By Christine Sellers, Legal Reference Specialist, and Andrew Weber, Legislative Information Systems Manager, Law Library of Congress

Best Practices for Government Libraries is a collaborative document that is put out annually on a specific topic of interest to government libraries and includes content submitted by government librarians and community leaders with an interest in government libraries. The 2011 edition includes over 70 articles and other submissions provided by more than 60 contributors including librarians in government agencies, courts, and the military, as well as from professional association leaders, and more. Best Practices is edited by Marie Kaddell, Senior Information Professional Consultant; SLA DGI Chair.  If you did not write for this year’s Best Practices, Marie invites you to submit a guest post for the Government Info Pro marie.kaddell@lexisnexis.com.

The Law Library of Congress continues to embrace new mediums to spread and promote our collections, research and services. Over the last two years we have started using social media in a variety of ways. The Law Library has been on Twitter since October 2009 and Facebook since December 2009. The Global Legal Information Network (GLIN), a multi-national consortium we oversee, is also on Facebook. We started our newest Twitter feed in April 2011: @THOMASdotgov, which is designed to give timely updates regarding legislation from THOMAS.

Our goal in social media is to develop and expand knowledge about the Law Library of Congress. In furtherance of that, we determined that a blog would fill a role that the other social media efforts did not. It would provide a platform for more discussion or analysis than a tweet or post to Facebook could provide, but not be as in depth as the detailed reports that we make available on our website.

Communications Plan
One of our aims was to expose the various facets of the Law Library that might not necessarily be well-known, but could be very useful to our diverse clientele. To that end, we started with a group of bloggers that included staff from across our organization including a librarian from collection services, our New Zealand foreign law specialist, our United Kingdom foreign law specialist, and the two of us. Andrew would focus on posts related to THOMAS and Christine would provide more of a legal reference librarian viewpoint. We hoped this cross-section of staff would provide those outside of the Law Library with a glimpse into the different kinds of work that we do here, as well as the people doing that work.

We wanted to post daily to the blog, with a stated goal of 5-8 posts per week. Each author‘s goal was to contribute one or two posts a week so there would be regular content on a variety of subjects. Coming up with a name for the blog took time as we wanted something catchy and unique to the Law Library, but also with gravity befitting the institution for which we would be writing. We also needed something everyone agreed upon and could understand! We finally decided upon In Custodia Legis, which is Latin for in the custody of the law. We tried to put our spin on the legal phrase because one role of the Law Library of Congress is to be a custodian of law and legislation.

In Custodia Legis was officially launched on August 2, 2010, with our post What is In Custodia Legis?. We have been keeping up a strong and steady clip since then! By the end of April we had published our 200th post in just our ninth month.

Process

Each of our posts goes through a thorough review process before being published. Only the five primary authors have access to the WordPress software. After the review process, the author has final approval and publishes the post. The process is flexible and posts can be drafted, reviewed, and posted on the same day. Each week we email out a status update with the proposed posts for the week and their step in the review process. This helps ensure content is posted every day of the week and provides reminders for specific event themed posts.

Content

August 2010 was a great first month for us! We had ideas built up since we first decided to start a blog back in November 2009. But after the first month with twenty wonderful posts, we realized coming up with posts on a daily basis took some time (sadly only 14 in September). One thing we did was reach out to other Law Library employees for potential guest posts. We were so successful with submissions that we created a new category for them. As the blog became more established, some staff members came to us with post ideas.

We also developed regular weekly content, which included interviews with Law Library staff and a Pic of the Week feature every Friday. The picture provided a fun way to end the week, while still occasionally linking to previous posts. The pictures also provide a creative outlet for looking at things you pass by every day (sometimes for years) with a fresh perspective. One of our favorites was the introductory picture of a card catalog sign in the Law Library Reading Room. One of our most viewed is Looking Up the Old Law Library, which is a view of where the Law Library used to be thirty years ago in the Jefferson Building.

Through the six questions in the interviews, we‘ve learned a wealth of knowledge about our co-workers and the institution. Two questions in particular bring out interesting answers: ―What is the most interesting fact you‘ve learned about the Law Library? and ―What is something most of your co-workers do not know about you? Interviewees tell us those are the hardest questions to answer. For the former question, answers ranged from learning that more than half of the Law Library‘s print collection is in languages other than English to applauding the outstanding intellectual quality of the staff at the Law Library. For the later question highlights include a co-worker who was offered a job driving a Zamboni and one who interviewed President George W. Bush.

Both series were designed to provide an insider‘s perspective of the Law Library. A goal is to provide our audience with faces behind the institution.

