For my marketing critique, I wanted to focus on one of the libraries in Quincy, Illinois. I found that the Quincy University Library was missing an online presence. The library only could be accessed through its website and Facebook page. Thus, I choose to concentrate on the Quincy Public Library. The Quincy Public Library serves not on Quincy, Illinois but several of the surrounding towns. I found that Quincy Public Library did have an online presence outside of their main website. One can find the Quincy Public Library on its website: http://www.quincylibrary.org, Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/QuincyPublicLibrary, YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/QuincyPublicLibrary, the radio through a show called Book Notes: http://www.quincylibrary.org/books_music_media/NorasBookNotes.asp, and through e-newsletters/blog: http://www.supportlibrary.com/nt/landing.cfm?menu=nlcarousel&submenu=newslettersmenu&CFID=90287420&CFTOKEN=81806224. Each of these sites provides patrons with the information that they are looking to obtain. I will be critiquing each of these pages and how they help the library market.
The Quincy Public Library has an informational website that informs its patrons of several things. This includes the titles of new books added to the collection and staff reviews on books. The website also informs the community of library news and events. There are also links to specific pages for kids and teens. The one thing missing from the home page is a list or links to social media sites. I was not able to find anything mentioned about a Facebook or YouTube presence. The radio show and e-newsletter/blog information was found under the heading of Books, Music and More.
The Facebook page for the Quincy Public Library includes the basic information about when the library is open, where it is located, how to contact them, and the link for the website. The page also includes information about the calendar of events, book news, catalog, teens, and other basic Facebook functions (photos and videos). The wall of the page has been dedicated to important news items, such as, what is going on at the library that day or who is supporting the library. The wall is recent as it was updated this month. There does not appear to be a big following of this page. There are currently 712 likes out of the possible 40,000 people that live in Quincy alone. I feel that the library could be doing better at attracting followers to Facebook if there was a link off of the main library’s website.
The Quincy Public Library YouTube channel is very new to the library. The videos that have been posted to the site are from last year’s Summer Reading program and are informative about the theme of the program along with being creatively produced. The channel is not pretty as it appears to be the same gray and black colors of the main YouTube website. Overall, this site is missing a creative and attractive background that would bring patrons in to view the clips. I also feel that the library could have posted a video about the Big Read program that is hosted and sponsored by the library every fall. There is so much more that they could have done with the site. Lastly, the library should have a direct link off of the library’s main website and Facebook to YouTube.
Next, I looked at the information provided about the local radio show that discusses books. The library along with one of the local radio stations partner up to discuss a book that is being read by the book club or is an alternative book. This program is produced weekly, and includes a librarian and two radio hosts. The specific website of information does inform patrons that they can learn about these book notes through the e-newsletter. At the bottom of the page a list of past reviews was provided, and each of these did link to an audio file of the broadcast. I found that this site was hard to find off of the home page of the library’s website, but that it provided good information about books.
Lastly, I explored the library’s e-newsletter/blog. It appears that the site is more of an online newsletter, but it some areas works more like a blog but without the commenting function. A patron is allowed to subscribe to only the area(s) that they wish to receive news on. From the main page of this site, a patron can view some reviews of books and view news items. This website was very colorful, but not always easy to navigate. As I was exploring the site, several functions stopped working. This was another site that was not easy to find off of the main library page. It was found under a label of “What Should I Read Next?”
Overall, the Quincy Public Library is trying to build an online presence that will severe the Quincy, Illinois area. However, I feel that they could improve their efforts greatly if each of these sites was listed in its own section of the website. If they were more visible to patrons than maybe more people would be visiting them. I also feel that specific patron groups could have their own unique social sites that would benefit them the most. Each of these social sites could then be maintained by a representative of that group. For example, there is a teen page where specific information for them is posted. This page should be connected to other social sites, such as, Facebook. One teen or a group of teens could then help the library staff maintain not only their website but their social sites. Letting the patrons help build an online presence maybe just what the Quincy Public Library needs to expand its current patronage.
Next, I think that library staff should take more time to keep each of their current social sites updated. There is no reason why the YouTube channel for the library does not include recent events that have happened at the library. At the same time the videos posted to YouTube could also be posted to Facebook. Each of the different sites used to market Quincy Public Library should be listed on each different page. Seeing the repetition of sites to visit for information would build visits to each of these sites, and may attract more people visiting the library. These are the suggestions that I have for the Quincy Public Library that will help them achieve a greater marketing strategy. At the end of the day, the public library is here to serve the community, but it cannot do that if it is not known in that community.
No comments:
Post a Comment