4 Ideas for September's Library Card Sign-Up Month

In a few weeks is September's Library Card Sign-Up Month! This year's spokespeople are The Incredibles, and you can go to ALA's page to grab really awesome graphics to use for advertising and social media, like we used in our advertisement:

But besides posting pictures, what is your library doing this year? Not sure? Here are a few ideas shared on Facebook, retold here for your convenience:

Make a Visual To Represent New Cardholders

To celebrate new library members, you could keep track of every new one visually. One idea was to create a tree on a window and everyone can put up a leaf when they get a new card. What a cool way to show the community how many new members are joining!

Tap into Local Celebrities

Another library system took a picture of their county judge showing his library card and used it in advertisements and social media. You can do this with anyone well known in your community -- school principals, the mayor, radio station personalities, etc. -- to catch the eye of nonlibrary users to send them to your library.

Show Your Card for a Special Treat

Add some fun to the children's room! Ask children patrons to show their card for a special library treat, connected to ALA's theme. (i.e. Last year was Snoopy, so they gave out Peppermint Patties.) It was a big hit with the kids!

Random Prizes for New and *Returning* Cardholders

Everyone who signs up for a library card is put into a drawing for gift cards and event passes. You can take this a step further and reach out to patrons who haven't used the library in 3 months and invite them back! When they use their library card, they can also win prizes.

If you have any fun library card sign-up ideas, we'd love to hear them in the comments!

You Can Now Link Your Facebook Page to a Group (and why you may want to do this)

Facebook recently announced that ALL pages can now link their page directly to their group. How awesome is that? This is so exciting for many reasons:

1. It Is Hard to Find New Groups on Facebook

Unless you know the exact name of the group you are looking for, it is hard to find them in the Facebook search. Now that you can connect your groups directly to your page, this will allow patrons to easily locate your groups. All they have to do is visit your Library Page, and go to the left side. (For how to link your groups to your page, visit this handy article from Grytics!)

2. Groups Work Differently than Pages

If you ever considered making a group for your library patrons, now is the time to do it! It could be ideal for many reasons:

1. Groups get higher priority in the news feed than pages (so, patrons are more likely to see your posts).
2. It'll allow you to divide your followers into appropriate groups. You can make a group for teens, another for parents/caregivers, another for adults and only post the relevant information into each section. It may also provide a way for patrons to connect with each other -- a local community with people they wouldn't normally have a reason to reach out to (especially if your town/city DOES NOT have a special Facebook group for residents).
3. You will have the ability to comment and like as your page in your groups, which will help patrons know it is "the library" that is responding.
4. Facebook acknowledges that it can be time consuming to accept people into groups, so they added a filtering feature where you can easily sort the requests by location and accept/deny at once. You can also add a questionnaire with up to 3 questions that new members must answer before they apply if you want to expand your reach beyond what locations they have listed on Facebook.

3. Bump Your Post Reach With Targeted Marketing

Not only can they easily find the link on your page to your group, you can also easily share your relevant posts to this group. Targeted Marketing! When people respond to your post in the group, it'll bump up your post reach on your page as well. And, as we all know by now, when your current post gets interactions, it'll do better and increase the reach on your next post. That's a win/win!

4.  Group Analytics

With targeted advertising, you'll be able to see what posts are working for your specific groups: the demographics as well as the days and times they are active online. This is valuable info that you cannot parse from a generic Facebook Page which all patrons follow. And new to Groups: Admins and moderators can create and schedule posts to publish at a specific day and time!

Do you have a successful Library Facebook Group? If so, please share in the comments! We'd love to hear what types of groups have worked for you.

Additional Info:
Our First Communities Summit and New Tools For Group Admins
3 Reasons Why Facebook Groups May Offer New Opportunities for Brands
How to Link Your Facebook Groups and Pages
Facebook Groups Can Now Screen New Members With a Questionnaire

Twitter 101 for Professional Development

Thinking of joining Twitter? It is one of my favorite places for professional development. Today, we're going to highlight five ways to get the most out of your Twitter account.

1. Twitter Chats

Every day of the week, there are library chats that you can participate! Easy Bib has a great list, so I will link to that here (https://magic.piktochart.com/output/2617218-library-twitter-chats-2) but you can find any chat from YA Librarianship (#readYAlit) to the Public Librarian Chat (#publibchat) to I Need a Librarian Job Chat (#INALJchat).

2. Connect via Hashtags

One great way to find other librarians is to use and search on the common hashtags:
#Librarylife
#FridayReads
#Saturdaylibrarian
#Sundaylibrarian
#NightLibrarian

#RefDesk

#LibrarianProblems

#CollectionDevelopment

#WeNeedDiverseBooks

#ReadAdv

3. Learn More from Conferences

Many conferences these days will have a hashtag (i.e., #ALAAC17). You can use that hashtag to share the great tidbits you are learning in your session and you can find what is going on in other sessions. It is a fun way to get more out of a conference, especially if you were unable to attend.

4. Follow Organizations, Publishers, Authors

What resources does your library use? See if they are on Twitter and follow them for news and updates. For example, Overdrive will share lots of content that you can reshare on your library account. Publishers will share arcs and exciting author news. If any of these are cluttering up your newsfeed with information you don't find relevant, unfollow them but add them to a Twitter List that you can check when you want updates.

