Marketing Critique: San Jose Public Library

Within the last year, the San Jose Public Library (and subsequently the San Jose State University Library) has undergone a major overhaul of its website, online resources and overall presence on the Web.  I quickly found out that the SJPL is into everything, and they have done a tremendous job at streamlining their online presence and branding.  Even to the tiniest detail with every new site connected or owned by the SJPL using the same logo and incorporating its design scheme on all their pages, the branding efforts are easily spotted.  And although each branch has their own Facebook page, they mimic each other in what information is offered to the user or visitor and the types of announcements they make on their page.  Their newly expanded and expansive network works as a hub-and-spoke system with the main library website as the hub and all the spokes their various social networking venues, like Twitter, Facebook and Flickr, and their blogs, videos and Podcasts.  While the Facebook and Twitter pages for the SJPL focus primarily on quick headline-type events happening throughout the many branch locations, the bulk of the online content is through the main website.  The main library website provides basic online services for their library users with catalog browsing, branch locator, a wide variety of library services, research help for students and other users, as well as news and events, and new titles added to the catalog.  These are, of course, the bread-and-butter of any thoughtfully designed library website.  What makes the SJPL network unique is the sheer number of blogs and lists, all available to view through the library’s website in addition to being offered as RSS feeds and/or automatic email notifications. It is commendable for the public library system, which supports the “Capital of Silicon Valley,” to take on and find its way into every nook and cranny of the online world.  

There are blog posts broken down by subject (Top Library News, What’s Up for Teens, Newsroom for the Media, eBooks and eMedia Tips, etc.), there are staff picks for teens, adults, movies and music, and each library branch has their own blog within the main library site (not to mention that each branch has their own Twitter and Facebook pages).  There are RSS feeds available for library events, categorized by department (kids, teens, adults, seniors, etc.), and new titles added to the library collection, categorized by genre and media.  The blogs, though many, are very well organized and insightful.  I think Balwani (2009) put it best “having a CEO that blogs is great, but increase the number of blogs and you increase the number of connections. Leveraging your employees to write about what they love conveys the corporate dedication to the industry.”  While the director of the SJPL does have her own blog, which she does update from time-to-time, the main bulk of the blogging content comes from librarians from the various branches and departments within the SJPL.  These are more prolific and are written by experts in the field. 

There is, of course, repetition of information.  It would be hard for a library system as big as the SJPL, with its 18 branches and the main joint-use branch with San Jose State University, to have all unique information online at all times.  When looking consecutively at all the Facebook, Twitter, and blog pages from the main branch and all the other branches in the system, there are posts and links which repeat from page to page.  This is unavoidable with a system this large and a social network this expansive.  The average user, with a focus only on their local branch, would not experience this repetitive information.  Each blog posts enables user comments, which David Lee King (2007) has lauded and encourages companies to do as it validates user voices and encourages participation of users, and each blog post is signed by the author with a link to their information page.  However, the information pages about the blog authors is rather light and only takes the user to the author’s picture and states how long they’ve been a “member”.  This is confusing as there is no explanation of what being a “member” means; are they librarians or just patrons?  It would seem irresponsible to let any patron write a blog post for the SJPL, so it’s assumed these authors are SJPL librarians, but it is vague.  Even with these very small criticisms, overall it is difficult to find a flaw in San Jose Public Library’s online presence and brand.  I honestly believe that the online media consultant they used pointed them in the right direction and the SJPL online presence has flourished.

With this many outlets into the online social world this would seem almost entirely overwhelming and, quite frankly, it is when looking at it from such a broad perspective as this.  However, from a user’s perspective of only having the need for keeping up with the local library branch or receiving RSS feeds of your favorite genre of book or to satisfy your movie fix, what the San Jose Public Library has done is incredible.  As Boller (2009) states in her article, “social media demands a fair amount of interaction if you want to build relationships with your target audiences and get their attention.”  It would be very difficult for any current or prospective member of the SJPL to ignore this kind of social media and public relations bombardment.  The best thing about what SJPL has done is they followed a distinct path (I’m sure similar to what Michael Stephens (2010) did for his “Anytown Public Library’s Social Media Policy"), and they have kept up with it.  The stream, as many writers put it, is flowing strong and it is no wonder the San Jose Public Library welcomed 7.6 million visitors to its 19 branches in the last fiscal year (Light, 2010).  It makes me proud to be a card-carrying member of the San Jose Public Library to see this incredibly expansive and well executed online presence.