LIVING STORIES, LIVING LIBRARIESA digital storytelling initiative with The American Library Association

Margaret KavarasGoogle Policy Fellow-OITPPresentation for:National Network of Libraries of MedicineAugust 13, 2014

Introducing the Project

What is Living Stories Living Libraries?

Photo-documentary style blog Think www.humansofnewyork.com but for

libraries Database of stories Advocacy tool Space to share and build community:*Tumblr: Living-stories-living-libraries.tumblr.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/livingstorieslivinglibraries Twitter: @livingxstories #librariesinthewild

Sorry, who are you?

• Google Policy Fellow with ALA Washington Office for Information Technology Policy

• Recent graduate of George Washington University• B.A. International Affairs

• Graduate Student at Central European University, Budapest Hungary. • MPA Public Administration

Project Origins: Research in Romania

Research Findings:

“Analyzing the Impact of Public Libraries Powering Social Development: Romania as a Case Study”

Libraries are unsung liberators, and everyone in a library has a story to tell

Library is a hub of community development Vital to addressing the digital divide, digital skills training, and health literacy Library level of development So much more than books

Why the Digital Storytelling Format?

Digital storytelling connects images with powerful human stories of impact

Relatable and individual, easy to consume format

Ease of social media enables sharing and building connections across multiple fields

Examples:

“I am 45 years old and am in my second year of nursing school to become an RN. As an undergraduate in the 1980’s I would retreat to the library to study. Twenty plus years later, I still do the same thing. Back then it was my campus library, today it’s my public library. I’m so much more absorbent here. I love libraries.”

Examples:

“As a child I struggled with learning how to read. I was diagnosed with Dyslexia at an early age, and it showed. It frustrated me to the point where I didn’t even want to touch a book anymore… I didn’t have the money to get the materials I needed. My teacher directed me to a section in my local library completely filled with books on tape for all ages. From then on I was hooked. I began reading more and more.”

Project Goals

Interact: Use the social media format to build trust and mirror the personal interaction people value in libraries-real people telling real stories

Show: Promote the image of libraries as vibrant community centers that fill a variety of digitally evolving roles by building a database of individual’s stories

Share: Allow librarians to get ideas from this blog, to see what other libraries are offering, and to share their own successes using the #librariesinthewild tag

Advocate: to create a tool to educate lawmakers for library advocacy at both the local and national level

Grow: to create new library users by reaching people on social media and showing powerful, short, easy to consume human stories of impact

Library relevance: a need for advocacy

91% of Americans support their library, but most only aware of some library resources and offereings

Pew Research: If libraries seek to remain relevant and integrate user experiences in the digital era, they will need better PR and outreach to explain all they do

Only space in society for free digital training, and equal access in an age consumer driven advancements

“Libraries could be doing more to tell the story of how much they’ve changed-eg. Adapting to the digital ecology _twitter #futureoflibraries

The value of stories:

What do stories actually do, and why are they important?

Ex) 66% of libraries need more broadband-having tools to be effective

Untold stories: Libraries serve needs as diverse as the people who use them 1. Can be used by library Friends, librarians, board

members as raw material to make case for support 2. Amplify and connect stories to intermediaries,

like reporters or library advocates= influence Social media underutilized free PR source

ALA Washington Office

Government Relations and Policy Submitting Comments (FCC and Congress- on public

record) Ensuring libraries have what they need (broadband

speed, tech, e-rate, copyright issues) to support social outcomes

Libraries: good at collecting data, but stories needed to illustrate data points (federal, state and local!)

Engaging policy makers and looking to emerging roles libraries can play in the digital revolution taking place District Dispatch: www.districtdispatch.org Makerspaces, publishing, telehealth, career assistance,

open access journals Policy Revolution: how will global trends affect libraries?

Your Role:

The importance of a variety of voices from the wide library community

Education about libraries of medicine, what do you wish more people knew?

Share your stories Of library value and importance Of personal/professional value to you Of successful programs/initiatives- share your success so

others can learn from it! Libraries need advocacy to remain relevant and in

the public eye, and this project runs on participation. Encourage your patrons to share their stories!

Instructions:

Go to living-stories-living-libraries.tumblr.com and click on “Tell your story.”

Upload a photo and include your short story-please use your zip code in place of your name** Can be done on a Smartphone! Upload a selfie right in the library

So far, the most successful posts have been: Succinct: the most shared and widely read stories have been

those under 250 words Personal:  told like a conversation rather than a news story Relatable: told in a way that others feel the person’s

experiences: ie) not just a general statement “the library is great” but

Specific: describing a specific experience “the library helped me solve this problem, overcome this obstacle, learn this lesson, grow in this way…” or “our library had a huge success in offering x”

Legal Stuff: Who owns what? The page material is licensed under a

Creative Commons non-commercial, share-alike agreement. Anything on the site can be used and distributed for any non-profit purpose. As long as you credit the creator, you are free to:

Share—copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format

Adapt—remix, transform, and build upon the material

The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license term

Why do you ask for zip codes?

Living Stories, Living Libraries respects your right to remain anonymous, and does not require any personally-identifying information.

Zip code information is used to illustrate geographic diversity, and can also track responses from different political jurisdictions. Mapping where innovative services are being offered Advocacy-providing representatives with real faces

and earnest examples of library-value from their hometown

Creating a database searchable by library-location

Where are we now?

A tool for new libraries, a platform to connect with a community, and perform library outreach Spanish Fort Library in Alabama

Dr. Wayne Wiegand- the value of ‘ground-up’ approach and need for aggregated database. Upcoming book: Part of Our Lives: A People's

History of the American Public Library Free for All film:

http://www.freeforalldocumentary.com/

Next Steps:

Publicize to get more stories Begin to publicize internationally (CEU-OSF) When the page has reached a critical mass of

stories, publicize to intermediaries (reporters, NPR, TEDX)

ALA interested in packaging info for policy advocacy purposes

Publish an outside paper in 2015 Possible presentations at ALA Annual

Conference, IFLA summits, EIFL programs

Q&A:

Please ask me anything! I welcome any questions, feedback or constructive criticism, and let’s hopefully have a discussion! I am excited to hear your thoughts.

Thank you!!Margaret Kavarasmkavaras@alawash.org