A service of the Lincoln County Public Library

Welcome. My name is Frank Johnson, and we’re going to talk a little bit about Community Profiles. This is a new service provided by the Lincoln County Public Library.

This new resource is being offered in response to a Needs Assessment Survey done in 2012, which found that community members want an easy way to find non-profit and government agencies on the Library’s website. We now have a way to meet that request.

This exciting new platform will increaseyour presence in the community.

It will introduce you to people that may

not have heard of your organization.

It will emphasize your association with the Library and our many patrons.

It is free to use this service! Already paid with an existing federal grant.

We are here to help you achieve your goals. You will know that your Community Profile is successful — when you see:

Increasing attendance,

More members and volunteers,

Increasing revenue and donations,

More people using your services.

A free Community Profile will feature your organization in the Library’s catalog,

reach beyond other print and electronic resources,

and bring people into contact with you.

You will become immediately visible to thousands of Lincoln County Library patrons—these are among the most well-read, educated, and influential people in the community.

Library patrons are people using the catalog. When they are looking for information, they may be unaware of your organization, and will find you through your community profile. This is a way to promote your organization and your events.

The idea is that when a person searches for —say, information on counseling— they will find information about counseling agencies in the community as well. The same if they search —softball— they will find information about our Park’s softball fields.

After we build a basic Community Profile, the next step will be for organizations to add their own information directly. After all, you are more familiar with the services that you provide and have a bigger stake in keeping that information up to date.

The library has the largest database of actively involved citizens in our community.

People helping others.

When users type one of your keywords into the Community search,your Profile willbecome available.

For instance, if a person is doing a job search, looking how to put together a resume, tips on interviewing—or even assistance with food, rent, and utilities—then organizations that provide those services will come up in the search as well.

Say your organization is about quilting, square dancing, or is a major non-profit. Those could be your subject keywords, and when the patron searches using one of your keywords, your Profile can be featured at the front of the Library’s website.

Now you can create your own web presence and expand your audience to library members, and we provide free training on keeping it up and running. Now you can find out about a local children’s foundation through the library’s catalog, and the foundation will have a web address that will help it to reach its stakeholders.

http://libraries.pewinternet.org/files/legacy-pdf/PIP_Libraries%20in%20communities.pdf

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/12/

94%

A recent poll showed that public libraries have a higher rating than baseball or apple pie.

94% Approval

http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/

44,597 Registered Users56% of Lincoln County

In the year 2014, Lincoln County Library had over 44,000 registered users.

Over 33,000 adults and 11,000 children have library cards in Lincoln County.

Last year, patrons made over one million searches on the Lincoln County Library website.

A Community Profile is like having an ad in a magazine. In this case, a magazine that has been looked at over one million times in the last year.

These are all people in Lincoln County or looking for information about Lincoln County.

How many times would people looking on the Library’s website have found your organization through your new Community Profile?

We keep track of the numbers, and next year, it will be possible to see the increased attention that you have received right here.

Community Profiles are backed with the technical service and support of the Innovative Polaris software team, our own IT department, and the Library’s hardware and professional security.

You will have a free web presence with a Community Profile on the Library’s website.

It is easy to get started, and there are two levels of participation.

We will show you how to make a pleasing and effective profile if you want to take charge and update the information. . .

Or, we can make it for you with just the basic information.

There are Two levels of involvement: Basic and Detailed. The short form that you fill out today will have your basic information and we can start a basic Profile with that.

All we would ask, in that case, is that you let us know if your address or contact information changes or if your organization is no longer active.

A Full Profile can have a mixed combination of features, and it’s also possible to upgrade to that at any time. The basic profile will get your name into the community, and the full profile makes it even easier for the community to be engaged with you. It’s like the addition of an ad to a listing in the Yellow Pages. You get to put in more information and to create your own events pages.

At any time, you may opt for a more detailed Profile.

Organization Name

Address

Basic or Full Profile

There is a Contact Sheet in the information packet. This is where you will write your organization’s name and address, and put a check mark to indicate your preference for the basic or full Profile, whichever you think will work best for you. Please be sure to return your Contact Sheet to the Library.

Next, we will look at three Profiles that are already up and running.

We see here the 4-H Club, and their logo on the left, the four-leaf clover. We also see their name, the hours that they are open, their address, and a short description of the 4-H Club. We see the area that this group serves, which is all of Lincoln County. 4-H is a national organization, but this is the chapter that serves Lincoln County. We also see that they have a newsletter or other publication.

This Community Profile is for the Lincoln County Parks and Recreation Department. They list similar information, and in addition, they have a calendar of events. Each event has its own page, which gives more detailed information about that event. You can access these event pages by clicking on the event in the calendar.

This is Lincoln County Senior Services. In addition to the other information, they have a long list of services that they offer; these services are keywords that will help people find Senior Services on the Library’s website. Underneath that, we also see the map. This interactive map zooms in and out, showing the names of surrounding streets, and helps people that want to visit your location.

Your Web presence:

Add

Personalize

Be found

When you are on the Library’s website, people looking for information on the Internet will be able to find your organization.

Your Community Profile will add to and personalize your Web presence, so that people can find information about your organization when they search the World Wide Web.

You will be stronger partners with:

Our Community

Your Library

A Community Profile will strengthen your partnership with the community and emphasize your relationship with the Library.

We will be happy to help you with everything you need to make a useful and attractive Profile.

Right after this, we will look at how easy it is to make a Community Profile, and we will be available to show you how to do EVERYTHING.

Thank you for your time.

Let’s take a look at how to start a free

Community Profile.

I hope you will remember my name, Frank Johnson, so that you can get in touch with me here at the library and we can get started on your Community Profile.

We begin at mylincolnlibrary.org

A service of the Lincoln County Public Library