Wellington City Libraries has used a variety of methods of initiating and maintaining contact with youth. 13 to 18 year olds are notorious for being a difficult user group especially in getting them engaged in libraries and convincing them how relevant today's libraries are for them. Over the last few years different methods of communication, engagement and entertainment to connect with Wellington's youth have been tried. Edited version of a paper presented at '12 to 24s @ your public library in Australia and New Zealand conference' Qld 11-12 June 2010.
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Wellington City Libraries is the public library system for New Zealand's capital city. Consisting of a central library and 11 branch libraries, this system provides service to the 190,000 residents plus many more students and workers who travel into the city each day.
In the central library alone
* 3-4,000 items are returned daily, all hand processed
* 12-15,000 items are normally returned over Easter, when the library is closed
* 1.6 million issues per year (3.3 million for the entire library system)
* 1.4 million visitors to the central library each year (2.7 million for the entire system)
* 30,000 visitors per week, 4,000 per day, 400 per hour, 7 per minute
* 100,000 new items are added each year--2,000 per week.
Across the whole library system there are 870,000 items, including 50,000 audiovisual items. A recent study evaluated the access worth of a Wellington City library membership to be $40million.
Teen services overview
Over the last two years Wellington City Libraries has embarked on a new way of providing services to teens. We have moved away from book clubs and reading programs. The thinking behind this process is that teens already know that they can get help from the library when they need it--for study, or reading for school. We needed to promote the library as a place of leisure, entertainment and a place that provides fun and high quality events for teens. We wanted them to get to know their librarians too, so that they would feel comfortable approaching them when they needed to.
Some of the recent events we have run are
* The Almost Amazing Race similar to the tv program teams of teens raced around the city to find answers, complete challenges and gain the most points. This has run successfully for two years, the second year with a slight change in format to keep them on their toes.
* Seminar series the Urban Survival Series was a series of seminars on topics such as moving out of home, getting a job, spending wisely, forming positive relationships. During NZ music month and youth week we ran Q&A sessions with musicians/bands, inviting youth to find out how to get going in the profession
* Twilight trivia night a pub style quiz focusing on the popular Twilight Series. This was a very popular event
* College promotions this differs in that it is driven by the school librarians and teachers. A specifically selected team of youth orientated librarians visit the 16 colleges in the city each year to promote the benefits of membership and encourage use of library services
* Teen blog and Urban survival webpage this is our one stop shop for teens. It is where we put everything--latest music, books and movies, competitions, event info, life info, reviews, top 10 lists, booklists. Coming soon is a webpage to support the Urban Survival Series. It will contain information, web links and catalogue links for each subject covered in the series
* Teen only nights an evening of gaming, food, music and general rowdiness held in branch libraries 3-4 times per year. No adults are allowed, except for a librarian or two, and there is complete freedom for teens to do as they wish.
It is easy to lump teens together, but it is important to remember that we are talking about a diverse group of people--diverse in age, interests, maturity, ethnicity, and also diverse in how they pick up information and what catches their eye. It is logical to suggest, then, that in order to connect with as many teens as possible you will need to consider a wide variety of forms of communication, as well as variety in the events, programs and services you provide.
Tips on keeping up to date
One of the key steps to take in planning your communication strategy, and making communication easier, is to get to know your teen user.
Find out about your population of teens--simple demographics and information such as
* population numbers
* age range
* where they live
* what schools they go to
* household income
* internet connections, number of cell phones
* availability of transport (public or private)
* where they work and hang out
* how many already have library cards
* how many actually use their library cards.
This information can provide valuable insight into the needs of teens, and how you can best connect with them. Some of this information can be gathered through census data, government departments, or general observations and feedback from teens themselves. The more you know about your customer the easier it will be to devise your communication plan.
Knowing how to communicate with teens can be made easier if you stay up to date with trends, technology, and jargon. Read teen magazines such as Dolly, Girlfriend and other technology and internet magazines, subscribe to blogs, and keep up to date with new technologies that will make your job easier and more effective.
Consider running focus groups. In doing this it is important to gather teens from across your region library users and nonusers. Do not forget to put out a plate of biscuits or hot chips--a definite drawcard. Find out their opinion of the library and the librarians, what type of library services they currently like, or would like introduced, find out how they think libraries can make themselves more attractive to teens.