Great places to follow:

https://twitter.com/ILoveLibraries

https://twitter.com/unshelfeed

https://twitter.com/FakeLibStats

https://twitter.com/LibraryJournal

https://twitter.com/PublishersWkly

https://twitter.com/goodreads

https://twitter.com/nprbooks

https://twitter.com/ReadItForward

https://twitter.com/ALALibrary

https://twitter.com/ALA_Booklist

https://twitter.com/nytimesbooks

https://twitter.com/amlibraries

https://twitter.com/LISNews

https://twitter.com/NoveListRA

https://twitter.com/OverDriveLibs

https://twitter.com/penguinusa

https://twitter.com/EpicReads

https://twitter.com/harperteen

https://twitter.com/PenguinTeen

https://twitter.com/ShiftTheDigital

https://twitter.com/HarperChildrens

https://twitter.com/Candlewick
https://twitter.com/Scholastic

5. Follow Your Favorite Bloggers

Don't forget to check out your favorite bloggers, too. One of the hardest things for me, when I first started on Twitter, was to respond to strangers I never met face-to-face. But to get the most out of your account, don't be afraid to like and comment. People want to connect -- that's why we're all tweeting.

A few bloggers we highly recommend following:

TeenLibrarianToolbox @TLT16 ‏

Naomi Bates @yabooksandmore

Becky Spratford @RAforAll

J Burke-TheInfoHound @theinfohound

Angela Hursh @webmastergirl

And we love following our readers, so don't forget to check us out, too: @5minlib

Have any additional tips? Please share in the comments!

#LibraryHappinessIs Winning $100!

#LibraryHappinessIs a chance to win $100 and a Sally READ poster!

ALA is running a fun campaign during library card sign-up month. From now until noon September 22nd, patrons and librarians are encouraged to share what library happiness means to them on Twitter, Instagram, or the I Love Libraries Facebook page. Tweet, post a photo, or make a short video and use the hashtag #LibraryHappinessIs. One random winner will be selected at the end of the month!

And if you aren't already participating in September's Library Card Sign-Up month, head on over to ALA's official page. Snoopy is the official spokesdog and they have lots of free goodies for you to use!

• Social Media Images and Cover Art
• Downloadable Flyers
• Sample Press Release
• Sample PSA Scripts
• Free artwork for library cards
• Free artwork for billboards
• 2 Free webinars: How to Leverage Snoopy to Run a Library-Card Sign-Up Campaign 
• Free webinar: Using Door-to-door Marketing for Library Card Sign-ups

Let's all participate in the fun! How wonderful would it be to see Instagram and Twitter trending with #LibraryHappinessIs? For us, that'd be just as awesome as winning the grand prize. 

Canva for Work - Free for Libraries!

As you all know by now, I am a big fan of Canva. I've talked about it a few times on here... I cannot recommend it enough. It is the perfect program for people who are ready for something more professional than Microsoft Word/Publisher but less intimidating than Adobe InDesign. Personally, I've found it so easy to use and it's upped my design skills.

But a new development has made me even more excited about Canva. A few months ago, they rolled out Canva for Work, which takes the free Canva account and upgrades it with a paid subscription for special features. I was intrigued, but I didn't try the trial because I was afraid I would fall in love with it and I wasn't ready to pay. But then I got a tip from the Libraries & Social Media Facebook Group that Canva for Work is free for nonprofits. I was disappointed to learn they asked for a 501c(3) nonprofit form first, which we don't have, but then I found out they do accept Tax Exempt forms.

I immediately upgraded my work account. They put it on a trial mode and then when the trial ended, they accepted our nonprofit status. Yay!!!

And I LOVE IT. Here's a picture tour of all the goodies:

In the first photo, I was pleased to see that my personal account was separated from the Canva for Work Team Account. I have to click on my library account to access all work designs.

Easily move between your personal and work accounts!

When you switch over to the Canva for Work Account, your dashboard adds a few new features. As you can see below, you can easily see your own designs, the designs that were only shared with you, and your whole teams' designs, called the "Team Stream."

Simple but upgraded dashboard

When you go to "Your Brand", you can make your own templates for Presentation, Facebook Post, Twitter, Instagram, Flyer, Pinterest, Invitation, Letterhead, Business Card, Gift Certificate, Poster, Card, Facebook Cover, and Custom. What a time saver! We use Custom to make images for our Website Slider and our Digital Picture Frame.

Scroll down and make templates for flyers, social media, and more!

The Brand Kit is really awesome! You can save your own colors and they'll default to the top of your color palette in any document. You can upload fonts and set each heading to different font types and sizes. And you can upload your logos for easy locating later.

Brand Kit Part 1: Set your own color palette. These colors default to the top of Fonts, Background, and Elements.

Brand Kit Part 2: Set your own fonts and sizes. Upload the fonts you want!

Your Brand Kit fonts show up in EVERY template as the default setting.

Brand Kit Part 3: Upload your logos for easy locating later.

Brand Kit Logos appear under "Uploads",
in their own folder.

