Getting Proactive:“Slam the Boards and Beyond”

Bill PardueArlington Heights Memorial Library

bpardue@ahml.info / @billahml

What’s the point?Users have more places than ever to ask their

questionsYahoo AnswersCha ChaFacebook QuestionsLinkedIn Q&ATwitterWikiAnswersEtc., etc., etc….

Reference is declining…

http://ahml.info/renovation

How do we respond?Hope it goes away?Argue that we’re better (we clearly are…

aren’t we)?With whom do we argue?

Presume that we’re just not part of it?Actively engage?

Guess which one I’ll advocate!

What’s “Slam the Boards?”Genesis in Denver, Sept. 2007Now monthlyFind questions, answer them, ID yourself as a

librarian.Promote our skills, don’t diss the boards.

The Wiki & The Group & The Tweethttp://answerboards.wetpaint.com

Add your name to the listLink to your Q&A profilesHave discussions

Facebook: Answer Board LibrariansGroup may be archived soon…jump in!

Twitter: #slamtheboards hashtag

DisclaimersWe’re all busy! (Can you do a few per

month?)They’re not our patrons! (It’s for the good of

the whole)Relatively few people see our answers (Every

patron is part of the “long tail.”)

Make “Slamming” localLook for a hyperlocal site—seed w/Q&As?

Is there a local “Patch” site?http://www.patch.com

Local daily/weekly papers?Reply to local comments/questions on news,

discussion, review sites (papers, yelp, etc.)Monitor twitter searches for your town’s name.Set up a Google alert for local questions in

Yahoo Answers.Remember to ID yourself!

Slamming’s not always virtualAttend local meetings and offer to look up

research topicsChamber of commerce, Rotary, Social Services,

etc.Get yourself appointed to a local committee Listen to what’s going on…offer assistance…

don’t just wait.Be “on” even when you’re out of the building--a

“Library Ambassador.”“Library Dude” hot dog cart! http://

bit.ly/qwssAZ

Slamming isn’t always answers“Chiming in,” asking questions of your

community (esp. in FB or Twitter)Offering assistancePromoting: Making the library knownHelping the user get value from our skills,

any way we can!

Requires an attitudinal changeWe can’t wait for questions to come to us.We can’t just assume that users know what

we do.We have to cast our net wide and take a

proactive (even “predatory?”) approach to reference.

We have to be willing to trumpet what we do and who we are.

We might even need to “butt in” a bit (carefully!).

So, you wanna slam?Look over some social Q&A sites

Yahoo Answers: the big favoriteWikiAnswers: fast-growing, harder to attributeAnswerBag: I’ve played a little…LinkedIn Q&A: very tech/business-orientedChaCha: SMS, you get paid (can it promote

us?)Learn how to navigate, post answers, the

culture, etc.

How will you find questions?Poor “signal to noise” ratio on most servicesBrowse through categoriesSearch for selected terms (“articles,”

“books,” etc.)Be patient… “real” questions are out there!

AnsweringProvide a well-considered answer.Link to info—attribute sources! OK to build on

other answersTry to relate to a library service, if you can.See if you can figure out asker’s locale (e.g.,

sometimes in Yahoo Pulse). Review the local library’s options and make suggestions.

Use a “signature,” if that’s OK. Make sure asker knows this was answered by a library advocate.

Don’t be TOO heavy-handed, though!

Points, etc.Yahoo and other sites award points for

activity.Nice to follow, don’t get hung up on it.Feel free to vote for your own “best

answers.”

Questions?I’m always happy to talk, promote, etc.bpardue@ahml.info@billahml