Lessons Learned
We have learned a number of things since starting the blog, which we thought we should share with you. One of the more difficult lessons was finding the right tone and was a varied learning process for each blogger. As we are writing for the Law Library, the tone of posts cannot be too personal. Yet that personality is what makes blogs different and enjoyable. We have sought and continue to seek to strike the right balance in our writing.

We have also learned that having steady and continuous content takes a lot of planning. We have posts planned for up to two weeks in advance. Andrew sends out status updates containing the post schedule so that all of those involved in the blogging process can be aware of what needs to be done and where posts are in the review process. It takes time to be this organized, but we think the consistency in the blog proves that it is worth it. It also takes time to solicit content from guest bloggers and interviewees, which we try to work into the schedule as much as possible.

We have been surprised by which posts do well and which do not. We have also been surprised by the fact that we can never accurately predict which category a post will fall into ahead of time. Our interviews and pictures typically do well. We started a monthly retrospective post to provide an overview of what people view the most, liked on our Facebook page, commented on, and tweeted about.

Themed day posts have been popular with one on St. Patrick‘s Day and Cinco de Mayo in our all time top five. Blogging about updates to THOMAS.gov also received a lot of page views. Our most viewed post since we started is a straightforward post sharing our statistics, Top Law Library of Congress Web Pages. Our worst post was one of the first of the retrospective posts, December Retrospective. We have since rebranded how we announce the posts, which has improved their statistics.

Above all, we have really enjoyed how much fun writing for the blog can be and hearing how much people enjoy reading it. Some of Christine‘s favorite posts are those that detail reference questions received either on the reference desk or through the Library‘s Ask A Librarian service. These posts include Tales of Al Capone‘s Jury and What Does This Symbol Mean?. Andrew enjoys writing on topics that relate to THOMAS like Where to Watch Congress Online and THOMAS off of THOMAS.

We hope you will stop by to read our blog sometime and leave a comment!

Christine Sellers joined the Law Library of Congress as a Legal Reference Librarian in September 2009. In addition to her reference duties in the Law Library Reading Room, she is part of a team that develops new features for THOMAS and has compiled a report on the social media practices of Congress. Previously, she created the Law Librarians of Leisure blog and before that was a Senior Research Librarian at Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A. in South Carolina. Sellers holds a Bachelor’s degree in art history and English from Wellesley College, as well as a Juris Doctor and a Masters of Library and Information Science from the University of South Carolina.

Andrew Weber, Legislative Information Systems Manager, has been at the Law Library of Congress since June 2004. He has contributed to reports for Congress, updated parts of The Bluebook, trademarked the GLIN logo, and drafted visa applications for co-workers. He runs the Law Library’s Twitter account and Facebook page and works to develop and implement new features for THOMAS. He has been fortunate to blend his love of technology, law, gadgets, and working for Congress into his ideal position. Weber holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Ball State University and a Juris Doctor and a Master’s in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh.

Cindy Romaine, SLA President, has an AWESOME conversation with Neil Pasricha.

I’ve followed Neil’s blog 1000 Awesome Things for some time and feel that his perspective is especially valuable in a time of change and transition, so I was thrilled when Neil agreed to be interviewed for the FutureReady365 blog.

Neil Pasricha is the author of The Book of Awesome: Snow Days, Bakery Air, Finding Money in Your Pocket and Other Simple, Brilliant Things. A self-described “average guy” with a typical 9-to-5 job in the suburbs, Neil Pasricha started his blog 1000 Awesome Things, as a small reminder — in a world of rising sea levels, global conflict, and a troubled economy — of the free, easy little joys that make life sweet.

He didn’t anticipate that his site would gain a readership of millions of people, win two Webby Awards (“the Internet’s highest honor” according to The New York Times), be named one of PC Magazine’s Top 100 Sites On the Internet, or become a place where people from around the world would come to celebrate the simple pleasures of daily life. His first book The Book of Awesome became a #1 International Bestseller for #38 weeks, and The Book of (Even More) Awesome comes out today, April 28, 2011.

I asked Neil a few questions about change and transition. Here are his remarks:

1. Neil, what strikes me about your blog 1000 Awesome Things is how unassuming and yet powerful your insights are. There’s something universal and appealing about snowy days, bakery air, and roller-coaster rides. And yet you’ve experienced some unpleasant things in life, too. How do you keep a positive attitude?
   

   Ha ha, well I don’t always! To be honest, I’ve never thought of myself as an optimist or someone who wears a clown-faced grin all day. And I don’t know if keeping a positive attitude 100% of the time is even possible…or desirable.

