- Email: [email protected]
CHAPTER 11
Pinterest
11.1 CASE STUDY 1
Extending the Library’s Presence Into the Virtual Space Using Pinterest Brandy R. Horne University of South Carolina Aiken, Aiken, SC, United States
Institution: Gregg-Graniteville Library, University of South Carolina Aiken, 3548 students (2016). Campaign Purpose: To extend the reach of the library’s displays into the digital space. Target Demographic: The campus community—students, faculty, and staff. Measure of Success: The successful creation and deployment of digital displays for maximum visibility. Team: Instruction/Reference Librarian responsible for marketing and promotion.
11.1.1 PINTEREST IN LIBRARIES Pinterest describes itself as “the world’s catalog of ideas” (“About,” para. 1, 2017). Users can create boards to which they “pin” images and other content that appeal to them. A well-populated board looks like a digital collage, and the overall effect is similar to that of a designer’s inspiration board (Mikos, Horne, & Weaver, 2015). Due to the attractiveness of its display and relative ease of use, millions of people use Pinterest to collect all sorts of things, such as decorating ideas, recipes, and crafting projects. Libraries are often enthusiastic adopters of technology and tools that allow them to be where their users are. Pinterest not only facilitates that goal, but also the curation aspect of the tool can be especially appealing Social Media DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-102409-6.00011-0
Copyright © 2019 Nina Verishagen. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
247
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Social Media
to librarian sensibilities. Libraries have come up with several creative ideas for using Pinterest to curate content for library patrons. Lofland (2012) describes several of these ideas, which include creating reading lists, sharing new acquisitions, highlighting library staff members, running book clubs, and providing access to digital collections. As the librarian responsible for marketing and promotion at the Gregg-Graniteville Library, I had the idea to use Pinterest to create digital versions of the library’s physical displays in order to expand the reach of those displays. According to Severson (2014), “the easiest form of outreach is to get your collections visible in as many places as possible” (p. 15). I saw Pinterest as a tool that could facilitate such efforts.
11.1.2 BACKGROUND The Gregg-Graniteville Library is fairly small with 13 full-time employees, several student assistants, and the occasional intern. Of the 13 fulltime staff, there are six faculty librarians: two Instruction/Reference Librarians, the Government Documents Librarian, the Instruction Coordinator, the Collections Coordinator, and the Library Director. Due to the library’s relatively small staff, each person wears many hats. While both librarians and staff participate in providing reference assistance, four of the library faculty teach the vast majority of the library’s 250 1 library instruction sessions annually. In addition to their substantial teaching loads, each librarian is primarily responsible for specific aspects of the library’s operation. For example, one of the Instruction/Reference Librarians is also the library’s instructional technology administrator, and she is also the archivist for the Graniteville Archives. As the other Instruction/Reference Librarian, I am the reference desk coordinator, and I am also responsible for spearheading the library’s marketing and promotional efforts. Add to these roles the expectations of the tenure track, such as committee work and scholarship, and it is easy to see how the librarians can become overwhelmed. Because everyone shoulders so many different responsibilities, creating library displays is often not prioritized. While I am ultimately responsible for the displays, the librarians and staff take turns creating displays as their schedules allow. Creating these displays requires a lot of time, work, and creativity, but they are fleeting and ultimately do not seem to attract much attention.
Pinterest
249
The Gregg-Graniteville Library has one display case that remains locked and is located in the building’s foyer. Students, faculty, and staff walk past the display case as they enter and exit the building, but they rarely ever stop to actually look at it. While the area is one that gets a lot of traffic, it is not a space where people stop to linger. In addition, the display case competes with several signs, a rack of campus newspapers, and a drink vending machine. When patrons do stop, the locked case prevents them from actively engaging with the materials on display. While some patrons do occasionally ask if they can check out items in the case, many might assume they cannot check out the items, or they just decide it would be too much hassle to ask. If the point of a display is to highlight library collections for circulation, then keeping them in a locked case in a high traffic area defeats that purpose (Fig. 11.1.1). Obviously, there are several issues that hinder the effectiveness of our displays, and addressing these issues has required a multipronged approach. I began creating displays in an open space near the reference desk using folding tables so that patrons could browse and engage with the items being displayed, addressing the issue of unnecessary barriers. In the vein of meeting patrons where they are, online content is curated and created in LibGuides to supplement the physical displays, and often this content is advertised via Facebook and a banner on the Library’s homepage. LibGuides is a content management system and curation platform created specifically for libraries. In LibGuides, it is possible to create lists of books
Figure 11.1.1 Locked display case in the library’s foyer.