Keep up to date with what other providers for youth are doing in your region. Make contact with them and maybe even make an agreement to help promote each others' services. Have regular catch ups with other youth librarians in your district. A great thing about public libraries is that they are usually not in competition with each other for users. Share and discuss ideas with each other.
Collect and keep marketing material that you like. This makes it much easier to keep track of trends and generate your own ideas for design for your marketing. Once you have found out everything you need to know, you can start to devise a communication plan.
What we have done: and might work for you
First, we could not do anything without a web presence. This is done through the Teen Blog. On this WordPress blog we regularly post about new books, music and dvds, what is happening in the library or in the city, photos, video clips, book reviews, top 10 lists, genre lists (including the popular genre Exclusive academies for rich kids who form cliques) and more.
A blog is a very simple and effective way of making and maintaining contact with teens. Staff from across the branches write and contribute and some teens write posts too. Keep it light and young feeling and remember to post about nonlibrary topics too. We have a logo for our blog, which we also use on other marketing materials to help link everything together.
Statistics showed that visits to the Teen blog for April 2010 were up 35% on the same time in 2009. We are happy with that progress.
A few bits of online software later and we are able to use our blog as a way for teens to register for events, or fill in polls and surveys. A blog is much easier to update than a webpage and, with a little training, everyone will be able to write posts. Unlike a static webpage it is a dynamic two way interaction between users and library staff. Having a two way web presence is an important consideration. While web pages contain much useful information, it does not allow for any interaction with your users. This is where blogs and social media/networking can be utilised. It seems today's teens expect to be able to customise their online interactions; a function that is normal in their lives, and something a web presence using web 2.0 technologies can facilitate.
Consider Facebook, Twitter and MySpace as alternatives or complements to your library webpages and blogs. This provides an easy way for them to connect with you, because you are going to where they are, taking your message to them, and are able to interact with them on their playing field.
We highly recommend utilising text (sms) messaging as an effective communication tool. There are many companies that provide this service for a small fee. We use MobiTXT and find it as easy as sending a 140 character email. A text message puts the information right in their hands instantly. You will be communicating with teens the same way they communicate among themselves and you will be seen as being modern and up to date with technology. Make sure the text message is informative, but perhaps without giving it all away. If you are trying to pique their interest about an event, then send them just enough information for the message to make sense and a place they can go to for more information (such as a url)--a challenge to fit into 140 characters!
Examples
Hi [first name], reckon you can write a good yarn? Win prizes by writing a Short Short Story. Go to wcl.govt.nz/blogs/teens From Wellington Libraries Hi [First Name] Think u know twilight? Test it out @ our Twilight Trivia Night 30th Oct Central Library. Register ur team@wcl.govt.nz/blog/teens Hi [First Name]! Check out the new competition@ wcl.govt.nz/blogs/teens. The Urban Survival Series is coming! Watch this space ... From WGN Libs
Make sure you know the law in regards to sending text messages. In New Zealand we must have their permission and also ensure they are offered an unsubscribe option at all times. It is important not to abuse their permission to store and use their details. Do not send so many texts that they get irritated and want to unsubscribe. Save this option for the important things.
We collate their details in our CYA customer database. We make sure when we are collecting their details that we ask permission to contact them for a variety of things, not just for the event at hand--events for their age group, library news, book news and reviews etc. We collect their cell phone number, email address and library card number (so we can get their physical address details and use issuing information from membership to keep a general eye on trends and card use). Future communication is easier when you already have their contact details--you have a ready to go audience of teens to promote yourself to. Make sure you keep their contact details secure--never sell to a third party and betray their trust.
Be aware that today's cell phone is web capable. Teens are walking around with internet access in their hands. This means that they can access your website, blogs and social media pages 24/7. This provides a fantastic opportunity to keep in touch with your teens, who no longer need to make time to find a computer to sit at in order to connect with you virtually. Remember that teens value fast and instant communication. So your challenge, if you blog, tweet or Facebook, is that you have to keep up a constant stream of information and updates. Teens will get bored if your various web presences are not up to date, or are slow to be updated.
