Thing 3: Image Banks

Thing 3: Image Banks

 

Thing 3 – Image Banks

Wow! Learned a lot from thing 3. I occasionally use background images to create library posts but to sidestep the minefield of copyright I have limited myself to the use of one poster promotional website. I was aware of the image site Flickr and had a passing acquaintance with the term ‘creative commons’ but it has been great to discover new image bank options and to learn of the varieties of licence type.

 

I played around with all three sites but after creating a Flickr account, I searched for my two favourite things, ‘libraries’ and ‘dogs’ and came across an image from the Pioneer Library System gallery of a therapy dog who listens to children reading in a library. I uploaded it to the blog et voilà!

 

 

Thing 2: Write Your First Blog Post

Thing 2: Write Your First Blog Post

“5 Great Ideas from the RBG Group Annual Seminar, ‘Bringing New Audiences to Special Collections,’ Chester Beatty Library, November 24th, 2017”

Know your Offers

What have you got that people enjoy? The quirky, the strange! What are the stories behind the collections?

Bridge the Gap

Work with established groups to bring in new audiences. Piggyback on local festivals and events.

Be prepared
Have small pop-up displays for a variety of subjects which can be developed at short notice, create a bank of exhibition labels for popular items, avail of Museum Standards Programme for Ireland (MPSI) training in areas such as exhibitions, marketing and education.

Social media

Social media is an ‘outward facing window to the collection.’ Users like to see the life in the library, what is in books, readers’ discoveries etc.

Give it a go

Be willing to try things. Sometimes things don’t work. And you are not going to please everyone. Take it with a pinch of salt and move on!

 

With thanks to the speakers at

https://www.libraryassociation.ie/events/rare-books-group-annual-seminar-2017