Rudaí 23 #thing23: Social media streamlining

For this task I set up a Hootsuite account and added my Twitter account to my new dashboard. I liked that I was able to set up the home page of my Twitter account next to tweets by me that have been retweeted by others, mentions I have received and tweets I have favourited. I think that the ability to track other Twitter accounts, hashtags and keywords could be useful too. I don't engage regularly enough with my other personal social media accounts to warrant adding those to Hootsuite, or perhaps that's missing the whole point? If they were all available in one place using the Hootsuite social media management tool maybe I would be using my other accounts to greater effect. 


The academic library I work in has a Hootsuite account and both the library's Twitter and Facebook accounts have been added to it. The library regularly uses its Twitter and Facebooks accounts to communicate with students about the library's services and events and to promote classes taking place in the library. Hootsuite itself could be used more regularly to post to both accounts at once, to cross post from one account to the other and to generally save time when managing the accounts. I would like to develop the library's Flickr account further and it would be possible to run these three social media accounts from Hootsuite using the free version of the tool. The library also has YouTube and Blogger accounts which possibly aren't being used to their full potential. If they were to be integrated into Hootsuite, their increased usage and promotion of the library would justify the library's purchase of a paid account. Initially it doesn't look like Flickr, YouTube or Blogger are available as social media accounts that you can add to Hootsuite, but they are available under the 'Add Stream' tab. There are versions of Flickr, YouTube and Blogger that you have to set up monthly paid subscriptions for, but then there are also free versions of these apps available to download. It would definitely be worth investigating this to see if you gain much more functionality from the paid apps, or if the free versions would cover the library's needs. If my enthusiasm from the Rudaí 23 podcasting module holds and I set up a regular library podcast then a Soundcloud account could also be integrated into Hootsuite. 


Hootsuite appeals to me more than Flipboard does because it enables you to create as well as read and share content. I also like the fact that the dashboard can only be viewed by the account holder. I have used the scheduling option previously to schedule a tweet for the library's Twitter account but was disappointed in the way the tweet appeared on the library feed. I had attached an image to the tweet which didn't appear underneath the main text of the tweet as I would have expected it to. Instead, the image appeared as an ow.ly link in the text which the user had to click on to view, leading them back to the Hootsuite website. A nice promotion for Hootsuite, but not so visually arresting for the library's Twitter followers. As part of this task, I investigated this further and figured out that I needed to change Twitter's image upload settings on Hootsuite from ow.ly to pic.twitter.com. I've updated the settings so hopefully this will solve the problem - it's common knowledge that tweets containing images are more likely to be read and retweeted by followers so that's an important tip to note. 

Clearly, I need to investigate the functionality of Hootsuite further if I'm to use it to raise the profile of the library I work in and to increase the number of followers of the library's social media accounts. It would be of huge benefit to the library to boost the visibility of the library's Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as its underutilised Flickr, YouTube and Blogger accounts. Personally, I find that I use my Twitter and LinkedIn accounts regularly, but these were accounts that I used before beginning the Rudaí 23 course. Now that I've signed up to Flickr, Pinterest, Instagram, Soundcloud and YouTube I'll have to make a supreme effort to use them regularly or I'm liable to neglect them. Hootsuite would be a straightforward way to do this - once I've investigated the tool properly we'll see if I'm inspired enough to sign up for a paid account to manage them all at once!

Rudaí 23 #thing22: Technology on the go

Mobile phone technology has advanced quickly over the past twenty years and I am constantly amazed by everything I can do with my smartphone. The apps on my phone inform me about weather forecasts, track the arrival time of my buses, soundtrack and map out my journeys and connect me to local and world events. As part of the Rudaí 23 course I have also downloaded the Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instragram, Flickr and Google apps so I have no excuse to be idle or bored ever again!

A mobile app I use regularly is the Fingal Library app, which was launched this year for Fingal County Council public library users. It's one of the few services available in desktop and mobile device versions that I actually prefer to access on my phone because the mobile version is so well designed. It's great to be able to access Fingal's library service at the touch of a button - unlike the desktop version I don't have to enter in my library card and pin number every time I log in. Through the app you can check and renew your current loans, reserve books, find your local library and discover upcoming library events. Fingal libraries have incredible eResources and you can access eBooks, eMagazines, audiobooks and online databases through the app. You can also view the Fingal Libraries Facebook and Twitter pages, or read the Fingal Libraries blog. The best function available through the app is the barcode scan. This allows you to scan the barcode of a book and then shows you if the book is available to borrow in any of the Fingal libraries. So, if you spot a new title in a bookshop you'd like to read, you can check its availability in the Fingal library catalogue, reserve it if it is available and save yourself the cost of buying the book! How clever is that?

