Mary Baker Eddy Library

Institution: Mary Baker Eddy Library

Background: The Mary Baker Eddy Library is a beautiful building in downtown Boston. Opened in 2002 and named for Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, the library houses museum galleries about Eddy and her time period, a Mapparium, and one of the largest collections by and about Eddy. The collections, located in Research and Reference Services within the library, include letters, manuscripts, organizational records, photographs, artifacts, books, periodicals, and other materials that document Eddy’s life and the church she founded.

Website Information: I think it is necessary to provide some general information about the institution’s website as it is probably the major access point to the institution’s social media. The Mary Baker Eddy Library has an excellent and extremely user-friendly website. The main page has links to information about visiting (including hours and directions, food options, and group visits); current and past exhibits in its various galleries; current and past programs (including a streaming video archive); research and reference services; information about Mary Baker Eddy’s life, writing, and achievements; and finally, general information about the institution, including an FAQ page. The main page also provides a way to search the site and contact the library, and highlights certain (probably commonly used) sections such as “What’s New,” “Ask a Researcher,” “Our Mission,” and “Shop Online.” The main page is simply and well laid out, colorful, and easy to navigate with pull down menus and multiple ways to access what you need. Because the website is so well designed and user-friendly, I think it provides a positive face to the institution, and encourages patrons to connect to it using social media.

           

Social Media Usage: Social media is a prominent and major component of the Mary Baker Eddy Library’s website. On the main page, on the top right, are links to Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and StumbleUpon, as well as a link to “More” social media options. When you click on this, a pop up window opens with a list of A LOT of social media links. I mean a lot. If I did the math right, there are 289 different social media links. Clearly the library is very dedicated to promoting the institution through social media (though I couldn’t find evidence of a public social media policy), and probably employs someone to specifically seek out ways that anyone might want to connect to the institution. There is also a bar at the top of this pop up window to “Find a service,” or search for a specific type of social media. Not being a big social media user myself, I had never heard of most of the links, but I clicked on the Gmail link, just to see what happened. It brought me to a page that loaded my Gmail (since I was already signed in), and opened up an email with me as the sender and the subject line “Mary Baker Eddy Library.” In the body of the email was a link to the website, and the “To” field was blank. This is a quick way for me to send an email to tell someone about the library, and directly connect them to it. I didn’t have time to go through all the social media links, but I imagine that they are generally the same: ways to connect to the institution and share it with others. Having 289 links is very impressive, but on the other hand, it seems like they are most useful for those that are already inclined to use social media, versus drawing in those that wouldn’t likely use it to share things about the institution. I’m basing this off of my own experience: the only services on the list that I really use are Gmail and Facebook, and for both, if I wanted to share something about the library, I would probably go directly to my Gmail or Facebook and post my own thoughts, rather than searching out and clicking on the social media link from the library website.

Also on the library’s main page is a “What’s New” section, with a text box that says “If you haven't found us on Facebook, or don't follow us on Twitter or Tumblr, you can still browse everything that's new at the Library compiled onto one page…” Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr are directly linked. These are some of the most popular forms of social media, and again, this shows the institution’s large investment in publicizing itself through social media channels. As I mentioned, since Facebook is the only one of these that I use, I checked out the Facebook page. It was quite inviting and useful. For someone that might not want to navigate the main website, there’s convenient information at the top of the Facebook page such as hours of operation, address, and phone number. There are links to scroll through photos and view upcoming and past events, as well as links to connect to other social media sites (like Instagram, Twitter, etc). There are posts about collections and goings-on at the library, as well as posts from users and those that have “liked” the page. There is also a prominent box where users can invite their Facebook friends to “like” the page. I think this is a good use of social media, especially if someone happens to stumble upon the Facebook page first—it might lead them want to learn more and/or visit the institution.

Finally, the Mary Baker Eddy Library also has a blog on Tumblr at http://mbelibrary.tumblr.com/. The blog links to the website, Facebook, and Twitter. Scrolling through, it’s mostly large pictures with small blocks of text linking to parts of the website, collections, and fun facts—a good way to pique users’ interest but not overwhelm them. There’s also a pop-up window that asks you to “follow” the blog.