Smart phones like the Apple iphone also have many applications for teens to download that can be used for all sorts of things--from booking flights, reading ebooks and learning new skills. Has your library considered creating an iphone application for library material due dates, reserves or overdues? This type of interaction is coming sooner than you think. It pays to be prepared and be watching out for emerging trends and be ready to jump on them and use them to your best advantage. The future of communication technology is very exciting and moving rapidly--keep yourself up to date with it. Show that libraries are relevant to teens by embracing and using this modern technology. Impress them with your knowledge of web2 technologies and the future of communication!
Try to avoid sending emails as a first contact method. Believe it or not, it is old fashioned. Our experience is that teens normally only have an email address to get access to sites such as Facebook. It is generally not used as a communication tool until they are much older or in the mainstream workforce. Email is not instant enough for today's teens and requires much more effort than receiving a text message. We normally only use email as a second contact method--when we need to convey a large amount of information to teens, and usually once they have registered for an event and we need to send them more information about it.
We also use print marketing such as posters and flyers to promote events and services. This visual marketing is worth spending time and money on to get right. It must look modern, edgy, youthful and professional. Posters and flyers will be the visual representation of your library, your brand, and will say so much about you. Gather examples of other marketing collateral for teen events and store them away while noting what you like about them--colours, graphics, layout, text, syntax etc. Stay up to date with fashionable colours and lingo and put them to good use in your collateral designs.
We always get electronic versions of the print marketing so they can be loaded onto the blog and other webpages. We list our events on websites, making sure that they are websites targeted towards the youth market. Be careful listing your event on any website--consider the implications if your event ends up listed in the same category as a playgroup event for toddlers.
We use print marketing in the libraries, community notice boards, youth centres, recreation and community centres, and schools. We also send posters to other youth organisations for them to distribute. It is important to get your advertising outside of your library's four walls--otherwise you are not targeting the nonusers.
Feedback, and our experience, has told us that peer to peer recommendations among teens carries more weight than any other form of promotion. So we aim to get teens telling other teens about us. The librarian stereotype can work against us here. So you may want to consider finding nonlibrarians to pass your message on. This is where youth councils and youth workers can come in handy. We have regular catch ups with these types of groups and keep them up to date with what we are up to.
In an effort to break free of the librarian stereotype we regularly visit the 16 colleges around Wellington city. A hand picked team of youth orientated librarians will go into the colleges and talk to the teens about the benefits of membership and promote library resources--especially dvds, magazines and the most popular items. It is a chance for the teens to connect with the librarians on their turf. In this setting they are usually not afraid to approach with questions, and find out more about the library--they are not afraid to dictate their interaction with you while you are in their school. This type of contact also provides the perfect opportunity to show them the Teen Blog, hand out event flyers, and tell them about what is coming up. They get all the information and do not have to go to any effort of finding out for themselves.
Hold some events purely for fun take the library element out of it. There are sound reasons for doing this. You will be challenging and changing the stereotype of libraries, promoting the library as a place of recreation, and pushing your library's brand, while encouraging membership and promoting teen involvement in future events. Be honest about what the event is about--teens may be disappointed and feel cheated if they turn up to a just for fun event and find they have to jump through library hoops first. Be open, friendly and approachable about your events, and they might just return the favour.
Holding events, going out to colleges, walking the streets handing out flyers and being out on the floor of the library are all great ways to get your name and face known and for you to become familiar to teens. Become sufficiently recognisable to them, and they may willingly approach you when they need to.
The best way to make contact is by having them feel comfortable enough to make contact with you. In order to do this they need to feel relaxed and familiar with the library environment and with the librarians, to feel that they will not lose face ie librarians will take my question seriously, and they need to be either within your four walls either physically or virtually.
If they want you, they will seek you, but only if they know you are there. So spread yourself far and wide, while avoiding associating yourself with things uncool and undesirable.
What did not work?
Not everything goes to plan. It has been said many times before that teens are notoriously unpredictable, and months of planning for an event can go astray when trends suddenly shift. Accept that this is a way of life when working with teens and be light on your toes and ready to adapt to shifting trends. Analyse what did not work so well and use the lessons learnt in the future.
