pointed to an outdated Undergraduate Library @ the University of Illinois page. While the UL librarian has posted a link here to the new page, I’m wondering if there is a way this old page could be deleted so as to avoid any confusion.
2. MySpace
This account does not appear to be promoted and for good reason (I Googled it). UIUC Undergraduate Library features mostly outdated information including a library federated search tool that no longer works as well as a link to the old Facebook page. The library made one post in 2009 and the last patron post before that was made three years prior. There are two functioning links (the UL home page and Ask a Librarian) and a side panel of streaming tweets by askundergrad (the UL’s Twitter account), but for the most part this account appears to be abandoned.
3. Twitter
@askundergrad is the UIUC Undergrad Lib account and currently has 1,049 followers. There is a link on the UL home page as well as a streaming Twitter feed. Although the UL was one of the early adopters of Twitter (May 2007), the tool had not been used as effectively as hoped. There was a re-launch in 2009 and since then the library has continued to keep its feed updated and lively, making on average 7-10 tweets per day. Tweet content focuses on research tips, library services and resources, historical and current events, and other topics of interest to undergraduates. Relevant links are often included as well.
Examples of recent tweets:
# Need a computer? Every terminal in the UGL taken? Check out a laptop from the undergraduate library circulation desk!
# Movies with sound have been around 88 yrs tomorrow, but there were some classics before that: http://bit.ly/evUQWv
# Have a question yet to be answered to your satisfaction? Try QB: http://bit.ly/bDoK6f
# Free lunch! And... "City Kids, Country Kids, and Suburbanites: Does Geography Matter?" @ 703 S. Wright, 2nd floor: http://bit.ly/eRwov1
In speaking with the Learning Commons (LC) librarian who is in charge of the UL’s use of social media, it is clear that Twitter currently plays the biggest part in this arena. Graduate students spend 25 hours per semester uploading the majority of tweets to ahead of time for efficiency. The library is sensitive to current events though and does incorporate timely tweets as well. T
itional links to both Twitter and Facebook on other UL content pages (Learning Commons, Collaboratories, Partnering Across Campus, Digital Display, Technology, Undergrad Calendar). The Twitter feed also runs on the right side of the first four. In addition, the UL highlights streaming tweets at the library itself using digital signage and flat screen displays.
4. Blog
It is not clear to me how one would initially find this blog. I searched “blog” on the library web site which led me to this page of UIUC Library RSS feeds. A link for the Undergraduate Library News and Blog is halfway down the page.
On the blog page itself, the university’s branding colors of blue and orange are effectively incorporated into the top navigation bar. Blog posts are used to expand on tweeted information about certain library events. One month’s worth of entries (5 in February) are displayed at a time with the latest update as of 2/27/11. There is no option for patron comments. This page also provides library links such as Ask a Librarian, My Account, UIUC Catalog, etc.
5. YouTube, Flickr, Foursquare
On the UL home page there is a link to six “Videos Produced at the Undergraduate Library.” These videos also appear on YouTube via askundergrad's Channel. In Flickr I searched and found the Undergraduate Learning Commons' photostream which contains 16 photos posted in 2006. In Foursquare I found an Undergraduate Library page with 3 tips, 151 people, and 427 check-ins; also a link to the askundergrad Twitter page.
Payoff of UL’s Current Marketing Efforts
Regarding overall branding efforts, all library web pages are set up using the same blue and orange navigation bar at the top along with blue and orange headings and links. This makes for a consistent online brand.
Regarding the use of social media, unfortunately the Undergraduate Library has not been as successful in having two-way conversations with students as the LC librarian would like. She seeks to engage students further so as to give them a sense of all the library has to offer. It is clear from our conversation that the Undergraduate Library and its staff want to be as accessible and approachable as possible to students. In the process of interviewing students, the library has found that many are not aware of various library resources and services. So the challenge lies in trying to find effective ways to use social media to address this issue.
Currently the UL Facebook account is used to post about library information and events as well as other topics of interest to students; generally there does not appear to be much student response. When using Facebook for outreach, student privacy is a concern for the library. For example, students can RSVP for library events via Facebook which can raise privacy issues. So at the moment, it is somewhat unclear how to best use this tool to connect students with services and resources.
The way the UL is using Twitter in “connecting undergraduates to their intellectual life via library services” is quite impressive. Posting 7+ informative tweets per day requires the organization and use of multiple tools in addition to Twitter as well as many working hours. The LC librarian has some very definite ideas about how to effectively use this tool and they seem to be paying off in an increased number of students who follow @askundergrad.
While the UL blog is informative about events, I’m not sure how students typically find it and therefore how many actually read it. Also at this point it is basically a one-way conversational tool since there is no way for patrons to add comments.
I did not see any online promotion for the library’s YouTube videos, Flickr photostream, or the Foursquare page. At this point it would seem that these are not a priority in the UL’s online marketing efforts.
Thoughts Regarding UL’s Marketing Efforts Going Forward
At first glance it may seem straightforwardly easy to review a library’s social media accounts and offer suggestions for improvement. But when you really get into the meat of it and consider all the factors that affect the successful use of these tools, it becomes a rather daunting task. Such is what I realized during my conversation with the LC librarian. I also realized that the Undergraduate Library is clearly concerned with working on these issues.
Having said that, here are some of my thoughts on the UL’s use of social media:
When thinking about the use of social media, the question arises in my mind of whether or not students even desire to connect with the library via these tools. Perhaps to begin with, the library could create a survey asking students how they would prefer to receive library information.
Links to Facebook, Twitter, and the library blog could be placed on all of the library’s content pages, not just a select few. If it is not already being done, these tools could also be promoted in the physical library itself via fliers and at instruction sessions. While all three of these pages are updated regularly (Twitter updates are amazing!), perhaps the content could be even more user-friendly by asking questions and soliciting feedback more often.
Privacy issues regarding Facebook need to be looked at in-depth so the possibility of adding a more useful search widget or other library widgets to the page might be incorporated. Also on the subject of Facebook, I think the outdated Undergraduate Library Facebook account should be deleted. Students may not use the library’s home page to find the current account; instead they may search Facebook directly. Since I don’t have a Facebook account, I don’t know which account would come up first using this kind of search. It could be confusing to anyone who visits the outdated account instead of the current one.
I would also recommend deleting the Undergraduate Library MySpace account since there is very little current information and the federated search link is dead. Besides most college students now use Facebook rather than MySpace.
Additionally I would also like to see a more visible blog which offers patrons the ability to post comments.
There is currently what appears to be an inactive Social Media link on some of the UL web pages. The LC librarian mentioned working on creating a library page that lists and explains the various social media tools available. I think this is a great idea for promoting these tools and directing students to them in order to encourage more of those highly valued two-way conversations between students and their library.
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