One of the big advantages with Canva for Work is that you can use it with a group of people in your organization. So, you can invite up to ten people to join your "team" and you can set them to be Administrators, Template Designers, or just Members. All teammates can create and share designs. Template Designers are in control of the templates and brand kit and Administrators can do that as well as manage team members.

The benefit of being part of a team is that you can easily show your design to ONLY team members. When you finish your design, you can click on "Showing" in the top right and you'll see that option.

The images will appear in the Team Stream and anyone can easily make changes to it. They just click on your image and then click "Remix". No more having to email everyone through the share option on each design when you want some feedback. So simple and easy to use!

Just click the green "Remix" to make quick changes.

But of course, the greatest feature is their "Magic Resize" option. You can take any design, go to File and then choose which formats you want it in. It was pretty impressive. As you can see below, it kept all the images in the correct proportions and just changed the background size behind it. It wasn't always perfect (sometimes there's too much space and not enough design), but still a huge time saver!

All the options for resizing your current design.

 Example of Resizing:

Size: Small Flyer

Size: Facebook Post

Size: Twitter

And that ends our photo tour. If you really enjoy Canva, I highly recommend upgrading to Canva for Work and applying for the nonprofit status. There is so much to gain and all you have to do is scan in a copy of your Tax Exempt form.

Thanks, Canva, for supporting nonprofits!

For more articles on Canva, check out:
Canva: Make Easy Designs in Little Time
5 Secret Tricks to Using Canva Like a Pro

Top Ways to Advertise Your Library Programs - Part 2

Welcome to Part Two of our three-part series about advertising your library programs. In Part One, we talked about posters: where to put them and how to use them. Today, we're going to talk about a different kind of advertising: the wide world of media and the even wider world of social media.

 Media

Ah, the media: newspapers have been the place people go for information for over a century, and though many papers are now read mostly, if not entirely, online, this doesn't mean that they're gone. Try...

• Online newspapers - Have you seen patch.com? They are a large online news resource that covers communities across the United States. In addition to posting their own content, users (that is, us!) can submit our own news, press releases, stories, photos, and events to be posted on their website. Take a look! 
• Community Calendars - Many local papers (town-wide, county-wide, or larger) have a calendar of local events. Make sure you get the contact information for the calendar and you can email over the big attractions as they come up. 
• News articles - Write up a press release where you justify how your event is The Big Thing in town, and you could get a full story in the paper. Many papers will often print photos, too! How? Well, that's an article in itself, but the best way I've found is to highlight local people: Write about how a local fireman is taking time from his busy schedule to read to children. Write about how the Teen Advisory Board planned this program, for teens and by teens. Write about how the little old lady teaching flower arranging next week has been doing this for fifty years and is sharing her life's work with YOU, the reader, HERE! For FREE! Including photos is also a good way to get attention. Papers will sometimes print a photo with a caption, even when they don't have room for an article. 
• News interviews - If something really exciting is going on, some local news stations will send a reporter to talk to you about it. I got onto public access news when we got a turtle for the Children's Room. The local station at my last library always sent a film crew for their Live @ Lawrence Library music programs. Photographers will often come for performers or large events, too. Granted, these are published after the fact, but it brings attention to what your library has to offer, and that is never a bad thing.
• Newsletters - Don't underestimate the power of the written word! My library currently writes a quarterly newsletter that highlights events for all age groups and includes calendars of events, articles written by staff, and book recommendations. These can be brought to local businesses and to town events (see Part One for ideas of where to leave fliers and newsletters!) and be offered at or near your circulation desk for patrons to take.
• Event Calendars - In addition to our online event calendars, I've found it's also incredibly helpful to have monthly event calendars available for patrons to take with them. In the Children's Department (which is my domain), we design them so that one side is a monthly calendar with events listed on each day, and the reverse has a brief description of what each program is. Despite the fact that everyone seems to be online these days, I start getting requests weeks before the new month has started. I've even had families who have told me that they wait until they get the new calendar before planning family events. (I can't tell you how good that feels!)

 

Social Media

• The Basics: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. - Sharing information on your own page is good (especially with pictures!), but it's an even better idea to make sure you follow local groups, schools, clubs, etc. online, and send them your information. If you ask nicely, they may share it! This works especially well if they have a presence on Twitter, where you can talk as much as you like (as opposed to Facebook, where you don't want to post too often, lest you overwhelm the reader). Be sure to check your favorite social media outlets for local parent groups, Boys and Girls Clubs, and the like.
• Online Newsletters - There are several ways to send out online newsletters, including MailChimp and Constant Contact. I am not an expert in these fields, but that's okay, because companies that work with mass mailings are experts, and they make things as easy as possible for the librarian-on-the-go. One of the many perks to using a program to mass-mail is the ability to link online. If you write book reviews, you can link the book right to your catalog so that interested parties can immediately put the book on hold (no lost little slips of paper!). Instead of asking patrons to log on and "like" you on social media, you can link right there and they can do it right away! Another upside is the meta-data. How many times is the email opened? Which links are clicked on most often? They will tell you. From this information, you can extrapolate from your patron-base what it is they really like. Lots of book links clicked? You may want to write more reviews. Lots of clicks on the children's programs? Perhaps that department needs its own newsletter. It's all in the data.
• Facebook Events - We have talked a lot about the use of Facebook before, and I'm sure we will again, but have we mentioned how much we like the new Facebook Events feature? Rather than posting one photo to say that a program is coming up, try creating an official Event for it. It still pops up on your wall as soon as you post it, but it will also be available under the "Events" tab on your page, and will be listed as an Upcoming Event for people who say they are interested. People can also subscribe to your events, so you're sure that everyone who wants to will see them, instead of relying on whatever the Facebook algorithm says is okay to show.
• Facebook Ads - I'm all about free, but Facebook Ads give you a huge bang for your buck. For a couple dollars, you can have your information show up as an ad on local people's pages, which will drastically expand your reach. By all accounts I've heard, it is worth the money for your larger events.

