[Web4lib] Anyone promoting library/collections through reader comments on newspapers?

[Brian Gray]

Several librarians at my library do post suggestions in the
university's operated forums. We even created a category for "Ask a
Librarian" for people not afraid to ask their questions in the open
and than we get a chance to demonstrate our services to all the forum
readers.

I do not recall what parts the public can see, but here it is:
http://forum.case.edu/

Brian Gray
mindspiral at gmail.com

On Tue, Jan 29, 2008 at 12:58 PM, Cornwall, Daniel D (EED)
<dan.cornwall at alaska.gov> wrote:
> Hello,
>
>  Lately I've been noticing a number of newspaper websites offering
>  registered users the ability to comment on articles, opinion pieces and
>  letters. At least two papers in my state Anchorage Daily News
>  (www.adn.com) and the Juneau Empire (juneauempire.com) offer this
>  feature. It offers advantages over letters to the editor because limits
>  on number of letters and post length do not appear to apply. Plus the
>  comment can be made immediately.
>
>  To me it seems like this might be a good opportunity to promote library
>  resources if done carefully in a nonpartisan way. For example, if you
>  notice a group of letters to the editor talking about the role of
>  religion in the birth of this country, a library might point out they
>  have a collection of "Letters of delegates to Congress, 1774-1789" so
>  people can read and judge for themselves. If there are articles about
>  various countries, a library might note related books in their
>  collections, or link to the State Department's Human Rights Reports. If
>  there was an article on local taxation, the library could post links to
>  the local revenue office. As long as a library didn't take one side of
>  an issue or another but confined itself to listing resources, it seems
>  like a good way to highlight that libraries exist and their collections
>  and expertise have much to offer the community.
>
>  Has anyone out there actually tried this? What has been the feedback or
>  measureable results?
>
>  =================================
>
>  Daniel Cornwall
>  Head of Information Services
>  Alaska State Library
>  PO Box 110571
>  Juneau, AK 99811-0571
>  (907) 465-1315 ph
>  (907) 465-2665 fax
>  E-Mail: dan.cornwall at alaska.gov
>
>  Learn what the Alaska State Library can do for you by visiting
>  http://library.state.ak.us.
>
>  Learn about the Alaska State Publications Program, a system that works
>  to make state information available to Alaskans now and in the 22nd
>  Century. See our web page at <http://library.state.ak.us/asp/asp.html>.
>
>  Any opinions expressed in this e-mail are mine alone and not those of my
>  employer unless explicitly stated.
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-- 
Brian Gray
mindspiral at gmail.com