How to use this Page

For some reason, writing the talk about tech support in libraries has been making me think about libraries on social networks again. Maybe it’s the little push of friends I get on Facebook after I give a talk to a new group of people. Maybe it’s because I had to explain yet again that I think it’s worth powering through bad design and usability in order to have presence in a place where your users are or might be. Maybe it’s because social software seems like a free and easy way to give your library a human face on the larger Internet. Maybe it’s because after being at SXSW I just see social software as the default way to be on the web and so libraries that are moving forward with blogging and other web tools may as well expand into using social tools as well. This has nothing to do with 2.0 anything, although I guess you could see it that way.

So, to that end, I’m making a small list of ways that I think libraries and librarians can use thse tools to further the existing missions of their institutions. It’s nothing new, but I’ve been pondering it lately and I think specifics, and links to examples can he helpful. Feel free to add more in the comments.

• Get your library a Flickr account. These accounts are now nearly free through a collaboration between Flickr and TechSoup. TechSoup has an article about how nonprofits can use Flickr. My advice: free image hosting and easy image uploading for staff. Consider uploading some historical photos that you can share with the people in you community. Check out what the Library of Congress has been doing and how much tagging and commenting is happening on their photos. It’s like a Letters to the Editor section for you archival photos. I use this photo quite a lot on my photoshop class, teaching people how to edit pictures.
• Anyone can get an account on Facebook. Facebook now has the ability for businesses and organizations to create “pages” (as opposed to profiles) where you can put information about your organization. You can see a few library pages here: NASA Glenn Technical Library, Iowa City Public Library, The National Library of Scotland. You can click here to create your own organization page. For people who are already on Facebook, which includes a huge percentage of high school and college age people, they can become “fan” of your organization which means they will get your updates. If you already have a blog, you can set your Facebook page to automatically read and republish your RSS feed inside Facebook. I do this with my personal blog so people who are my friends on Facebook can read my blog updates. The same way Google really let us get information out of the web, people are searching their networks on Facebook sometimes before Google.
• If you’re a librarian, think about getting on Twitter. You can read this post for background information about Twitter or this Library Journal article for more information about messaging services generally. This is not so much, as I see it, to communicate with patrons but to do two things. 1. create a short pithy easy to update RSS feed of news or information or links that you can repurpose to put on your blog, website, Facebook profile or elsewhere. 2. communicate with librarians who are on twitter in droves. When I was creating my talk I asked a question, literally hurled it out there into the aether, and got back seven or either useful responses within about an hour. That’s ready reference.
• Added later: think about a 23 Things type project. Vermont is doing this. It’s an easy way to give staff a casual fun exposture to a lot of social tools and let them see for themselves what they’re good for. Offer continuing ed credits or other fun incentives. The set-up costs and investments are nearly nothing and the ongoing investment is mostly time. One of the things I hear all the time is that staff are interested in new technologies generally but lack the time to explore and so get technostressed because they feel that they’re jumping in to some very public online activities without feeling competent in what they’re doing or what they’re there for. a 23 Things project can help that immensely.

The reason I think it’s important to show good examples and best paractices is because we’re still dealing with libraries like Mishawaka Library which thinks that blocking social software sites in their library because they can’t manage unruly teens is some sort of solution to a problem. I’m not saying there aren’t problems surrounding public computer and internet use in libraries generally, maybe there are even sometimes problems with teens, but really responding to the problem by blocking wide swaths of the Internet is not really going to help anyone understand the problem better. It just makes libraries look hostile and librarians look reactive. I’m sure there’s a larger post here about dealing with teens + comptuers + internet + understaffing + the fear factor of unknown online socializing, but I feel that it’s all of our responsbility as online community members of various stripes, to provide positive examples of social software online. This is mine.

Do you know the reason many people fail to achieve their goal or goals?

It’s because they set goals that don’t really matter to them that much.

Many people are afraid to set goals that really, really matter to them because they’re so afraid they won’t accomplish these goals.

So, it’s much better to just continue dreaming about what they want rather than setting actual goals that require specific ACTIONS to take if the goals are going to be reached.

This leads me to today’s goal setting tip: Stop dreaming about what you want! Set a goal that really, really matters to you!

In other words, change your thinking.

Stop “dreaming” about what you want out of life, and start “working” to get it.

Make it a goal.

You don’t have to work toward your goal alone.

Find someone who really wants you to succeed and ask for their help.

Try it!