 

Overall

In closing: don't underestimate the power of the media. Expand your presence in print and online, and watch your program attendance grow! Last time, we talked about posters and fliers. In Part 3, we will be discussing some of the more unusual ways to promote your programs. (Silliness - my favorite!)

Did we miss any media angles? Please let us know here or on our Facebook page or Twitter feed.

Don't Forget to Check Out:

Part One: Posters, Flyers, and Where to Hang Them
Part Three: Unique Advertising Ideas 

21 Awesome Instagram Accounts for Reposting!

If you are participating in the Instagram Challenge, you'll see that on Day 20, we suggest that you follow bookish Instagram accounts and repost one on your account. We recommend this because there just isn't enough time in the day for busy librarians to keep up with Instagram accounts.

But there's good news -- we're not the only ones who love books and want to post about them. And there are many other people who have the time, the budget, the props, and the expertise to post fantastic Instagram images. Images that are perfect for libraries to repost (and, of course, tag back to the original account!).

So, to help you get started with Day 20's challenge, here's a list of 21 accounts that you may want to follow and repost*. :)

Publishers

The first accounts I'd highly recommend following are publishers. They have great content from beautiful book covers (all of them are quality pictures because they want to sell the book!) to author spotlights to fun bookish quotes. Bonus -- learn about new books coming out that you can order for your collection!

https://instagram.com/harpercollinsus/
https://instagram.com/gallerybooks/
https://instagram.com/penguinrandomhouse/
https://instagram.com/penguinusa/
https://instagram.com/scholasticinc/
https://instagram.com/simonandschuster/
https://instagram.com/simonbooks/

Book Stores

Book stores are also great accounts to follow. The following ones below have quality pictures and many images that libraries can repost and tag back. Bonus points when they have an author visit and take a photo of them holding onto their book!

https://instagram.com/barnesandnoble/
https://instagram.com/powellsbooks/
https://instagram.com/strandbookstore/

Book Websites / Accounts

And there are some really awesome book websites (or even just unique Instagram accounts) that are fun to follow and highlight at times on your own account.

https://instagram.com/bookexpoamerica/
https://instagram.com/bookporn/
https://instagram.com/bookquotes/
https://instagram.com/bookriot/
https://instagram.com/subwaybookreview/
https://instagram.com/thebookcon/
https://instagram.com/weneeddiversebooks/

Bonus: YA Lit

Since I'm a Teen Librarian, I thought I'd share a few other YA Lit accounts that I really enjoyed. Any library can use them, too, since YA Lit is the hottest genre at the moment... Though, my opinion might be slightly biased.
https://instagram.com/epicreads/

https://instagram.com/fiercereads/
https://instagram.com/simonteen/
https://instagram.com/thisisteen/

And these two accounts, just because WOW. If you can find a way to share an image on your account, it'll be a follower favorite!:
 https://instagram.com/samsofy.s/ and https://instagram.com/muradosmann/

* Note: Instagram does not have a feature that allows you to repost images. However, Iconosquare, Websta and other 3rd party apps will allow you to do this. Basically, these apps download the image with credit to the author and emails it to you to later upload. I do NOT recommend using any apps that doesn't place credit directly on the photo. (And don't forget to @username the original person so your followers can easily find them.)

31 Days of Instagram Challenge

Updated 10/6/2015

This week, we invite all library Instagram accounts to participate in our October Challenge: 31 Days of Instagram!

I have a confession: I have a very sad library Instagram account. I know I should be posting daily (some stats say twice a day), but making the time to take photos, find relevant/popular hashtags, and posting them when teens get out of school -- it was overwhelming.

So, this challenge is for those who are in the same boat and those who want to learn how to use Instagram in the most painless way possible. I researched what worked for other libraries, shared additional programs that'll make your life easier, and provide popular hashtags that you can easily use over and over again.

Sound good? Join us on Oct. 1st and use the hashtag #5minlibchallenge so we can find each other. Feel free to complete these challenges in any order and skip what doesn't work for you. I hope you'll have fun and build up an audience along the way!

NOTE: Any hashtag in red needs to be specific. For example, a library in Boston, MA would change #citystate to #BostonMA.