250
Social Media
Figure 11.1.2 Banned Books Week display set up on a folding table in an open area near the reference desk.
that link directly to the library’s catalog, but this function is not practical for more than just a few books. A limitation of the platform is that these lists run straight down the page, so even just 10 books require a lot of scrolling long past the point where the rest of the page’s content has ended. There is a scrolling gallery, but again, this is not optimal when trying to display more than just a few items (Fig. 11.1.2).
11.1.3 ENTER PINTEREST This is where Pinterest proves especially useful. The layout of a Pinterest board, in addition to being visually appealing, allows for easy browsing and exploration. A quick glance at a Pinterest board can convey extent and scope of the materials available. In addition, one can easily share boards via email or various social media platforms, and widgets of functioning boards can be created and embedded where needed, like in a LibGuide (Fig. 11.1.3). In the Gregg-Graniteville Library, Pinterest is primarily used to create digital versions of physical displays. The librarian responsible for marketing and promotion creates a board for a particular display, and each pin represents an item included in that display and links to the corresponding item record in the library’s catalog. These displays can be augmented by
Pinterest
251
Figure 11.1.3 Screenshot of LibGuide created for Dr. Seuss event, including an image of the physical display and an embedded Pinterest widget. Dr. Seuss Propertiest & r [2019] Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. All Rights Reserved.
adding relevant digital items not available in the library’s collections, such as photos and online images, videos, or informational webpages (Fig. 11.1.4). The library has also used Pinterest to curate material not contained within the collection. Leading up to graduation one year, a Pinterest board was created that contained links to famous commencement speeches. It could be reached by clicking on the “Congratulations Graduates” banner on the library’s homepage. Another board was created as a virtual read-out for Banned Books Week, and it featured videos created by members of the campus community reading from banned books. A link to this board was provided in a LibGuide created for that year’s Banned Books Week, which was accessed via a banner on the library’s homepage (Fig. 11.1.5).
252
Social Media
Figure 11.1.4 Screenshot of a Pinterest board created to accompany a physical display in the library, including books contained within the collection, as well relevant web content.
Figure 11.1.5 A Pinterest board populated by videos of iconic commencement speeches.
11.1.4 CREATING DIGITAL DISPLAYS USING PINTEREST When using Pinterest to create digital displays, it is important that the pins lead patrons to the library or the library’s catalog. When pinning books from your library’s collection, it may be possible to pin the book
Pinterest
253
cover image directly from your library’s catalog. It is worth a try. However, in many cases, the resulting pinned image will be of poor resolution. If that does not work, Pinterest gives you the option to upload an image from your computer, so you can save the image then upload it. Once you have successfully uploaded the image to the board, click on it, and look for the pen icon. This will allow you to edit the pin. On the edit screen, you will have the opportunity to add a description and a website URL. For the description, I generally use a phrase like “Find this item in the Gregg-Graniteville Library.” For the website, I paste the permanent URL for the item’s record in the catalog. Do this for each item you want to include. You can also pin images directly from a web search. Just remember to edit the pin, and change the description and website. Otherwise, you will be directing your patrons to whatever random website supplied the image.
11.1.5 SHARING PINTEREST DISPLAYS There are several options for sharing Pinterest boards. You can invite individual people to join boards, or you can send boards directly from Pinterest to Facebook or Twitter. ‘Send board’ also provides the option to copy a shortened link that can be sent out or posted wherever needed. There is also the option to create a widget that can be embedded in webpages and LibGuides. The ‘Make a widget’ function gives you some options for formatting the size and shape of your board, including the ability to set your own parameters, along with a preview so that you can see how it will look. Pinterest will then generate a code that can be used to embed the widget where it is needed. In LibGuides, for example, there is a ‘Media/Widget’ option when adding content, so embedding a Pinterest board into a guide is very simple. Once embedded, patrons can browse the Pinterest board without leaving the library’s webpages.
11.1.6 LIMITATIONS You cannot rearrange pins. The items appear in the order in which they were pinned, with the most recent appearing at the top of the board. If the order in which the pins appear is important, then you will need to plan out your order before starting. If you have neglected to do this, one potential work-around is to pin all of your items onto a draft board and
254
Social Media
then create and title another board that will be the official board for the display. Once you have done this, go back to the draft board with all the pins. Thinking in terms of bottom to top, select pins to add to the official board in the order you would like them to appear.