I don't use this app for work, but I can see how the development of a library app would be beneficial for the academic library I work in. Students could easily update their loans, reserve books and access the library's online resources with a specially designed Cregan library app. It would be an effective way to promote library events, to highlight the library's social media accounts and to make reviews of new books or library services available.

I mainly use my mobile phone for work purposes when tweeting from library conferences and seminars. I find Twitter an excellent way to connect with other attendees and to follow their opinions and comments throughout each session. If I am tweeting about a presentation from my phone, I find that I listen more carefully and engage more deeply with the content than I otherwise would. Twitter enables me to promote the event and the tweets act as a record of the day's events which can be read over afterwards. A member of the library team used her phone to tweet out photographs of the library's Culture Night events in September. This worked really well to promote the event and connect with visitors on the night and I would be happy to use Twitter on my phone in a similar way at future library events. Other than using Twitter on my phone for work purposes, I have been known to check my work emails using mobile apps on days that I'm not working. I feel that this is a dangerous habit to develop however, as work/life balance is important and I strongly feel that your professional and leisure time shouldn't mix. I didn't buy my first mobile phone until I was in college and I'm often torn between awe at everything my mobile phone connects me to and a resentment at the intrusive elements and disconnectedness that mobile technology has introduced into my life and into modern life in general.

We don't use beacons in either of the library settings I work in. My immediate concern when reading about the use of beacons in libraries is that users would be bombarded with unwelcome messages or that their personal user information would be shared without their consent. A scene from the dystopian science fiction film 'Minority Report' immediately came to mind in which shoppers are addressed by name as they pass advertisements which have access to their personal data!

However, as I read the library journal article about the use of beacons in libraries it was reassuring to learn that library users would not automatically receive messages through the service as soon as they stepped into a library. Personally I'm not sure about how I would feel about receiving personalised messages in the library - part of the enjoyment I get out of visiting a library is the feeling I get of escaping from the world outside. Libraries have also recently offered users more privacy in their borrowing choices in the shape of self-service machines so these personalised messages will seem like a step backwards to some patrons. Saying that, the article clarifies that patrons must actively choose to receive messages from the two Beacon services examined. They have to download an app to receive messages through BluuBeam and with Capira Mobile they are prompted to opt in or out of the beacon service. It would be a powerful way to highlight library events and services to users who have signed up and would enable libraries to track user behaviour to better inform library layouts and functions. As the use of smartphones by users becomes every more ubiquitous, it would be a more effective way of communicating with users rather than through library emails, newsletters or posters. It is vital that the user's private information be protected and therefore essential that libraries adopting the technology would have a clear privacy policy that breaks down how patron information is being collected, retained and used.

I looked at the 23 Mobile Things course and found that many of the modules have either already been covered in this course, or that I am already familiar with the module content. The module covering digital storytelling could be interesting however and relevant to educational initiatives in Fingal's public libraries, so once I've finally completed the Rudaí 23 course (and recovered sufficiently!) I will look more closely at that specific module.

Rudaí 23 #thing21: Communication using Infographics

I've been looking forward to this task for a while as I have seen infographs used to great effect by information professionals at library events to discuss their career development and by libraries to promote the great work they're doing. The best infographs appear deceptively simple however, so having the building blocks to create visually arresting infographs which communicate library-related information clearly will be hugely beneficial to me and to the libraries I work in. Laura Connaughton, Assistant Librarian in the John Paul II library in Maynooth was winner of best poster at the A&SL annual conference 2015 for her striking infographic poster Continuing professional development in Librarianship. I saw her using this poster to enhance her presentation about her application for an LAI Associateship at the Developing as a Professional: Attaining a Library Association of Ireland Award seminar in November 2014. It's also worth looking at her Poster presentations that get noticed slides on slideshare, which give great tips on how to create effective posters, including the use of infographics.

As part of Rudaí 23 I also discovered Public Libraries 2020 and their advocacy campaign to raise awareness about the stellar work being done by the 65,000 public libraries throughout Europe to empower individuals, build stronger communities and change lives. This effective infographic on their website gives a striking snapshot of the issues affecting European citizens today and demonstrates how public libraries are addressing these issues and improving the lives of their users.