   The truth is we all have dark days, dark months, and even dark years. I started writing The Book of Awesome after my wife told me she didn’t love me anymore… and after my best friend took his own life. It was the darkest year of my life.

   When it comes to dark times I say … let them be dark.

   You just have to remember there are awesome things at the end.

   It’s all about enjoying simple pleasures like stepping on dry crunchy leaves on the sidewalk, flipping to the cold side of the pillow, or the smell of a bakery…waiting for you at the end.

2. In your Ted Talk on The Three A’s of Awesome, you say, “We are all going to get lumps and we’re all going to get bumps. None of us can predict the future. But we do know one thing about it — it ain’t going to go according to plan.” Library and information centers are changing very dramatically and corporate libraries have been closed or downsized around the world. What attitude do you recommend to make us ready for the future?
   

   Well, life is short.

   We all live for a blink of an eye on a tiny spinning rock…and we could go at any time.

   So when it comes to attitude I say embrace this temporary nature of life and embrace the fragility and instability of everything…embrace it by filling as many minutes as possible with simple pleasures.

   Because sure, when we’re on our last legs we’ll look back and remember the high highs of first dances at weddings and the low lows of losing loved ones and funerals. But dotting those major moments will be all the tiny seconds we spend appreciating the smell of an old book, the look on a kid’s face after they close their first paperback, or the inner satisfaction that comes from finishing up a new display in your front window.

   Awesome things add up to hours and days and months and years.

3. As library and information professionals, we’re actively working with social media services in an effort to connect with our clients and customers. Your blog has gone viral with millions of hits a day. Is there a secret sauce for such impressive growth?
   

   When I was 15 my friend Chad and I started a website called “When I Was A Kid” as an online collection of funny things people believed when they were little. Over the three weeks the site lasted we only got one submission…and it was from my sister. She thought fish lived in waterbeds.

   I think over the years I’ve had fun experimenting with tiny websites in school projects, with friends, and just while tinkering around online. And they all probably got a grand total of a few hundred hits, most of which were my mom and dad and me hitting the “Refresh” button over and over.

   Now http://www.1000awesomethings.com has had over 30 million visitors, won multiple awards, and has two books—The Book of Awesome and The Book of (Even More) Awesome—coming out of it.

   So what’s my secret?

   I say try a lot and fail a lot. If you aren’t failing, you aren’t trying, if you aren’t trying, you aren’t failing. But when you’re doing both you’re always learning and getting better…

4. In your Ted Talk on “The Three A’s of Awesome,” you talk about awareness and using new eyes to see the world. When it’s “permanent whitewater everywhere,” how might awareness help?

Well, I don’t have kids of my own but I always love hanging out with three year olds. I love the way they see the world because they’re seeing the world for the first time.

Whether they’re staring slack-jawed at their first baseball game, on their hands and knees looking at ladybugs, or spending an entire afternoon picking dandelions in the backyard for the Sunday dinner centerpiece.

And…we all used to be three years old! That three year old boy is still inside you, that three year old girl is still a part of you. They just grew into someone who doesn’t spend as much time looking at ladybugs anymore.

But that’s where awareness of the tiny things in The Book of (Even More) Awesome is meant to come in. After all, there was the first time you experienced déjà vu, the first time a baby fell asleep on you, and the first time you snuck candy into a movie theater.

Being aware of these tiny little pleasures helps remind us how awesome life is.

5. Thanks in part to the Internet, library and information centers are changing dramatically right now. Information professionals are learning they have to be consistently awesome with their clients in this fast-changing landscape. What advice do you have to help us become awesome?
   

   Well, I think you already are! You guys are some of my favoritest people ever. I’ve honestly spent a good chunk of my life in libraries. My mom took me every Saturday morning and we’d drive home with a stack of books sliding all around the back seat. I’d crack into them at night and finger peel my way through The Hardy Boys, Encyclopedia Brown, and my sister’s Babysitter’s Club books when she wasn’t looking.

   I absolutely love books. They’re a record of everything! They’re the way we communicate with our past and the way we send messages into the future.

   You are already very awesome so there’s really no need to try…just stop and appreciate the awesome things around you already. Enjoy coming back to your own bed after a long trip, smile when you let go of the gas pump and land perfectly on a round number, and get into the moment when the cashier opens a new lane at the grocery store…and you get to be first in line!

   Thank you so much for the chat and thank you sincerely for the very gracious words of support for The Book of (Even More) Awesome. I hope you enjoy it. Sending lots of love from snowy Canada and have a very awesome day,

   Neil