I’m very pleased to be speaking at the upcoming Manitoba Libraries Conference 2010: The Power of Many – The Power of Partnerships: May 17 – 19th in Winnipeg, Manitoba. My session is entitled “Building Your “Nonline” Library Community”: A Blueprint for Success”.

My intention is to explore a challenge faced by many organizations today – the struggle to stay relevant to an increasingly distracted group of stakeholders. All of us, and libraries in particular, need to take full advantage of any and all available tools to help us to build and remain connected to our communities.

In fact, for today’s library, the availability of online tools can be a double-edged sword – a profusion offering overwhelming opportunity. Should you use these tools to build an online community? Or are they best suited to build our ‘offline’ community? Or, should we stop trying to differentiate, and embrace “non-line” marketing – with thanks to http://www.nonlinemarketing.com – in our community building efforts?

Could your library use these online tools as a gathering place for book lovers? Or to harness enthusiastic members willing to increase non-member awareness of your library’s facilities and programs? Or to help identify potential donors, volunteers or Friends? What about using these tools to influence your community ‘influencers’? Which approach makes the most sense for your library?

On May 19th, I hope you’ll be able to join me in exploring examples of nonline communities and be inspired about ways you can use today’s online tools to enhance your library’s community building efforts.