Public Libraries 2020 infographs

NLI infographic

I think that infographics are a visually striking way to communicate a message or educate audiences about a complicated topic in an engaging and easily digestible way. Infographs can be used in conjunction with Powerpoint and Excel too, so they have the potential to add a new dynamic element to library presentations if added to slides. They also have the potential to be more effective than Powerpoint or Excel for designing posters because they're more visually focused and the templates have already been designed for you, you just need to add your own information to them. As pointed out in the Do-it-yourself guide to infographics, a well designed infograph is more engaging than written media and is highly shareable if it grabs the attention of users. Creating eye-catching infographics which promote your library or educate your users could work really well on Twitter - catch the imagination of your followers and their retweets of your infograph could attract more followers to your library's Twitter account and promote your services. This infograph by the National Library of Ireland was based on findings from their 2013 Annual Review. It was a clever way to promote their visitor numbers, exhibitions, social media accounts and acquisitions and demonstrated their value effectively.

I enjoyed experimenting with the creation of an infograph using Easel.ly. I used the statistics gathered last year for the distance service the library provides to part-time, online and in-service students to populate it. Though straightforward enough to create, there were some aspects of its design that required a bit of figuring out and even this basic design took me two hours to complete. I concentrated on keeping the infograph simple while at the same time clearly communicating the types of assistance available through the service and the number of students supported by the service in the previous academic year. The infograph could be used during a presentation to incoming distance students next year, or could be tweeted out through the library's Twitter account to communicate the value of the service to followers. It will take practise to get the image, text and design balance right in future infographs as well as ensuring that the content is relevant to the audience and gets the intended message across clearly and simply. It's a skill that I'll enjoy developing for use in presentations, posters and in the library's social media accounts to educate readers on educational topics and to promote the value of the library.

Rudaí 23 #thing20: Presentable Presentations

Designing and delivering presentations to student groups has been a central part of my role over the last few months. I started working in the information and research team in an academic library in May and from July on the focus of the team was planning the library inductions which were taking place in September. While some of the groups we were inducting were large groups of 200+ students, there were also smaller group inductions to be given to student groups studying specific courses. I run the distance service in the library, which supports students taking part-time, online or in-service courses. The course coordinator asked me to introduce myself to a group of 30 distance students as their point of contact in the library, followed by a presentation with an emphasis on library resources relevant to their needs. She also requested a copy of the Powerpoint slides I used during the presentation so that she could email them on to the students afterwards. I'll focus on my planning and delivery of this presentation for this task today.

Distance students are primarily based off-campus so the presentation needed to focus on accessing the library's e-resources and online services, requesting print books and articles from home and needed to teach the students how to manage their library accounts. We had developed a master template and presentation script for our September 2015 student inductions which covered everything students needed to know about the library in 25 minutes, so I used this as the basis for the distance service presentation. I had to think carefully about what was relevant to this group and edit down the slides explaining how to find books on the shelf, for example - it would be the virtual rather than the physical library that the distance students would be primarily using.

When creating new slides for this student group, I worked with the format already laid out in the master slides so they would look uniform. I added more slides concentrating on the online services available on the library's website - the online tutorials and guides and the subject resources pages. With the larger groups we had only 25 minutes for the presentation followed by a treasure hunt aimed at familiarising students with the library. With this smaller group, I would have 40 minutes to introduce the students to ebooks, ejournals and online databases and would have time to demonstrate how to access these resources on the website, rather than just showing them slides and directing them towards the online guides. We would have more time for any questions that might arise during the presentation too, so I was careful to build the time needed for demonstrations and questions into the presentations. Generally, when giving demonstrations of the library website to students I minimize the amount of text on the slides and concentrate on showing students how to access e-resources step-by-step. In this case I was conscious that the slides would be shared with the students after the presentation so I made sure there was sufficient text in the slides to jog their memories later on. I added two further slides to the original master templates which focused solely on the distance service.

