User engagement at Nanyang Technological University National University of Singapore Singapore Management University

Highlights from NTU Content creation service Social media engagement Provide routine library service where faculty can store, organize and make accessible rich content they generate from research activities Help develop and create teaching & course blogs to support faculty in their teaching activities Adopt whole-of-organization approach in using social media to deliver service and engage in outreach work USER ENGAGEMENT WORK (new in 2012/13) A B

Easy to use technology provides new opportunities for collaborative work with faculty and users A. CONTENT CREATION SERVICE Digital library / repository platforms Library systems Social media tools, blogs, etc Work suitable for library involvement Faculty produced, unique resources Requires content organization & description Make use of expertise of librarians Not one-off projects, but regular library service

ROLE OF LIBRARIAN Site design Design information organization, taxonomy Facilitate sharing of content via social media tool Add value – design interactive map 1) USING SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS - WORDPRESS BAGAN MURALS PROJECT – with History Professor EXAMPLES

Education Biography Research Interest ROLE OF LIBRARIAN Site design Information organization Metadata scheme Indexing Records maintenance 2) USING LIBRARY SYSTEM – SirsiDynix-Portfolio ARTISTIC WORKS - with Art Professor EXAMPLES

Student assignments in blog format Psychology librarian set up blogs Teach student Provide advice (reference services) on content – greater interaction – more embedded 3) COURSE BLOGS CONSERVATION PSYCHOLOGY EXAMPLES

4) TEACHING BLOG With history professor : An international, multilingual resource for teachers and scholars to share resources on scientific & technical issues related to disasters in Japan TEACH 3.11 – Blogs with contributed teaching resources EXAMPLES

B. SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT Adopt a whole-of-organization approach Expect all librarians to use social media in their user- engagement work The New Media Group was set up to strategize and drive social media engagement (1 Head, 3 librarians (half-time) and 1 para-professional staff Develop processes & policies. Initiative activities. Coordinate strategy & development. Train staff. Build capabilities

User NUS Libraries Purpose o To find out users’ needs and improve services to meet the needs o To promote services that benefit users o To build library community for gathering feedback and gaining support for library activities Strategy o Use creative and innovative way to engage users o Leverage on ICT o Collaborate with Faculty

Highlights of 2012/2013 Online chat service with librarian o Expanded chat service to NUS Course Management System called IVLE in 2012 to help students with their assignments o Embedded chat box in some databases in 2013 to provide research-focused assistance to students and researchers. Online chat

Social Media (1) Formed a Social Media team to actively engage users through social networking platforms.eg. Twitter, Facebook, Blog, YouTube, Flicker, FoursSquare, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. Made use of these platforms to organise outreach programmes in a creative manner e.g. organise contests, use memes, etc.

Social Media (2) Memes on FaceBook o Used memes to publicise news, events, new services, etc. on FaceBook o Organised a meme contest in 2012 and received over 100 memes from students, faculty and researchers o Contest attracted >100 new fans and generated numerous comments and >2000 likes on meme photos within 2 weeks

Social Media (3) Library FourSquare o A location-based service allowing users to check-in on their mobile phones to specific locations o Organised FourSquare promotions at 4 libraries in 2012 o Aims:  To develop social presence for the libraries  To alert users of library events and news when they check-in to the libraries

Library Surveys Major Survey o Conducted Library User Perception Survey 2013 in March o Received 6,718 responses and >4,000 comments Minor Survey o Conducted survey on Alpha and Beta versions of Discovery service, in 2012 o Incorporated many comments from the survey in the final version of Library Survey Perception Survey 2013

Our Four Pronged User Engagement Strategy A Culture of Engagement/ SMU Strategic Goals The Expected (Institutionalized) The Unexpected (Surprise) The Pervasive (Embedded) The Inclusive (Interactive) A Culture of Innovation in User Engagement

User Engagement at SMU Library InstitutionalizedThe Institutionalized Element: What we do on a regular, recurring basis SurpriseThe Surprise Element: Just that – a few nice surprises along the way, especially during high- stress periods InteractiveThe Interactive Element: Listening, collaborating and being continually responsive to users EmbeddedThe Embedded Element: LibQuest, Legal Internship Prep

Institutionalized Lifestyle/GamesSpecial occasions

Surprise Halloween April Fools’ Day

Interactive Facebook Collaborative Projects

Appropriate Use of Electronic Resources Policy

Embedded Libquest Legal Internship Prep

What it adds up to….. The library’s central role as the research, learning and community nerve-center of the university Alignment to SMU’s strategic goals Broader reach and usage of library resources Library champions and ambassadors across the SMU community Engaged, fulfilled library staff enjoying a culture of creativity and innovation

In summary All three libraries use multiple strategies to engage the campus community: Recognise critical nature of engagement Policies, plans and a variety of practices for collaboration and engagement activities Different types of engagement for different users Blogs, social media, online chat, mobile interfaces, apps, content creation etc.. Library surveys, website, face-to-face, space use Staff development, engagement, involvement, creativity and innovation Evaluation, measurement, feedback, review and innovate Ongoing activity….

Acknowledgments Choy Fatt Cheong, NTU Lee Cheng Ean, NUS