Skip to main content

Facebooking Local History

Like most libraries, we post lots of pictures to Facebook promoting programs or events, technologies, services, or other information about the library.  According to Facebook's "insights," we "reach" a substantial number of patrons with these messages.  But none of these begins to compare to the patron engagement we achieve by posting local historical photos.

Generations of families have called Mooresville, Indiana home, so there is an appreciation among our patrons of family and local history, which is why history looms large in our mission.  When I began working at Mooresville Public Library a decade ago as our Indiana Room librarian, local and state history was my thing (so was genealogy, about which I knew just enough to be dangerous).  So I produced loads of local historical handouts for patrons to peruse.  At first, these were distributed on paper, but we decided that was environmentally unfriendly, so we digitized the content and placed it in our "treasure trove" blog and upon our website.  When we began using Facebook in 2010, it never occurred to me to post historical photos there.  That's what our Indiana Room web pages and blog were for!

A few years ago, in one of my "d'oh!" moments, I began to post some historical photos on Facebook. Suddenly, our "reach" exploded from the hundreds to the thousands.  Statistics for the photo posts were huge.  Here's a typical example:

Click to Enlarge

This post (two years ago) about The Village Shopping Center (1973 photos by Richard Squires) "reached" over 41,000 Facebook users (our service district is around 15,000).


Click to Enlarge

So far, 5,644 Facebook users have been "reached" through this post (from a couple months ago) about John Dillinger and the suggestion that a historical marker be placed here for him (an unpopular idea among our longtime residents, by the way).

Most of our Facebook posts "reach" hundreds of patrons, at best.  When we hit thousands (or tens of thousands), we know we've tapped into a popular topic.

We're not sure why local history is such a responsive subject for our Facebook page.  Other history/genealogy librarians with whom we've spoken have not enjoyed as much readership as their libraries' other departments (particularly children's), although their numbers are usually quite respectable.  We field far more reference requests for adult, teen, and youth services than we do for state/local history and genealogy.  Apparently, it's the photos that resonate with our social media followers.

You might want to give it a try.  Post a few local history photos with some background commentary on Facebook (or other social media), then see what happens.  Hopefully, many folks will join you on memory lane.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

See All the Fun You'll Have Working at the Library!

For many years libraries have used videos to promote programs, resources, services, community connections, local history, and many other  activities.  There is often an underlying implied theme:  the library is a fun place to be!   Patrons and staff have known this to be true forever.  Consider, too, that the library is a fun workplace , and videos can share this side of a library's character. I work in a small township public library ( Mooresville [Indiana] Public Library ) where fun is not merely a daily expectation, it is a requirement.  MPL's YouTube channel has a fleet of videos showcasing the smiles staff wear while working.  Let's see some. Beyond Books Infomercial by Mooresville Public Library Go Ask Reference by Rachel Montgomery & Meghan Adams Librarians Do Taio Cruz by Suzanne Walker We Love Mooresville Public Library by MPL Staff of 2019 Libraries & Old Dewey by Suzanne Walker and MPL Staff & Volunteers It's even possible ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Beyond Book Trailers: Using MARC 856 Fields for Other Online Promotional Media

In a previous blog post , we learned how catalogers could use MARC 856 fields to link cataloged books with book trailers (videos) summarizing their contents.  There are other digital media tools available that could be linked in 856 fields to promote cataloged books, such as: Podcasts; Readalouds; Blogs; Video Blogs (Vlogs); Video Book Reviews; Videos showcasing children's library craft activities related to specific books. Librarians use podcasts, blogs, video blogs (vlogs), and video book reviews to discuss library-related topics, including what they (or their book groups) are currently reading.  Podcasts may be audio- or video-recordings, while vlogs and video book reviews are filmed.  Blogs are traditionally online written content.  Podcasts, vlogs, and video book reviews may be done by a single librarian, or they may involve paired conversations or even group discussions.  Written blogs may have one or more authors.  URLs linking any of th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Avoiding Copyright Law Problems With Your Library Video Readalouds

For decades public libraries have presented readaloud children's programs to encourage reading and early literacy.  The photo (below) presents a typical scenario. Click Image to Enlarge Some libraries videorecord librarians reading children's books so that patrons may read along from the comfort of wherever they happen to be at the time.  Here are a few examples (click the boxes below to play the videos): Story Time Anytime!, by Clinton (Indiana) Public Library (see their Story Time LIVE video playlist ) Read Aloud, by Meghan Adams: Barn Dance, by Bill Martin, Jr., et al. Ms. Casey Reads a Chapter From Mr. Popper's Penguins , by Richard & Florence Atwater Videorecording someone reading an entire children's picture book could constitute copyright infringement, although some have argued that these types of videos fall within the "fair use" exception under Section 107 of the federal copyright act (17 U.S.C. §...
Post a Comment
Read more