Finally, I delivered the presentation to the group of thirty distance students in a large lecture hall situated on the ground floor of the library. I had given multiple library inductions at this stage but these had all been done with larger groups and two members of the team had given the presentations, taking half of the content each. I would be giving this presentation myself, so I practised it carefully beforehand to make sure that I could answer any questions that students might ask and timed the presentation to make sure that I covered all the content within the allotted time. Importantly, I set up the presentation half an hour before it was due to begin to make sure I was able to access the slides in Google Drive, that the projector, microphone and room lights were working and that wi-fi was set up in the room. I felt that the demonstrations of the library website and of how to access e-resources worked very well. This was the content that would be most relevant to the distance students and it's always heartening to see students taking notes! I felt that a smaller room might have worked better than the large lecture theatre for this smaller group, however. Though the students sat up towards the front of the lecture hall, I feel that perhaps a smaller room would have been a better choice to put the students at their ease quicker. They were happy to ask questions and I was glad I had investigated any issues I was unsure of myself beforehand so that there were no questions that took me by surprise.

I felt that the presentation went well because of the amount of planning that had gone into it beforehand. It was crucial that I had adapted the content to the distance service students, making the material relevant to them. Practicing the presentation beforehand was key too, as switching from slides to demonstrations of the website has to be done smoothly or there's a chance you will get flustered and your concentration will falter. Being familiar with the distance service information was also important - there had been some changes to the distance service loan rules for example and it was important to be able to explain these to students. If I could change anything about the presentation it would be to book a room more suited to a smaller group, rather than the large lecture theatre I chose. Finally, just being confident about the content of the presentation came across in its delivery. The less reading from slides and more eye contact with students you manage the better and I felt that that helped to build rapport with the students in a short amount of time.

Here is the link to the presentation - because I have a hotmail account I was able to use 'Onedrive' to upload the presentation, make it public and generate a link to it that others could access. It took a little time to work out how to do that so others might appreciate this how-to link.

Rudaí 23 #thing19: Intellectual Property and Copyright Laws

Flickr CC Photo by Mike Seyfang

I've come across issues surrounding intellectual property and copyright laws at various times during the course of my library experience. The first time I became fully aware of copyright legislation and its complexity was during the MLIS in UCD. An assignment involving the investigation of copyright restrictions in Ireland caused heated debates in the class and resulted in widely differing answers, depending on how the legislation had been interpreted by each of us. My next experience of copyright laws occurred when I was writing blogs for the IFI. I conferred carefully with the head of the Irish Film Archive to make sure that any film stills I used in the blogs were covered by fair dealing provisions. All images had to be accompanied by an acknowledgement identifying the author and title of the work, as well as the date the material had been copyrighted. To be honest, it seemed the more I learned about copyright laws the less I understood so I looked forward to learning more about it for this task. 

When writing the Rudaí 23 blogs, I have used images from Flickr, basing the attribution I gave the images on best practice when blogging as outlined in The Daring Librarian post highlighted in thing 6. I have given attribution to the creator of the image by adding text or a caption to the picture itself but I understand now that this isn't going far enough, as outlined in the Creative Commons attribution guidelines. I also need to link back to the creator's website where possible, include the original title of the image and the type of creative commons license involved. Realistically then I need to add a credits and references list at the end of each blog post which gives this information to readers. I checked back on my blog posts and discovered that I had modified an image I had used without identifying my changes, so I will need to edit that attribution. It was valuable to have Public Domain material defined clearly as well as the various Creative Commons licences. When using Flickr to source images from now on I will filter the images by licence type, depending on whether I want to modify the image or not, or in what context I'll be using it. I used Pixabay for the first time for this task to source the Public Domain picture below. Though it clearly states on Pixabay that under the CC0 Public Domain license no attribution is necessary for this image I've added the attribution information anyway for the purpose of this task. It'll be great to have a resource other than Flickr to draw from when I am sourcing pictures in the future.

Pixabay Public Domain photo by geralt

Another issue that this task has raised for me is that of making sure that I am complying with the social media policies of the various organisations I work and volunteer for. In my Blogger, LinkedIn and about.me accounts I identify myself as working for St. Patrick's College and Fingal County Council and as volunteering for the Irish Film Institute. The social media policies of the various organisations state that a disclaimer should be added to any personal social media accounts in which you identify yourself as an employee of the organisation. This makes it clear that any views expressed by you are personal views and do not reflect those of the organisation. I have added this disclaimer to my Blogger profile and will do the same with any of my remaining social media accounts in which I identify my employer.

