Upcoming Workshop: Using Snapchat to Reach Library Patrons

Hello! I just wanted to send you all a quick note to let you know I’ll be teaching a Snapchat workshop for the ALA’s eLearning series. “Using Snapchat to Reach Library Patrons” will consist of two 90-minute sessions that will take place on August 24th and 31st at 1:30 Central. If you have any questions or … Continue reading →

Snapchat in the Library: Librarians Master an App to Reach Millennials- ALA Extended Article Version

Hello! I am very excited to announce my newest article that was published in ALA’s magazine: Snapchat in the Library Librarians: Master an App to Reach Millennials! For this article I had the opportunity to interview a variety of amazing librarians who are leveraging this app to reach their patrons. Librarians from K-12, public libraries, and … Continue reading →

Libraries on Snapchat: A Directory

Hello! A lot of you have reached out asking for a list of libraries on Snapchat. Due to the fact that you can’t search Snapchat the way you can other social media platforms, this task is a little tough. What I thought I’d do is create a crowdsourced directory. I have started a list of libraries … Continue reading →

5 Universities Killing It On Snapchat

I am becoming convinced that Snapchat should become a library social media staple. Being a “cusper” (on the tail end of the millennial generation) I might not be as in-tune with what’s fresh in social as my younger counterparts, but the numbers don’t lie. Smith, from DMR, reports that Snapchat not only touts 100 million … Continue reading →

Promote Your Library Using Mark Zuckerburg’s Worldwide Book Club

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerburg launched the New Year by announcing a challenge: “to read a new book every other week — with an emphasis on learning about different cultures, beliefs, histories, and technologies.” His announcement has currently garnered 119,199 likes and 5,502 comments.   Since then he has created a Facebook group entitled “A Year of … Continue reading →

Promote Your Library With Snapchat Stories

This is probably the best way libraries can start implementing Snapchat for promotional purposes. According to an article published today by Business Insider, Snapchat Stories has increased 100% with over 1 billion stories being viewed a day! Since this app is so widely used by individuals under the age of 25 (traditional college aged students), it’s a … Continue reading →

How to Create a Snapchat Contest

In the beginning of January I started hearing a lot of buzz about the privacy chat app Snapchat. From NPR to Mashable, everyone was discussing this new app. One fortuidious morning, during my daily Feedly perusal, I saw articles by both TechCrunch and Mashable reporting on a study that found that over 77% of college students use Snapchat every … Continue reading →

Top Libraries for Academic Libraries to Follow on Pinterest: Part Deux

I wrote the Top 10 Libraries for Academic Libraries to Follow on Pinterest back in 2013, but with so many new boards popping up I thought I’d add to the list (as a side note I noticed just about every library has either a Downton Abbey or cat-related board!). I used the same criteria: Post quality content … Continue reading →

Get the Most Out of Your Graphic Design Team by Using These Tools

I was venting to a friend of mine the other day about not being able to articulate what I want to the graphic designers I work with. I explained that often I have the idea of what I want, but have difficulty expressing that thought semantically. Other times I have no idea what I want, … Continue reading →

Snapchat For Your Library

Snapchat has been getting a lot of buzz as of late (Facebook offered to purchase it for $3 billion, but was turned down). It is currently valued at about $4 billion, and I think it will be the social media application of 2014 (here’s an interesting story of why teens use Snapchat by npr). What … Continue reading →

How Libraries are Doing Pinterest Wrong

Ok, I admit it I am one of the 71% of women on Pinterest. I use it to get travel, culinary, decorating inspiration and I pin whenever I find something awesome I want to remember later. I also pin for my library, but unlike my personal Pinterest account, my library account is much different. I … Continue reading →

Tips for Using Piktochart

Being a visual learner myself, I am a huge fan of infographics.  They have gotten so popular that it seems like you can’t scroll down a Pinterest/Tumblr/Facebook feed without seeing at least one plastered on your screen. With their rising popularity has come the prevalence of infographic generators. These handy tools are great for those … Continue reading →

Mashies Finalists for Library Promotion Inspiration- Part 3

Please view past posts for more background: Mashies Finalists for Library Promotion Inspiration Part 1 and Mashies Finalists for Library Promotion Inspiration Part 2 In my first post I stated that I was going to create library ideas based on each nominee for every category each day. This has proven to be a bit too time consuming so … Continue reading →

Mashies Finalists for Library Promotion Inspiration- Part 2

In yesterday’s post I discussed sharing my library tips/ideas based on the top three finalists in each Mashies awards category.  The Mashies celebrate the best in marketing. Since these companies are highly skilled in what they do I think it only makes sense to learn from their genius. Today I am taking on the category oooof: … Continue reading →

Mashies Finalists- A Great Way to Glean Information for Amazing Library Promotion

Yesterday Mashable announced their finalists for the 2013 Mashies awards. The Mashies awards celebrate the best in digital marketing, advertising and social media. The finalists were selected by a panel of experts and include categories like Best Use of Twitter  and Best Branded App.  In my opinion librarians can learn a lot from events that … Continue reading →

Best Contests for Pinterest

Looking for a way to engage your patrons/customers/students? How about a Pinterest contest?! Pinterest contests can be a great way to engage your audience as well as sneak in digital literacy skill development that is fun and exciting to learn! I have been scouring the interweb to curate a list of past and present Pinterest … Continue reading →

Schedule Your Pinterest Pins

Most people are familiar w/ scheduling their Tweets (Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, Socialoomph), PinGraphy let’s you do that on Pinterest!

Your Infographic Toolkit (For those with little to no graphic design experience)

Creating an infographic can be tedious and time consuming, especially for those with little to no graphic design experience. Here are the best tools that I have found that enable me to not only create an infographic but streamline my process. Find an Infographic Generator These are just some of the many infographic generators that … Continue reading →

Top 10 Libraries for Academic Libraries to Follow on Pinterest

With the popularity of libraries joining Pinterest I thought I would share the list of top 10 libraries that I think are worth following. I like to follow libraries that have boards that focus on research, technology, and interesting promotional ideas. Criteria: Post quality content for repinning- This includes content that promotes research, innovation, best practices, … Continue reading →

List of Awesome Infographic Examples and Tutorials

I have created a running list of some great infographic examples that a friend of mine compiled. It includes lists of resources, sites for inspiration, etc. With tools like easel.ly and visual.ly you don’t even need to know code to create an awesome infographic!  If you have any more suggestions to add to the list please let … Continue reading →