We once ran a competition to promote the Urban Survival Series which, generally, is not a bad technique to encourage interest. However our competition asked them to create an original recipe, using our list of ingredients, and the person who submitted the best recipe would win a cookbook. We got three entries, and only two were eligible. We rationalised that there were two reasons this failed. One--what teenager wants to win a cookbook!? Two--we asked them to do so much work for a not very exciting prize.
Lesson learnt--if you are running a competition make it worth their while and ensure the prize is proportional to the amount of work required of them. We have noticed that the competitions or draws with the highest number of entries are those that require the least amount of work to enter, and this seems especially true for teenagers. This lesson can be applied to communication--make it easy and rewarding for them. Provide opportunities and methods for your teens to make contact and share their opinions. Honour their opinions and follow up with them.
We also discovered that events should be about the teens and what they want, not about what we want them to know, do or find out. Events that are too library focused can be a real turn off, and may not attract those who are not already library users. Our events always relate back to the library somehow, but this is generally a small portion of the
event make up. For example, a quiz night is a really good balance between library and teens needs and expectations. Our Twilight Trivia Night was really successful as it focused on books and promoted collections, but it was also a reflection of something that was featured prominently in pop culture at the time, and still is. Ensure your events and programs are not comprised of 'spinach icecream'--lessons disguised as fun. They may see through your attempts to impose 'library' on them and will not appreciate the dishonesty.
If you are running a survey or an event registration, make sure you have different methods for teens to access this. Have online and print versions, so those who are keen to participate are not disadvantaged by lack of electronic access. We use our Teen Blog regularly for event registration, surveys and information. But this may not be an option for all library systems. If you need to send them an email survey or let them know about a print survey in the library, it may be a good idea to send them a text to let them know where they can access it.
We also learnt a lesson about social media. After an investigation, a report and a debate, we decided to put ourselves on Bebo in late 2009. At this stage Bebo was nothing new to our teen users, in fact many of them had been on there for years. We were latecomers to the game--so late, in fact, that Bebo was now uncool and Facebook was on the rise. The result was that we had no friends on Bebo and we were now associated with a dying trend.
Lesson learnt--keep up to date with social media trends and be ready to jump on them quickly. Be equally ready to jump off them and onto the next big thing when you need to. Being too late recognising the cool sites and then trying to push participation can affect your image with teens.
Find out where teens are online and make sure you are there too.
Another method that does not work so well is only advertising and marketing your teen programs and events within libraries. Get your message out to where the teens are physically or virtually, in order to attract a different crowd. Made a teen book list? Great--now get it in school libraries, caf6s or bookstores. Put your posters up on community notice boards, skate parks and cafe notice boards--in all the places where they hang out.
Got 1? Get the rest and how to maintain contact
We have discovered a few simple ways to get repeat users, but we have managed to get a regular group of teens coming along to events. But we decided that we wanted their friends too, and get them all coming along to more events. Early on we discovered that holding team events boosted numbers. A team of four people means that only one needs to know about the event, and they will bring three of their friends. Our analysis of just one teen event showed that
* team leaders (the person who registered the team) who have library cards: 97%
* team members who have library cards: 79%
Requiring teens to preregister for an event also helps, as they are more likely to attend (you can plan for the event more effectively too). For The Almost Amazing Race in 2009 only one of the teams that registered for the event did not turn up. Make it easy for them to register and have a variety of formats. We tend to do online registration, but will be happy to accept print registration too. Remember that not everyone has access to the internet, although it is becoming more widely available through schools and libraries.
Consider having incentives for those that bring a friend along. Something simple such as one free dvd hire or 15 minutes of internet time, if your library charges for them.
Once you have a group of teens regularly attending it pays to have a plan for keeping them coming back. Aside from running a super cool event that leaves them wanting more, gathering suggestions and feedback, along with follow up communication, is important. We often gather feedback and opinions from teens, which can provide important information for planning future events and services. We give out feedback forms after an event, and have a suggestion/feedback form on the Teen Blog. Teens can also post comments on blog posts. We have forums to brainstorm ideas and gather their opinions, and we have even run a far reaching youth survey. Polls and online surveys are tools at our disposal too.