Credits and References

"Copyright Symbols" by Mike Seyfang is licensed under CC BY 2.0 

"Share it don't be a Scrooge" by geralt is licensed under CC0 1.0 

Rudaí 23 #thing18: Visual Marketing with Photos

I was pointed towards the amazing photographic resource that is Flickr by the Daring Librarian  and since then I've discovered how invaluable it is for finding the perfect creative commons photos for use in tweets and presentations. I hadn't actually opened a personal account myself so this week I pushed myself beyond my reluctance to open yet another email account (six and counting) and signed up to Yahoo. I can't argue with the fact that over 10 billion images have been shared on Flickr and I know it's an account I will actually use.

Flickr CC image from The British Library Sing-Song: A Nursery Rhyme Book by Christina Rossetti

I signed up for a Flickr account but had to do so through the app on my phone as I kept on getting a Yahoo error message when I tried to sign up using my laptop. I explored the collections of the British Library and finally chose this frankly terrifying image from their Children's Book Illustrations album (which could just as easily have been filed in their Halloween-themed Ghosts & Ghoulish scenes album if you ask me).

I then opened an Instagram account which thankfully I could do with one of my existing Gmail accounts. I explored a few different accounts and finally settled on two pictures to comment on, one from New York Public Library and the second from the National Library of Ireland. NYPL seems to have mastered the art of using social media to market its collections and events though it's interesting to note that their Flickr account has 8.5k followers while their Instagram account has over 92k followers. The National Library of Ireland uses hashtags well to curate their posts though personally I'd prefer to see more pictures from their collections up rather than pictures of the building itself. (Though admittedly the building is stunning). I commented using the Instagram app and then from my PC and both methods were straightforward. I was surprised that there was no vetting process in place in the way that, for example, comments on the Blogger posts have to be approved before they're published. I investigated a little and comments can be deleted by the account holder after they're posted and there is a 'report abuse' option for the photos too that alerts the account holder to inappropriate user comments.

Images from the British Library and National Library of Ireland Instagram accounts

Thinking about how Flickr and Instagram could be used in the libraries I work in, I looked first of all at one of the albums in the Dublin City Libraries Flickr albums, which focuses on the North Strand bombings in Dublin in 1941. With over 9,000 views for an album of 56 photographs I thought about how much interest could be generated around the special collections in St. Patrick's College, particularly in the build up to the centenaries of the 1916 Rising, the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. Letters written by Patrick Pearse, accounts of Dan Breen's escape from British forces through the grounds of St. Patrick's College and the works of writer and activist Agnes O'Farrelly could all be promoted through the library's Flickr account. Flickr would be a great way to highlight the events in the library too, the library recently hosted Culture night and posting pictures up from the night and getting visitors to post theirs would be a great way to promote the event and engage with users. I really liked the idea that copyright-free images could be put up on Flickr for use in lesson plans - it would be great to be able to promote Flickr as a resource to students during library inductions and consultations.

Unknown actor (right) in Three Kisses copyright Paramount Studios 1956.

I currently volunteer in the Tiernan McBride library in the IFI Irish Film Archive where I have come across stills from films where an actor is unidentified in the picture. Asking users to help in tracking down the identity of the actor through user comments and user tagging would be a great way to engage with users and promote the other images in the collection. Some early films in the collection are now emerging from copyright restrictions so contributing in 'The Commons' project would be a great way for the Irish Film Archive to showcase the thousands of stills in their collection and to further engage with their users.

Instagram could be another platform on which St. Patrick's College could promote their special collections. I like the idea of posting images from the special collections up on Instagram once a month using a hashtag to link them together. A page from the 1685 Bedell Bible for instance, or the Jack B. Yeats illustrated Irish language edition of 'The Turf-Cutter's Donkey' by Patricia Lynch could generate a lot of interest, especially if promoted through the library's other social media accounts simultaneously. New books could be promoted too - the library's recent acquisition of the Booker Prize shortlist and winner, for example. We promoted those on the library's twitter account, but why not on the library's Flickr, Instagram and Pinterest accounts too?

In terms of using either account to promote and curate the collections of the libraries I work in, I personally prefer Flickr. I like that it gives you the ability to collect images into themes and topics using albums. I think this would make most sense in terms of promoting specific collections and events and putting together pictures of albums for use in lesson plans. Instagram images can be linked using hashtags but not all of the organisations I explored used these consistently. If more than one person was running an Instagram account there would need to be clear communication about the use of particular hashtags as well as which keywords to use when tagging the pictures - this goes for Flickr too.