11.1.7 WHAT WORKED The Gregg-Graniteville Library has created several digital displays using Pinterest, but the most successful was a crowd-sourced display where we asked the campus community to share with us memories of their favorite childhood books (Mikos et al., 2015). We used this input to select items to highlight from our Juvenile collection, and the items were displayed along with the quotes and anecdotes provided. Over the course of this effort, we were also able to identify and address gaps in the collection. In addition to the physical display, the anecdotes were shared via Facebook, and a digital version of the display was created in Pinterest. The memories and anecdotes were posted as comments under each item on the Pinterest board. While the success of this display was not specific to the use of Pinterest, the creation of the digital display endures even though the physical display was eventually taken down, and we are still able to share what turned out to be a beautiful display with our campus community. Because digital displays endure even after the physical displays are taken down, they can continue to grow over time and be reused when appropriate. Our Banned Books display, for example, is redeployed each year, and it is a bit more inclusive each time.
11.1.8 WHAT DIDN’T WORK While the displays created in Pinterest do serve their purpose, it is difficult to assess their actual impact. The Gregg-Graniteville Library’s Pinterest account has only 18 followers, but the ways in which we deploy our digital displays are often somewhat removed from Pinterest itself. Embedded widgets, for example, can be browsed from the webpages in which they are embedded. We have received countless notifications that various pins from our boards have been repinned, but there is no way to know if these notifications are being generated by activity within our campus community. If the Pinterest displays are not garnering, the views
Pinterest
255
we would hope for, then the issue likely has more to do with a lack of marketing than the use or effectiveness of the Pinterest platform. When the library first began using Pinterest to create displays, it was possible to pin the cover image directly from the library’s catalog. However, issues within the catalog itself, along with updates in Pinterest have complicated that process. Now, in order to guarantee the pinned image is of good quality, it is almost always necessary to download the image and then upload it. The Pinterest website can be quirky. Newly created boards often do not appear either on the library’s Pinterest page or in the list of available boards. Also, when in the process of creating a display, new pins do not display immediately. Refreshing the page is sometimes necessary to make sure a pin looks good and so that you can click on it to edit the description and website information. The Banned Books Read-Out board has only seven patron-created videos, but the live read-outs we have staged have consistently drawn healthy participation. Perhaps our campus community is camera shy, or perhaps the initiative has not been marketed effectively. So while Pinterest would be a good place to collect such videos, it is possible that members of our campus community would prefer not to have these videos saved in perpetuity.
11.1.9 RECOMMENDATIONS Build boards/displays over time. This is especially good advice for boards where it makes sense to feature a lot of items, like a Banned Books Week display. The process of creating these displays is not difficult, but it is time-consuming and can be frustrating if done at the last minute. If possible, plan displays in advance and work on them throughout the year. If more than one person is available to create the Pinterest displays, assign each person specific displays to focus on, and make it a group effort. Advertise your displays every way possible. Email links to your campus community, share via your chosen social media platforms, and embed widgets into your webpages and/or LibGuides pages. These are quick and easy steps to make sure that your community have the opportunity to engage with and appreciate your hard work. This is not something we have done consistently but plan to do going forward.
256
Social Media
When sharing patron-generated content, make sure they understand how and where it will be shared. For the Banned Books Read-Out, we sent out a call for video submissions. In that call, we made it clear that the videos would be posted on the library’s Facebook and Pinterest pages. When we asked for memories regarding favorite childhood books, we wanted to share the anecdotes along with the books in both the physical and digital displays. As these submissions came in, I followed up with each person via email to make sure they were okay with us sharing their words via Facebook and Pinterest.
11.1.10 FINAL WORDS Often when it comes to social media, what you get out of it depends on what you put into it. When it comes to Pinterest displays, however, this relationship is not necessarily readily clear. As is the case with physical displays, it can be difficult to measure the actual impact. However, if the goal is to create a digital version of a display that is enduring and that can be shared far and wide, Pinterest is an excellent platform from which to do that.
REFERENCES About Pinterest. (2017). Retrieved from ,https://about.pinterest.com/en/press/press.. Lofland, L. (2012). 20 great ways libraries are using Pinterest. Retrieved from ,https:// www.leelofland.com/20-great-ways-libraries-are-using-pinterest/.. Mikos, I., Horne, B., & Weaver, K. (2015). Library display 2.0: Evolving from monologue to dialogue. Library Philosophy and Practice. Retrieved from ,http://digitalcommons. unl.edu/libphilprac/1283.. Severson, S. (2014). Moving beyond the display case: Getting your (digital) collections out there. Argus, 43(1), 15 19.