In context with the literature: Two articles that I found especially useful in giving some perspective on this were “The Changing Museum Environment in North America and the Impact of Technology on Museum Work” and “Smithsonian Team Flickr: a library, archives, and museums collaboration in web 2.0 space.”

The first article reminded me that, more than just another way to draw patrons in, a web 2.0 presence is now essential for an institution to appear professional. The Mary Baker Eddy Library does this well, as I mentioned in my overall assessment of the well-designed and user-friendly website, but also in the proliferation of options of social media. It is clear that the institution has taken a professional attitude towards integrating social media. In this vein, the article goes on to state that technology and web 2.0 have actually changed the way museums (and other institutions) work and think about themselves, both in the sense that they can “express their missions to a broader audience, and fulfill them in a variety of new ways” (1), but also noting a shift from object to experience centered design. Indeed, the 289 social media links aim to reach the broadest audience possible, and make clear the fact that the institution is interested in connecting to users in ways that are comfortable and in-line with their experience. That is, if someone is comfortable using Facebook, they can experience the library through a channel that is already comfortable for them through the library’s Facebook page. They can also, as the article mentioned, “access the museum before they visit it physically, and continue to visit the museum website after they return home” (3). I think this is encouraged by the multiple avenues to “like” or “follow” the library—you’re remaining connected, even if you aren’t visiting frequently.

The second article, although it talks specifically about Flickr and the Smithsonian, also brought up some relevant points. Similar to experience-centered design, this article emphasizes “embrac[ing] the social networking reality of Web 2.0—choosing to go where visitors are and not requiring them to come to us” (270). Certainly the Mary Baker Eddy Library has made this a priority with its almost uncountable ways to connect. However, as this article reminds us, focusing simply on social media outreach comes up empty if there isn’t a strong base, such as that professional-looking website that I’ve mentioned a few times. This article notes that while social media sites “increase access for educational and research purposes, [we] fully realize that in doing so we are going to a virtual location that is commercial and not a trusted website in many educational environments. Therefore, our strategy is to use this type of site in context and in parallel with development of access…through Smithsonian web sites” (272). This article also laid out some specific goals for the Smithsonian’s Flickr project, which I found applicable to and a useful framework for any institution’s implementation of social media. First, good social media implementation should “increase public knowledge of and access to the [institution’s] digital collections, programs, expertise, and other resources…[and] draw new visitors… those who might not otherwise come to our museums, libraries, and archives in pursuit of their interests” (272). Second, social media should help an institution to develop an online community, and “continue to create community by reaching out to new and existing audiences” (272). Third, analyzing results of social media usage should “improve public outreach. Through learning more about our audiences, through social tagging, public comments, and the resulting social dialog, [institutions should] increase current methods of outreach as well as develop new ones. Gather information about the interests of the Smithsonian’s audiences and enhance the documentation and interpretation of our collections using the knowledge, perspectives, and experiences of these audiences” (272). Certainly the Mary Baker Eddy Library is attacking the first of these two goals. It is harder to measure the third without being on the inside of the institution, but from the obvious dedication to social media, I would venture to say they are analyzing the data and using it to better target their audience’s needs.

Finally, as a number of readings were on the topic of tagging and other forms of user-generated content, I thought it necessary to mention that I didn’t see examples of this relating to the Mary Baker Eddy Library. This is not necessarily something I would “deduct points” for in the social media realm, but it is perhaps a direction the institution could consider in the future.

References:

Duff, W., Carter, J., Dallas, C., Howarth, L., Ross, S., Sheffield, R., Tilson, C. (2009). The Changing Museum Environment in North America and the Impact of Technology on Museum Work. Cultural Heritage Online, 1-8.

Kalfatovic, M.R., Kapsalis, E., Spiess, K.P., Van Camp, A., Edson, M. (2008). Smithsonian Team Flickr: a library, archives, and museums collaboration in web 2.0 space. Arch Sci, 8, 267-277.