Brand Monitoring : Skokie Public Library
Skokie Public Library Gaming Night
I’m not originally from the Chicago area, or even the Midwest. When I started asking all of my coworkers if they had ever been to the Skokie Public Library they often laughed at me. They wondered why I would want to know about a library so far away when I work right down the street from the Harold Washington Public Library. Regardless of their scoffing I was drawn to the Skokie Public Library, it seemed like every article or blog post I read on the bibliosphere was mentioning Skokie. For example, at the end of my monitoring assignment Toby Greenwalt (virtual services coordinator) was named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker.
I started my brand monitoring by first checking Google Reviews directly from Google Maps. I assumed that this is where many people gather information about a library, or really anything, when they are looking into visiting it for the first time. Almost all of the reviews are 5 stars with titles like “The Best Library in the whole Area” and “Wow.” The top review (the one you see bellow the name of the location in Google Maps) starts with “”I study many times at this library. It is a very good library and it is always …“
Twitter searching also revealed similar results. Many people go to the library to study and the Skokie’s twitter presence is prominently displayed. Here is a screenshot from the search query while snagged while creating this post. I think it’s important to mention that Skokie Public Library has a great bio on twitter : “Cornerstone of information, entertainment, and community on the North Shore.” Not only are they striving to provide information but so much more.
Although I can’t claim to have seen this for myself as part of brand monitoring I looked through the blogs of those library staff that I could locate. From Toby Greenwalt’s blog:
This is great, but it tends to overlook the biggest reason to have a good Twitter Search feed set up: it lets you know when people are talking about you. Much like having Google Alerts set up, you can identify and respond to all the good and bad chatter taking place out in the cloud. Right after I made that last post, I found the following conversation in the feed:
I decided to try a website out that I know is often used for scathing and snarky reviewers, Yelp. I was hoping to find at least one bad review but everywhere I looked everything was great! Almost all 5 Star reviews from Yelp as well with reviews like ” This is my favorite library in the world. When I lived in the suburbs, this was my happiest hangout.” via
After monitoring Skokie Public Library I could plainly see that they provide great service that is truely appreciated by their community. I decided that to contact the library about possible volunteer opportunities. Last weekend I took the haul out to Skokie and got to the library a little before my meeting. I decided to grab some coffee next door and read a little. The cafe employee guessed that I was there to visit the library and we started talking. She began lamenting on how much she loves the library and how many people it draws to the downtown area. After I sat down with my bagel and coffee a librarian came in and inquired on how to place group size coffee orders! Overall, Skokie Public has created and maintained a highly appreciated brand.