11.1 CASE STUDY 1
Extending the Library’s Presence Into the Virtual Space Using Pinterest Brandy R. Horne University of South Carolina Aiken, Aiken, SC, United States
Institution: Gregg-Graniteville Library, University of South Carolina Aiken, 3548 students (2016). Campaign Purpose: To extend the reach of the library’s displays into the digital space. Target Demographic: The campus community—students, faculty, and staff. Measure of Success: The successful creation and deployment of digital displays for maximum visibility. Team: Instruction/Reference Librarian responsible for marketing and promotion.
11.1.1 PINTEREST IN LIBRARIES Pinterest describes itself as “the world’s catalog of ideas” (“About,” para. 1, 2017). Users can create boards to which they “pin” images and other content that appeal to them. A well-populated board looks like a digital collage, and the overall effect is similar to that of a designer’s inspiration board (Mikos, Horne, & Weaver, 2015). Due to the attractiveness of its display and relative ease of use, millions of people use Pinterest to collect all sorts of things, such as decorating ideas, recipes, and crafting projects. Libraries are often enthusiastic adopters of technology and tools that allow them to be where their users are. Pinterest not only facilitates that goal, but also the curation aspect of the tool can be especially appealing Social Media DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-102409-6.00011-0
Copyright © 2019 Nina Verishagen. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
247
248
Social Media
to librarian sensibilities. Libraries have come up with several creative ideas for using Pinterest to curate content for library patrons. Lofland (2012) describes several of these ideas, which include creating reading lists, sharing new acquisitions, highlighting library staff members, running book clubs, and providing access to digital collections. As the librarian responsible for marketing and promotion at the Gregg-Graniteville Library, I had the idea to use Pinterest to create digital versions of the library’s physical displays in order to expand the reach of those displays. According to Severson (2014), “the easiest form of outreach is to get your collections visible in as many places as possible” (p. 15). I saw Pinterest as a tool that could facilitate such efforts.
11.1.2 BACKGROUND The Gregg-Graniteville Library is fairly small with 13 full-time employees, several student assistants, and the occasional intern. Of the 13 fulltime staff, there are six faculty librarians: two Instruction/Reference Librarians, the Government Documents Librarian, the Instruction Coordinator, the Collections Coordinator, and the Library Director. Due to the library’s relatively small staff, each person wears many hats. While both librarians and staff participate in providing reference assistance, four of the library faculty teach the vast majority of the library’s 250 1 library instruction sessions annually. In addition to their substantial teaching loads, each librarian is primarily responsible for specific aspects of the library’s operation. For example, one of the Instruction/Reference Librarians is also the library’s instructional technology administrator, and she is also the archivist for the Graniteville Archives. As the other Instruction/Reference Librarian, I am the reference desk coordinator, and I am also responsible for spearheading the library’s marketing and promotional efforts. Add to these roles the expectations of the tenure track, such as committee work and scholarship, and it is easy to see how the librarians can become overwhelmed. Because everyone shoulders so many different responsibilities, creating library displays is often not prioritized. While I am ultimately responsible for the displays, the librarians and staff take turns creating displays as their schedules allow. Creating these displays requires a lot of time, work, and creativity, but they are fleeting and ultimately do not seem to attract much attention.
249
The Gregg-Graniteville Library has one display case that remains locked and is located in the building’s foyer. Students, faculty, and staff walk past the display case as they enter and exit the building, but they rarely ever stop to actually look at it. While the area is one that gets a lot of traffic, it is not a space where people stop to linger. In addition, the display case competes with several signs, a rack of campus newspapers, and a drink vending machine. When patrons do stop, the locked case prevents them from actively engaging with the materials on display. While some patrons do occasionally ask if they can check out items in the case, many might assume they cannot check out the items, or they just decide it would be too much hassle to ask. If the point of a display is to highlight library collections for circulation, then keeping them in a locked case in a high traffic area defeats that purpose (Fig. 11.1.1). Obviously, there are several issues that hinder the effectiveness of our displays, and addressing these issues has required a multipronged approach. I began creating displays in an open space near the reference desk using folding tables so that patrons could browse and engage with the items being displayed, addressing the issue of unnecessary barriers. In the vein of meeting patrons where they are, online content is curated and created in LibGuides to supplement the physical displays, and often this content is advertised via Facebook and a banner on the Library’s homepage. LibGuides is a content management system and curation platform created specifically for libraries. In LibGuides, it is possible to create lists of books
Figure 11.1.1 Locked display case in the library’s foyer.