1.    Library Photo #citystate #libraryname

First, find your city's/town's most popular hashtag. Go to Instagram search and try your #citystate, #city #state, and any other variations you can think of. Make note of your most popular hashtag to use on ALL YOUR photos (They'll tell you in parenthesis how often the hashtag is used). Instagram is all about the hashtags -- you really need to use them to be effective. (However, you can post most of these hashtags in a comment and they'll still be searchable, if you want the description area to be pretty sparse.) Then create a hashtag for your library to include on all your photos and encourage your patrons to also use it.

Now, take a photo of your library (any part of it or room, or the whole building) and post it.

Hashtags to use: #citystate #libraryname #librariesofinstagram #5minlibchallenge

2.  Staff #Shelfie

Sign-up for an Instagram scheduler and post a staff shelfie. The scheduler we use is Latergramme but there are others you can use. Unfortunately, Instagram's API does not allow outside programs to post for you so all these programs can do is hold your posts in draft mode and send you a reminder to post them on the days and times you set. Not ideal, but it means that you could draft the next 29 days at once and then all you have to do is hit post!

For your shelfie photo, introduce yourself (or another staff member) and include a picture of their favorite books on a display. Or you can just take a picture of all your favorite books. 

Hashtags to use: #bookish #bookstagram #booknerdigans #epicreads #igreads #bibliophile #reading #booktag #booklove #instagram #books #instareads #reading #booklover #book #becauseofreading #librarybooks #bookworm #citystate #libraryname #5minlibchallenge

3. #letmelibrarianthatforyou #repost @originaluser #iconosquare

Download a program for statistics and reposting (it is like sharing on Facebook and retweeting on Twitter) possibilities. We use Iconosquare for this. When you go through your Iconosquare feed, you can click the link on the bottom right to have them email you the repost image. Then you can upload the photo like you normally do. I *love* that Iconosquare includes the original poster's info on the image. Not all programs will do that, but I like it. Give credit where credit is due.

Search the hashtag #letmelibrarianthatforyou and find the right question that'll amuse your audience to repost.

Hashtags to use: #repost @originalposterhandle (so they'll be notified that you shared their image) #librarylife #publiclibraries #5minlibchallenge

4. #Bookface 

Bookfaces are so popular! It is very easy to snap a shot of a body completing a book cover image, but there are so many online, you can also use this hashtage to search for fun ones to repost. :)

Use hashtags #bookface #bookandface #citystate #libraryname #5minlibchallenge

5. #LibraryDisplay

What displays do you have around your library? Share one of them here. If you don't have one, pull five books on one topic and snap a picture of that.

Hashtags to use: #librarydisplays #bookshelfie #atthelibrary #genre #author #booktitles  #citystate #libraryname #5minlibchallenge

6. #Local #Patron

With permission, post a picture of a local patron utilizing the library. Make sure that you have something physical to hand to your patron afterwards which has your social media handle so they can easily find their photo and like it/follow you. My teens are excited to be photographed, but they never remember to follow up afterwards.

Hashtags to use: #librarylife #atthelibrary #publiclibraries #citystate #libraryname #5minlibchallenge

7. #QandAWednesday 

Pick a question you get all of the time and provide the answer, Canva is a great tool to make this image look cool on your page. We talk about this program a few times before...

Hashtags to use #QandAWednesday #publiclibraries #librarylove #happytohelp #citystate #libraryname #5minlibchallenge

8. #FollowUs #SocialMedia

Cross advertise all of your social media networks and email list. Email is the only network which you can guarantee that your audience will receive 100% of the time, so use all social networks to get email signups. Include in your image the words, "Sign-up now! Link in bio," and then change your link in the bio to direct audience to the online social media sign-up page. Two clicks and they're where you want them to be.

Hashtags to use: #FollowUs #SocialMedia #citystate #libraryname #5minlibchallenge

9. #Newbooks #NewBookSmell

Highlight a new book or many new books in a creative image. If you search any hashtag below, you'll come across many inspirations to keep this hashtag fresh.

Hashtags to use: #bookrecs #weekendplans #newbooks #books #reading #author #genre #bookhaul #bookmail #bookphotography #bookworm #booklover #booktube #bookstagram #bibliophile #instabook #bookhaul #behindthescenes #sneakpeek #bookstagram #newbooks #tbr #bookmail #newbooksmell #librarylove #librarylife #publiclibraries #librarybooks #citystate #libraryname #5minlibchallenge

10. #Local #Schools and #Businesses of Instagram

Visit your local schools’ and popular businesses’ webpages and like their Instagram accounts. (I tried hunting for them via Instagram search -- waste of time! Go to their websites instead.) Comment on their pictures. Let their followers see your name. Find an image to repost and link back to their account. Update: Ohhh, I found another trick! You can search by location. The easiest way to get there is to click on that link and then type in your library's location. Do it again with your library's name to find who posted a picture RIGHT AT YOUR LIBRARY. Too cool!

Hashtags to use: #repost @originalposterhandle (so they'll be notified that you shared their image) #citystate #5minlibchallenge

11. #Librarian

Highlight a staff member.

Hashtags to use: #librarian #PublicLibraries #LibraryLove #librarylife #BehindtheScenes #citystate #libraryname #5minlibchallenge

12. #MagMonday

Highlight a magazine.