As a children’s writing instructor and a writing coach, I help writers set their writing and publishing goals at the start of each new year.

In the next few days, I’d like to share a few tips for setting your writing and publishing goals for 2008.

Here’s today’s tip:

When setting your goal(s), make sure each goal is something you have control over.

Many writers set goals like: I want to have three published stories in Highlights magazine by the end of this year.

That may sound like a great goal. But actually, the writer really has no control over whether or not three of his/her stories will be accepted and published in Highlights or any other magazine.

So, if the person setting this goal isn’t able to make this happen, he/she feels like a failure, when actually, his/her stories may have been rejected by Highlights (or any other magazine) for a variety of reasons that the writer has no control over.

A much better goal would be this: I plan to SUBMIT three stories to Highlights magazine this year.

See why that’s a much better goal?

You DO have control over this.

You CAN make this happen.

You CAN write and submit 3 stories to Highlights (or any other magazine) this year.

And, at the end of the year, you will have met your goal – whether or not the stories were accepted for publication.

Eventually your stories will be accepted for publication in the magazines you are submitting them to if:

1) you have learned what it takes to write a good story for kids,

2) you’ve constantly practiced writing and improving your work, and

3) you’ve done your market research so you are actually sending your stories to appropriate markets (by that I mean, the magazines that are right for the types of stories you are writing).

Look at your goals today.

Do you have control over whether or not you reach these goals?

If not, rethink your goals.

Create goals that are not dependent on outside forces, things you really have no control over.

Then do whatever it takes to achieve those goals this year!

Happy writing!

Suzanne Lieurance
The Working Writer’s Coach

Whether you want to write for children or write for adults, Suzanne Lieurance, The Working Writer’s Coach, can help YOU make more money from your writing in 2008!

And right now she is even offering a special holiday discount on her intensive 8-week Working Writer’s Coaching Program. Find out more about the program and how to receive your disount HERE.

But don’t delay. This special holiday discount ends tomorrow night - December 31st - at midnight!

Make 2008 your best year EVER for writing and publishing!

by Maurene J. Hinds, Contributing Editor

In today’s busy world, few of us have the luxury to spend hours pursuing a writing dream. There’s no such thing as finding time to write. You have to make the time! As with other priorities, if you want it bad enough, you’ll find a way to fit some writing time into your schedule. How do you do this?

First, you need to dispel some of the myths about writing. You don’t need huge chunks of time. Several focused, 15-minute sessions can be very productive over the course of days, weeks, and months. Can you expand that time to half an hour? Even better! Whenever you can squeeze in some time, do it.

Don’t wait for inspiration. One of the greatest myths about writing is that you have to feel fully inspired to write. While inspiration is great, it’s not a prerequisite. Writing is like any other skill. The more you practice, the better you get. Sitting down to write and producing something—anything—is better than not writing at all. Waiting for the muse is a great way to procrastinate and make excuses.

Now that you know two important rules (or non-rules), how else can you make the time to write? The following tips will help you spend more time writing and less time thinking about it.

1. Commit. If you want to be a writer, you have to write, plain and simple. Make writing a priority.

2. Share your commitment with others. Let your family and friends know that writing is important to you. Of course, you need to demonstrate this by writing. Once they see that you are committed, their level of support will likely increase.

3. Realize that some things may have to go, or at least be put aside. Most people can’t do it all. For some, even making fifteen minutes means that something else, such as vacuuming, is going to be put on hold. The house does not have to look perfect.

4. Keep your priorities in perspective. Yes, your children come first. So that means your writing time may need to happen when the kids are asleep. For many writers, this means getting up early, before everyone else, or staying up late after everyone else is asleep.

5. Give yourself mini goals. For some, a page a day is a reasonable goal. For others, it’s 500 words. Figure out a reasonable, yet still challenging goal, and stick to it.

6. Keep writing.

7. Turn off your inner critic. This is the voice that tells you your writing is no good. First, you need to get something on paper (or screen). You can call on this voice later when it’s time to revise. (Many writers find that early morning writing is the best writing time as far as keeping this voice quiet.)

8. Keep writing.

9. Don’t think about “big picture” issues such as whether or not the work will be published and where. This comes later. The top priority is getting those first drafts done. Then you can work on the other stuff (such as revising!).

10. Keep writing

As with other important things in life, writing takes time and effort. However, few things match the satisfaction of setting a goal, sticking to it, and watching your writing grow.