250
Social Media
Figure 11.1.2 Banned Books Week display set up on a folding table in an open area near the reference desk.
that link directly to the library’s catalog, but this function is not practical for more than just a few books. A limitation of the platform is that these lists run straight down the page, so even just 10 books require a lot of scrolling long past the point where the rest of the page’s content has ended. There is a scrolling gallery, but again, this is not optimal when trying to display more than just a few items (Fig. 11.1.2).
11.1.3 ENTER PINTEREST This is where Pinterest proves especially useful. The layout of a Pinterest board, in addition to being visually appealing, allows for easy browsing and exploration. A quick glance at a Pinterest board can convey extent and scope of the materials available. In addition, one can easily share boards via email or various social media platforms, and widgets of functioning boards can be created and embedded where needed, like in a LibGuide (Fig. 11.1.3). In the Gregg-Graniteville Library, Pinterest is primarily used to create digital versions of physical displays. The librarian responsible for marketing and promotion creates a board for a particular display, and each pin represents an item included in that display and links to the corresponding item record in the library’s catalog. These displays can be augmented by
251
Figure 11.1.3 Screenshot of LibGuide created for Dr. Seuss event, including an image of the physical display and an embedded Pinterest widget. Dr. Seuss Propertiest & r [2019] Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. All Rights Reserved.
adding relevant digital items not available in the library’s collections, such as photos and online images, videos, or informational webpages (Fig. 11.1.4). The library has also used Pinterest to curate material not contained within the collection. Leading up to graduation one year, a Pinterest board was created that contained links to famous commencement speeches. It could be reached by clicking on the “Congratulations Graduates” banner on the library’s homepage. Another board was created as a virtual read-out for Banned Books Week, and it featured videos created by members of the campus community reading from banned books. A link to this board was provided in a LibGuide created for that year’s Banned Books Week, which was accessed via a banner on the library’s homepage (Fig. 11.1.5).
252
Social Media
Figure 11.1.4 Screenshot of a Pinterest board created to accompany a physical display in the library, including books contained within the collection, as well relevant web content.
Figure 11.1.5 A Pinterest board populated by videos of iconic commencement speeches.
11.1.4 CREATING DIGITAL DISPLAYS USING PINTEREST When using Pinterest to create digital displays, it is important that the pins lead patrons to the library or the library’s catalog. When pinning books from your library’s collection, it may be possible to pin the book
253
cover image directly from your library’s catalog. It is worth a try. However, in many cases, the resulting pinned image will be of poor resolution. If that does not work, Pinterest gives you the option to upload an image from your computer, so you can save the image then upload it. Once you have successfully uploaded the image to the board, click on it, and look for the pen icon. This will allow you to edit the pin. On the edit screen, you will have the opportunity to add a description and a website URL. For the description, I generally use a phrase like “Find this item in the Gregg-Graniteville Library.” For the website, I paste the permanent URL for the item’s record in the catalog. Do this for each item you want to include. You can also pin images directly from a web search. Just remember to edit the pin, and change the description and website. Otherwise, you will be directing your patrons to whatever random website supplied the image.
11.1.5 SHARING PINTEREST DISPLAYS There are several options for sharing Pinterest boards. You can invite individual people to join boards, or you can send boards directly from Pinterest to Facebook or Twitter. ‘Send board’ also provides the option to copy a shortened link that can be sent out or posted wherever needed. There is also the option to create a widget that can be embedded in webpages and LibGuides. The ‘Make a widget’ function gives you some options for formatting the size and shape of your board, including the ability to set your own parameters, along with a preview so that you can see how it will look. Pinterest will then generate a code that can be used to embed the widget where it is needed. In LibGuides, for example, there is a ‘Media/Widget’ option when adding content, so embedding a Pinterest board into a guide is very simple. Once embedded, patrons can browse the Pinterest board without leaving the library’s webpages.
11.1.6 LIMITATIONS You cannot rearrange pins. The items appear in the order in which they were pinned, with the most recent appearing at the top of the board. If the order in which the pins appear is important, then you will need to plan out your order before starting. If you have neglected to do this, one potential work-around is to pin all of your items onto a draft board and
254
Social Media
then create and title another board that will be the official board for the display. Once you have done this, go back to the draft board with all the pins. Thinking in terms of bottom to top, select pins to add to the official board in the order you would like them to appear.
