Established in 1895 through the philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is still going strong today but is finding itself ever more reliant upon the philanthropy of its community. Today, it has 19 branches located around the greater Pittsburgh area. The library system prides itself on being a leader in the field as well as a prized resource to the city and its residents. One of the library’s many claims to fame is their children’s department as it is widely recognized as the first legitimately established department of its kind in the United States, founded in 1899. In 1979, the system’s Main branch was recognized as a landmark by the National Register of Historic Places. However, the library cannot depend on these distinctions alone to validate its relevance and worth.
The library has quite a visible online presence and appears to be making great strides in terms of reaching out to its user constituents. From the library’s homepage, users can talk to a librarian via text, e-mail, or chat. Those looking for services and resources specifically for children and teens can opt to visit the sites within the overarching site custom-made for these audiences. Additionally, users can follow the library through Facebook and Twitter. However, some of the more remarkable facets of the library’s online self are the wide array of options in terms of blogs and RSS feeds.
There are three blogs offered by the library: Eleventh Stack, the general blog for all audiences, CLP Teensburgh, the blog for young adults, and, last but not least, Story Pockets, the blog tailored especially for children and their parents. In all of these blogs users can find the latest acquisitions, events, and resources, readers’ advisories, and recipes among other topics. Although the breadth of these blogs are indeed impressive the scope of the RSS feeds is much more so. Users can not only subscribe to the above blogs they can also subscribe to library events by location (branch), by region, by event type, and by audience.
The library’s Facebook page boasts 2,500 “likes” and includes posts by library personnel and patrons alike. One of the more recent posts is from a patron asking about HarperCollins’ new ebook license policy; the patron mentions that she has already written a letter voicing her objection and asks what else she can do. Patrons also make purchase suggestions as well as ask questions regarding the how-to’s of library resources. There is also an offshoot of the general library page specifically for teens.
The library’s Twitter account appears to be less active though not stagnant by any means. However, the library follows more than it is followed. Recently, the library created a Twitter account aimed at teens. With only 18 followers since its first tweet on March 4, it was announced that any followers that get at least three friends to follow the account will be rewarded with a giftcard to Target, Barnes & Noble, or local restaurant chain Eat’n Park.
Along with its social networking accounts, blogs, and RSS feeds, the library also utilizes media technologies such as video and audio podcasting. Here, users can listen to the library’s radio spots and watch short videos of teens talking about their relationships with the library as part of Teen Advocacy Day, hosted by the Teen Advocacy Group. It is quite evident that the library is valued by its user constituents and it is equally evident that the library does not take this esteem lightly.
The library’s efforts at marketing testify to the strong relationship it has with its users. In 2010, the library held three sets of community workshops called “Community Conversation”. According to the library’s website more than 1,400 community members participated in these workshops, both in-person and online. Community members were treated as equal stakeholders with as much say in the operations of the library as those with a more official status. In the “Summary of Feedback Received”, it is noted that participants adamantly suggested that similar workshops and forums be held each year.
In the Strategic Plan for the years 2007-2011 it is maintained under the “Partnerships/Collaborations” section that the library will proactively pursue partnerships with other organizations as such partnerships are crucial to building a referral network to help meet customer needs and requests that cannot be fulfilled by the library itself. This plan of action is commendable in that the library admits its shortcomings at the same time as it strengthens its relationship with other stakeholders in the community. As the library refers patrons to other organizations for certain services it can be expected that such referrals will be paid back in kind.
Although the library’s marketing efforts for the most part are well thought out and implemented there are a few glitches. Specifically, the links between the various social networks are inconsistent and largely unnoticeable. While the general library Facebook account provides links to both the library homepage and the Twitter account in the information section there does not appear to be any link to the Facebook account from the library’s Twitter account. However, there is a link directing followers to the library homepage. The same goes for the library’s teen Twitter account as it only links back to the teen site within the overarching library site. While the teen Facebook account provides a link for the teen blog, there is no such link for the Twitter account. When visiting the teen blog teens will likely overlook the library’s attempt at drawing attention to the teen Facebook account as it is very indistinct and makes no mention of “Facebook.” Rather, it is a link in the right-hand sidebar titled, “Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh-Teen Services.” Only upon selecting the link will any user realize that he or she is being directed to the Facebook profile. The library would likely make more of an impact in these social networks if they provided consistent and discernible links between its various accounts.
The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh understands that its community holds the sway in the library-user reciprocal relationship. The library system has gone to great lengths to draw and retain users to both the physical and virtual libraries. At the same time, the library does not seem satisfied with the status quo and, rather, is constantly implementing new ways to market the library’s worth as well as the worth of its users.
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