Hashtags to use: #magazine #magmonday #atthelibrary #library #libraries #citystate #libraryname #5minlibchallenge

13. Advertise #Event

A fun event coming up? Advertise it here, uploading your flyer (make sure it fits and isn't blurry! Quality pictures are important on Instagram). In the description, tell people to get more details via link in bio. Then update your bio link to send them to the correct webpage.

Hashtags to use (depending on event): #familyfun #teenprograms #teenlibraryprograms #PublicLibraries #LibraryLove #citystate #libraryname #5minlibchallenge

14. #Morefollowers

Visit three local “competitors” (local book shops, schools, etc.) and check out their followers. Like on their photos and follow, if you want! See if they follow you back; unfollow in a month if they don't.

15.  #ThrowBackThursday

Go through old pictures and share something about your library or city! Download Gramblr so you can easily upload the picture from your computer.

Hashtags to use: #TBT #ThrowBackThursday #publiclibraries #librarylife #atthelibrary #citystate #libraryname #5minlibchallenge

16. #BookClub

Highlight your book group's read!

Hashtags to use: #BecauseofReading #ForTheLoveofReading #JustRead #FortheLoveofBooks #TotalBookNerd #CurrentlyReading #BookClub #atthelibrary #citystate #libraryname #5minlibchallenge

17. #IFTTT #LocalAlerts #Repost

Make an IFTTT account and get updates of when people post in your area. It'll be your ear to the ground, a chance to see what your residents are posting. Like appropriate posts, follow businesses and community members, maybe even follow residents (if you want to go there). We talked about IFTTT in another post, and the "recipe" we are referencing is #13 Neighborhood Watch.

Hashtags to use: #repost @originalposterhandle (so they'll be notified that you shared their image) #citystate

18. #Books for Every #Day

Be creative and pair books with the weekday hashtags! If you can't do any of the challenges on a different day, try using one of these instead.

Hashtags to use: #socksunday #tinytuesday #MusicMonday #MondayBlues #TravelTuesday #TuesdayTreat #TipTuesday #WellnessWednesday #WisdomWednesday #TBT or #ThrowbackThursday #Thursdayfunday #FollowFriday or #FF, #FridayFunday #FridayReads #Caturday, #SocialSaturday #SS or #SelfieSunday

19. #whereIread

Take a book and pose somewhere you like to read. Bonus points if it is a good library spot, but not necessary.

Hashtags to use: #WhereIRead #librarylove #librarybooks #citystate #libraryname #5minlibchallenge

20. #Awesome #Reposts #Lit

Today, search on Instagram for awesome book bloggers, book review websites, and even large library systems (like NYPL) who have people hired specifically for social media. They are a great source of what's hot and new and they have the time/resources to make super awesome photos. Save time and just share and credit them! For a list of 21 Instagram accounts we recommend, check out our October 9th's post!

Hashtags to use: #repost @originalposterhandle (so they'll be notified that you shared their image) #Bookstagram

21. #covercrush

Take a photo of a book with an awesome cover!

Hashtags to use: #CoverCrush #LibraryBooks #citystate #libraryname #5minlibchallenge

22. #DiverseBooks

We do need diverse books, and the more we buy and highlight to our patrons, the better. I can go on and on about this, but you can just visit http://weneeddiversebooks.org/ to learn why.

Hashtags to use: #weneeddiversebooks #diversebooks #readdiversebooks #inclusion #read #reader #weneeddiversebooks #library #readwidely #oneworld #love #bookrecommendation #mustread #citystate #libraryname #5minlibchallenge

23. #Bookstairs #BookRainbow #BookSpine Poetry #top5femalecharacters 

Highlight more books in your collection, in fun ways.

Hashtags to use: #Collection #Bookstairs #BookRainbow #bookaholic #librarybooks #LibrariesofInstagram #Bookstagram #Bookspines #SpinePoetry  #Top5FemaleCharacters #citystate #libraryname #5minlibchallenge

24. #Caturday #Books  

Share a picture of a cat with a book on a Saturday.

Hashtags to use: #caturday #meow #citystate #libraryname #5minlibchallenge

25. #TagUs

Remind followers they can “Keep sharing your photos with us by tagging us @xxx or use #xxx.” in a photo. Get your hashtag out there! Keep checking to see if anyone is posting about your library. If it is positive, repost and @tag them!

Hashtags to use: #repost @originalposterhandle (so they'll be notified that you shared their image)

26. #Emojis

Use Emojis at the end of one of your statuses. Use it when you comment. People can search via emojis, use this to your advantage!

27. #LibraryCrafts

Did your patrons make an awesome craft or perhaps you're going to have a craft program and you made a sample? Instagram is a perfect share here!

Hashtags to use #LibaryCrafts #LibraryLove #LibraryLife #atthelibrary #citystate #libraryname #5minlibchallenge

28. Search #CityState, #Repost

Search with your city's hashtag and like posts that are appropriate for a library to like. Repost anything that is connected to your library or community.

