#HumansOfMILibraries Social Media Spotlight

Social Media Strategy, Storytelling, Public Relations

Project Overview

During the Fall 2022 Academic Semester, I was served as one of the Social Media Strategist Interns with the Michigan Library Association. For my semester project, I wanted to find a way to share a more personal side of Michigan libraries through social media. Taking inspiration from the infamous Humans of New York photoblog by Brandon Stanton, I created a spotlight series to showcase stories of librarianship across Michigan.

My ROLE

Social Media Strategist Intern

PLATFORMS

Facebook & Instagram

DISCOVERY

In recent times, Michigan libraries have been facing a severe uptick in book challenges. These challenges have a created a political divide between libraries and communities, these stories have been featured on local news, as well as national news outlets. As a Social Media Strategist Intern, I wanted to find a way to use social media to promote MLA's mission statement of "the advancement of all Michigan libraries through advocacy, education, and engagement."‍

opportunity

With inspiration from Humans of New York, I pitched #HumansofMILibraries. #HumansofMILibraries is a social media spotlight series that shares narratives of librarianship during a time of a severe uptick in book and censorship challenges. Stories from Michigan librarians show the faces behind the controversy to share a more human perspective. Sharing these narratives with the MLA audience informs communities that the people that they may believe to be harming youth and spreading misinformation are truly there for good, not evil.

STRATEGY

CREATE SOMETHING UPLIFTING AND NEUTRAL
The stories shared are not directly related to recent book challenges. They are feel good stories about librarianship during a time of book challenges.
"GET TO THE HEART OF IT"
While developing questions to gather stories from people within the Michigan library community, I read the article 3 Interview Lessons from Humans of New York. It stated that in order to record truly human moments in an interview, you must "get to the heart of it." Instead of asking, "What is your favorite part of being a Librarian?" I opted to ask questions such as, "Is there a specific moment you have had with a library patron that has made an impact on you?"
PUBLISH TO STORYTELLING PLATFORMS
To ensure I was able to tell Librarian's stories in their entirety I made sure to publish #HumansofMILibraries to platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram that are capable of supporting and text heavy content.

CONTENT

Meet Sandy Irwin, Library Director at Royal Oak Public Library.
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‍"A few years ago, when I was working in Durango, CO, a man came in around 4 pm, and I said hello. He stopped and said that I was the first person who had spoken to him that day. He was unhoused, and he had a rough day. He said he was grateful for libraries because we were a place he could come in, sit down, use a computer, read a magazine, and be treated like a human. That has always made me think about those we serve. We never know what is happening with someone or where their life has taken them. It isn’t our place to judge a person, but it is our place to provide them with resources or even just a place to be."

Meet Matt Lubbers-Moore, Library Director at Fruitport District Library.

"I have been in and around libraries all of my life. My mother went from being the Friend of the Library president of our local library to working in libraries for over 20 years. I assisted in setting up book sales, programs, wearing a Corduroy costume, being a teen hero, signing people up for the Summer Reading Program, to running a library eBay and Amazon account for fundraising.Working in libraries professionally was not something I had considered until I was looking for a Master's Degree in History program. The school I planned to attend offered a dual enrollment program in history and library science. Upon completion and after working in academic and public libraries, I applied for and was hired as the library director of the Fruitport District Library."

RESULTS

I found inspiration in Humans of New York for this project because of the inherent vulnerability of sharing personal stories with strangers on the internet. The featured stories serve as a way for libraries to show their true intentions and passion for librarianship in a way that is not defensive or offensive.

The #HumansofMILibraries posts were the highest performing social media posts from the duration of my internship according to HootSuite analytics. With the popularity of this spotlight series on the MLA social media platforms, the series continues to be posted on the MLA Instagram and Facebook pages with the possibility of its own web page on the official MLA site in the future.

#HumansOfMILibraries Social Media Spotlight

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