11.1.7 WHAT WORKED The Gregg-Graniteville Library has created several digital displays using Pinterest, but the most successful was a crowd-sourced display where we asked the campus community to share with us memories of their favorite childhood books (Mikos et al., 2015). We used this input to select items to highlight from our Juvenile collection, and the items were displayed along with the quotes and anecdotes provided. Over the course of this effort, we were also able to identify and address gaps in the collection. In addition to the physical display, the anecdotes were shared via Facebook, and a digital version of the display was created in Pinterest. The memories and anecdotes were posted as comments under each item on the Pinterest board. While the success of this display was not specific to the use of Pinterest, the creation of the digital display endures even though the physical display was eventually taken down, and we are still able to share what turned out to be a beautiful display with our campus community. Because digital displays endure even after the physical displays are taken down, they can continue to grow over time and be reused when appropriate. Our Banned Books display, for example, is redeployed each year, and it is a bit more inclusive each time.
11.1.8 WHAT DIDN’T WORK While the displays created in Pinterest do serve their purpose, it is difficult to assess their actual impact. The Gregg-Graniteville Library’s Pinterest account has only 18 followers, but the ways in which we deploy our digital displays are often somewhat removed from Pinterest itself. Embedded widgets, for example, can be browsed from the webpages in which they are embedded. We have received countless notifications that various pins from our boards have been repinned, but there is no way to know if these notifications are being generated by activity within our campus community. If the Pinterest displays are not garnering, the views
255
we would hope for, then the issue likely has more to do with a lack of marketing than the use or effectiveness of the Pinterest platform. When the library first began using Pinterest to create displays, it was possible to pin the cover image directly from the library’s catalog. However, issues within the catalog itself, along with updates in Pinterest have complicated that process. Now, in order to guarantee the pinned image is of good quality, it is almost always necessary to download the image and then upload it. The Pinterest website can be quirky. Newly created boards often do not appear either on the library’s Pinterest page or in the list of available boards. Also, when in the process of creating a display, new pins do not display immediately. Refreshing the page is sometimes necessary to make sure a pin looks good and so that you can click on it to edit the description and website information. The Banned Books Read-Out board has only seven patron-created videos, but the live read-outs we have staged have consistently drawn healthy participation. Perhaps our campus community is camera shy, or perhaps the initiative has not been marketed effectively. So while Pinterest would be a good place to collect such videos, it is possible that members of our campus community would prefer not to have these videos saved in perpetuity.
11.1.9 RECOMMENDATIONS Build boards/displays over time. This is especially good advice for boards where it makes sense to feature a lot of items, like a Banned Books Week display. The process of creating these displays is not difficult, but it is time-consuming and can be frustrating if done at the last minute. If possible, plan displays in advance and work on them throughout the year. If more than one person is available to create the Pinterest displays, assign each person specific displays to focus on, and make it a group effort. Advertise your displays every way possible. Email links to your campus community, share via your chosen social media platforms, and embed widgets into your webpages and/or LibGuides pages. These are quick and easy steps to make sure that your community have the opportunity to engage with and appreciate your hard work. This is not something we have done consistently but plan to do going forward.
256
Social Media
When sharing patron-generated content, make sure they understand how and where it will be shared. For the Banned Books Read-Out, we sent out a call for video submissions. In that call, we made it clear that the videos would be posted on the library’s Facebook and Pinterest pages. When we asked for memories regarding favorite childhood books, we wanted to share the anecdotes along with the books in both the physical and digital displays. As these submissions came in, I followed up with each person via email to make sure they were okay with us sharing their words via Facebook and Pinterest.
11.1.10 FINAL WORDS Often when it comes to social media, what you get out of it depends on what you put into it. When it comes to Pinterest displays, however, this relationship is not necessarily readily clear. As is the case with physical displays, it can be difficult to measure the actual impact. However, if the goal is to create a digital version of a display that is enduring and that can be shared far and wide, Pinterest is an excellent platform from which to do that.
REFERENCES About Pinterest. (2017). Retrieved from ,https://about.pinterest.com/en/press/press.. Lofland, L. (2012). 20 great ways libraries are using Pinterest. Retrieved from ,https:// www.leelofland.com/20-great-ways-libraries-are-using-pinterest/.. Mikos, I., Horne, B., & Weaver, K. (2015). Library display 2.0: Evolving from monologue to dialogue. Library Philosophy and Practice. Retrieved from ,http://digitalcommons. unl.edu/libphilprac/1283.. Severson, S. (2014). Moving beyond the display case: Getting your (digital) collections out there. Argus, 43(1), 15 19.