Hashtags to use: #repost @originalposterhandle (so they'll be notified that you shared their image) #citystate #Bookstagram #5minlibchallenge

29. #Shoutout #Please

Nothing gets followers than when your followers give a shout-out. Ask your patrons to get the word out! If you want, you can use the private message feature and ask local organizations and fellow patrons to do this. It doesn't hurt to ask. You could also post an image asking people to get the word out. You'll be surprise how a call to action makes a big difference.

30. #Stats for #More Reach

Now that you have a month of posts, check out Iconosquare's statistics. When are your best days and times for responses? What types of posts resonated well with your audience? Modify for next month and start all over again!

Hashtags to use: #LibraryLife #publiclibraries #citystate #libraryname #5minlibchallenge

31. #Halloween #HappyEverything

Take a picture of a book/display that is connected to a holiday or something in the news.

Hashtags to use: #Halloween #HappyEverything #Holiday #Trending #News #atthelibrary #citystate #libraryname #5minlibchallenge

Note: We don't have an Instagram Account for 5minlib. I will participate, but it'll be via my library's teen Instagram account...

Bonus: If you're looking for another Instagram challenge, Carmel Clay Public Library is currently running an awesome photo challenge for all libraries! We did borrow a few ideas from them, with permission. Thanks, CCPL!

Top 15 IFTTT Recipes to Save You Time

I recently took a webinar about Evernote and the presenter asked the audience how many people use IFTTT. I use it all the time, but I was surprised to see that most of my fellow audience members hadn't even heard about it.

Folks, if you don't know about IFTTT (https://ifttt.com), take a seat. You're going to love this!

IFTTT originally stood for IF This Then That. (They've since shortened it to just IFTTT.) It allows you to connect two applications (or an application and a product) together so they'll run seamlessly, with no additional work on your part. So, if Thing One happens, then Thing Two automatically happens.

You can use it to connect your social media accounts, to automatically alert you when snow is predicated, to send you a text when a certain person emails, etc.... The possibilities are endless!

In fact, there are so many possibilities (there are 220 apps and products that you can connect), one might find it a bit overwhelming to use at first. Never fear -- we picked the top 15 recipes that would be useful to any librarian ("Recipes" is what you make when you connect two apps/products together):

PERSONAL ASSISTANT

Keep track of receipts, invoices, and orders with these two options!




Who is going to come to your program if snow is on its way?


Order something important for your program? Get shipping updates on your phone.


Keeping track of Reference Interviews, interlibrary loans, people using computers? Here's a fun one.

STREAMLINING SOCIAL MEDIA

You can connect most of your social media networks together, but be careful. You wouldn't use Twitter hashtags on Facebook and you wouldn't post as often on Facebook as you would Twitter. So, pay attention to the best uses of each social network and connect appropriately.


Plan out your tweets on a shared Google Calendar!


I wouldn't send all your Instagram photos to Facebook, but the ones you want, just include a special hashtag on Instagram and it'll immediately appear on Facebook!


Make your library's blog posts go social on all accounts (make a recipe for each of your social networks) as soon as you hit send!


Upload photos only once and it'll appear on all social networks!


One profile picture for all, uploaded just once...

FINDING NEW PEOPLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Easily people who are tweeting with local hashtags (like your city) with this recipe -- it puts all users onto a list (which can be public or private) and you can easily reply, like or retweet local patrons WITHOUT following them.


What are your patrons posting on Instagram? Find out with this useful daily digest!

FUN ONES

You can make a recipe for Android or IOS!


Does your SO never know when you're heading home because you leave at different times? This recipe is for you:


So, we hope you'll find some of these recipes useful and will become comfortable with using this program to make some of your own recipes. If you use any others, please share the URL in the comments so other readers may also benefit from your great find!

Copyright in Social Media: Guidelines for a Messy Virtual World

The rise of social media has created an entirely new way for librarians to reach out to patrons and ingrain themselves into the online community as a resource and a place where people can congregate. Now, more than ever, we’re present in patrons’ lives. We can share great quotes, funny cartoons, and beautiful images that will move our patrons to love libraries and reading more.

That is fabulous, but the problem is that some of these fun shares often lead to a breach of copyright, whether intentional or not. So, let’s discuss what copyright is, what fair use is, and how to stay relevant in social media without infringing on the rights of others.

What is Copyright?

So: What is copyright and why do we care?

Simply put, copyright is the legal ownership of a product - art, music, writing, film, etc. - usually by the person who created it. We care because using someone's legal property without permission is illegal (not to mention, not very nice).

What is Fair Use?

"Fair Use" is the term used for the exceptions to the copyright laws. The law states that use "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright." This takes into account (among other things) the purpose of the use (is it for profit? Is it a parody?), the amount used (was it a 5-second clip from a movie, or the entire movie?) and if there is any effect of the potential market for the original work.

The problem with this is that the Internet has changed many, many things, and the law hasn't completely caught up yet in spelling out all the details.

Copyright and Social Media

The main issue is that social media is informal by its very nature, and when people see that something has been posted online, they automatically assume that the creator is okay with its use. This is incorrect reasoning, but the arguments I've seen include:

• But the artist gets free exposure!
• But I've already seen it online from someone else, so it's totally fine!
• But everybody does it!
• But it doesn't hurt anybody!
• But it's fair use! (See above.)
• Everything I post is properly cited! (A good first step - but you still need permission)
• What's the difference between clipping it from the newspaper to hang on my wall, and sharing it on social media?