For one event we casually filmed their feedback. This served two purposes--we had our information and we also had promotional material if we chose to run the event again. We simply worked our way around the teams at the end of the event and asked their opinions and captured it all on film. Take their opinions and suggestions seriously. Refer back to them when planning for events and services.
Following up after an event is really important. We do this by simply sending a 'thanks for attending' text or email, or by letting them know that the results or photos are now on the Teen Blog or Flickr. By doing this we are trying to keep the connection strong and let them know that their attendance was valued and important to us. It also serves to remind them that we are still there and thinking of them.
Summary
Our experience is that a variety of effective communication methods works best--due to the diversity and nature of teens there is not usually one best method. Some of the most important steps in effective communication with teens lie in knowledge and preparation.
Know your local teens, their interests and needs, and the demographics and socioeconomic situation of your community. Prepare by staying current with trends and technology. Listen to their ideas and suggestions, and their feedback on your current services and events. Making yourself known to teens is also important, by being visible, available and approachable in your libraries, schools and teen hang out locations. This information will assist in mapping out communication strategies for your library system.
Do not plan for your teens; plan with your teens. Similarly, do not communicate at them--communicate with your teens and through your teens. Consider an inclusive approach to your communication strategy, and try not to assume you know what they want and need.
Recommendations
* find out about your teen market--what they like, dislike, will or will not attend, their leisure and learning needs etc. Use this information to plan a communication strategy that fits within the boundaries of your library system.
* develop a web presence that is going to meet your needs--to inform, to gather information, to entice and excite. Use it as your one stop shop for communication with teens. It much easier for them to go to one location for everything they need to know--do not make them hunt around for information. Keep it up to date.
* find out how teens are communicating amongst themselves in your area. Much like the rest of the world, Wellington teens use text messaging, so we do. It is a great way to get your message straight into their hands. Keep an eye on smart phones and new portable web devices that are emerging, including ereaders. If this is where technology is heading then you may want to consider heading in the same direction.
* make a conscious effort to make yourself known to your teens. Do not be shy--be accessible, friendly and approachable.
* keep up to date with trends--this will arm you with information when planning events and services, and predicting the needs of teens. You will be able to approach teens and interact with them with more confidence.
* find out what else is happening in your community for teens and what is being provided by youth councils or youth organisations. See if you can piggy back off their events and promotions or complement them. At the very least ensure you do not clash with them. Youth organisations can be used as a communication conduit or information source. If possible, agree to offer support in promoting each others' services and events.
* spend time and money getting your visual marketing right. This is the visual representation of your brand and will communicate so much to your teens--it needs to be eye catching, enticing, trendy and professional. Once you have developed your visual material make sure you spread it far and wide--put it up in places where teens are, or hand it out in the after school hang out locations.
* try to get into your local colleges--this is a great way to connect with teens on their turf. You will have a captive audience to present to, so take along your newest and most enticing library items and any promotional material for upcoming events or competitions. Remember to promote benefits--teens generally want to know what is in it for them.
* listen to their ideas and opinions and take it on board. Provide forums for your teens to give their ideas and feedback. This could be through surveys, feedback forms, comments on your blog or social media pages, or gathering a group together for a brainstorm.
* run fun events for teens. Consider running team based events, with preregistration. Offer incentives if they bring a friend along.
* use a variety of communication channels when promoting something specific. For example if you are taking registrations for and event consider having an online form, a print form or the opportunity for teens to email or text you their details. The more varied your communication channels, the more teens you will be able to contact.
* follow up with your teens after you have made contact--after events, focus groups, class visits, competition entries. Maintain the link with them. Keep a database with their contact details. Get permission to inform them or events, services, new items etc for their age group.
* accept that not all things go to plan, which is especially true for communicating with teens. Appreciate the methods that did not work well as learning opportunities. Teens may forgive and forget one mistake, but may remember it if you repeat it.
Adrienne Hannah started working in libraries 11 years ago at Waitakere Library and Information Services in Auckland. In 2005 she took up a position as a CYA librarian and team leader at Waitakere Libraries planning and delivering library services and programs to 0-18 year olds. In 2008 Adrienne moved to Wellington City Libraries where she is one of two CYA specialists. Email adrienne.hannan@wcc.govt.nz
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