EDITOR'S NOTES
Creating the New Serendipity
by Dick Kaser
This issue is dedicated to discussing user engagement. When it comes to libraries, that’s a topic as old as the hills. Even back in the days of the card catalog, libraries’ endgame was to get patrons to engage with the collection, to become enthralled with a subject, absorbed in a story, or to experience the legendary aha moment. It may be a bit more challenging to achieve these things in a digital world, but as this month’s contributors attest, it’s not only a job that can be done, it may even be fun.
Meghan Kowalski (University of the District of Columbia) shows you, step-by-step, how to capture enticing photos, post them to Instagram, and get a conversation going that engages users on a platform they love with the devices that they can’t put down.
Michael Blackwell (St. Mary’s County Library) describes a project that aims to unite all Maryland libraries in offering a service that will allow patrons to engage with all the available audiobooks and ebooks via a single search on a single app.
Natasha Hollenbach (Montana Historical Society) discusses how to make the tough decision as to whether it’s better to provide users with an interface designed to deliver the ultimate user engagement experience with a particular type of materials or to just lump everything into a catch-all system.
And last, but certainly not least, in our EDTECH section and cover story, Jennifer Bruneau (Boylston Public Library) shows you how to get the most out of all those flat screens you may have obtained for digital signage to truly engage students and other library visitors with everything your library has to offer.
For more on all these and other libtech topics, please join us this month to engage with your peers at ITI’s Internet Librarian conferences in Monterey, Calif., and London.
Dick Kaser, Executive Editor
kaser@infotoday.com
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