Actually, there's a big difference. This year, Instagram reported 300 million active users. Twitter reported 316 million active users. Facebook leaves them all in the dust with an astonishing 1.490 billion active users! That's a lot more than the people who walk by your cubicle every day, no matter how busy your office is. Now, granted, you might not have that many people visiting your Facebook page, but all it takes is one share for the image to go viral.

If you look at the terms of service for these websites, there is a statement about how the user is solely responsible for their own content; that is, if you break copyright when using their service, it's your legal problem, and not that of the platform on which you shared it. Facebook's terms of use states that: "We respect other people's rights, and expect you to do the same ... You will not post content or take any action on Facebook that infringes or violates someone else's rights or otherwise violates the law."

So, the easiest way to avoid breaking copyright is to just ask nicely if you can use an image before you go and post it.

Getting Permission

I emailed Dave Coverly, creator of "Speed Bump," a comic that appears in over 400 print and online newspapers and websites. He was nice enough to write me back with his opinions on the subject.

Coverly's website clearly states that: "Unauthorized duplication is strictly prohibited.  Authorized duplication is strongly encouraged." What does this mean? It means that if you get permission, many artists and authors will happily give the okay for you to use their images, as long as they are properly attributed. So, how do you get permission? "The best way to get permission to use my work on a social media account is simply to email me and ask!" Coverly said. "If nothing else, that allows me to decide what sort of use is being requested, and if I feel like it's not being used to generate income directly, I generally am happy to say yes. The library example is a good one, because I'm a big fan of libraries and tend to err on the side of freebies for them."

I was also lucky enough to email with Gene Ambaum, one of the creators of the "Unshelved" comic strip, which takes place in the library world. Unshelved tried to make things easy by posting their reuse policy online here. "We love folks sharing our comics online," Ambaum said. "All they need to do is ask for other uses (like you did).  We’re pretty easy."

Zach Weinersmith from Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal also emailed me back. His attitude is much more laid-back about the use of his work.  He says, "If it's not for a profit, feel free to post any of my content as long as you provide credit to the source. Thanks!"

All of these artists responded within 24 hours, so not only is it easy to ask for permission, but you’ll most likely get it really quickly, too.

So, Why The Fuss?

Some may wonder, if an artist is going to give permission anyway, why ask? For one thing, it's common courtesy to let someone know you like their work and would like to share it.  For another, you don't know whether they are going to agree, and since it is their creation, they should have that control on where it is shared. Says Ambaum, "I think we want content to go viral, but in a way that we have some control. This is the reason we started adding our URL to the comics, so that folks who see them out of context can come to the site if they want more. What we want are regular readers who subscribe to our emails or visit our site — that lets us make enough to continue doing the comics.  The danger I see is that when folks just post images / comics / what have you to sites like Youtube and Reddit and elsewhere without the creators’ permission." So, when you do get permission, please make sure to credit the source.

Coverly added that, because there is such a huge variety of opinions about sharing content in social media, there really isn't any one answer. "Personally, I feel like the barn door was left open long ago concerning images on the internet, and on social media in particular. I would love it if I received some sort of royalty every time my cartoons were "shared" or "reposted," but that's not going to happen. My concern is that they're not "used." In other words, enjoying a cartoon and showing it to friends who also might enjoy it is one thing; putting it on a website - or even a Facebook page - to promote a business or generate income is another."

Social media is already changing the arena in which artists work, and "going viral" is one way for them to keep relevant and active with their fans, but, as Coverly said, "all of this goes out the window if the cartoons are not attributed. I feel pretty safe in saying that it's the number one pet peeve of cartoonists, because then it's completely unlikely the work will send anyone looking for more...not to mention the fact that it's just rude. I know the internet isn't some bastion of manners, but still..."

But I Made it Myself!

Many places that let you create your own content, like SomeECards, have restrictions for their use, too. Their terms of use states that:

All of our Content is protected under copyright and trademark laws. Any use other than personal use requires written permission. This applies to both cards created by the Someecards staff and User Created cards. You CANNOT use the Services to create advertising, promote a product, brand, Web site, social media program, community page, or Facebook fan page without written permission. If you are interested in a paid advertising or social media marketing program, please email advertising@someecards.com. We do not have a self service, free, or trade program for marketing. You CANNOT use User Created cards for marketing or audience building. If you run a community page, blog or news outlet and would like to ask for permission to use our Content, please email permission@someecards.com.

So people who want to run an entire marketing campaign using these witty postcard-like images: you need to get permission first. This doesn't mean that you can't use the images; it just means that you need to ask. After all, you may have put them together, but the images and formatting belong to someone else.

Overall

A couple tips:

• Ask permission.
• Find the original source.
• If you're going to share from another Facebook page or social media account, make sure that what you're sharing from is either the original source or has been in contact with them for permission.
• Use your common sense.

Special thanks to Dave Coverly, creator of "Speed Bump;" Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes, creators of "Unshelved"; and Zack Weinersmith, creator of "Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal."