Checking into the library with social media like Facebook, Yelp, Foursquare, or Google Places can get our cause in front of thousands of voters.
The Libraries Yes! Campaign is in full swing before the important May Library Levy 26-125. One way you can ensure our libraries get the support they need is to show your neighborhood library some love on any of four social media platforms. By simply writing reviews on Facebook, Yelp, Foursquare, or Google Places, you can explain why your library is meaningful and necessary for you. This raises awareness of the library, a cornerstone of our democratic principles.
Probably not everyone on your social media networks is a Friend of the Library, but the library is a friend of everyone. The targeted social media networks have millions of users and hundreds of thousands in Multnomah County. By checking in, rating, and commenting on your neighborhood library, you can bring awareness of the library to a large portion of those people.
If you’re a social media guru and would like to participate in this campaign, you can easily go directly to the Libraries Yes! website for instructions. However, if you would like some guidance, you can volunteer for an organized weekly session with the Libraries Yes! Campaign, or schedule an alternate time by emailing Aly Sneider. These events are planned and easy to follow, but the main idea is to get people to connect to the library on a personal level. The goal, Sneider says, is for people to “make their reviews their own by explaining why they love their libraries.”
I attended one of the weekly sessions on April 4, and found it to be an incredibly positive experience. Nearly two-dozen library lovers dedicated an hour of their time to writing reviews and supporting their neighborhood library. Many volunteers learned about new platforms; for example, I had never interacted with Foursquare. While going to the session is not necessary, it provided clear and easy directions to navigate the waters of new social media platforms.
Do you love your library? If so, don’t be shy: get involved and show your library the love it deserves!
