• Hyperlocality is focusing on a small geographic community or neighborhood. For many of us, we might have a place we are connected to, that we’re fond or proud of. A place we call home. And at Spokane Public Library, one of our goals is to nurture that fondness in our community.

  There are a few reasons hyperlocality as a library value is particularly urgent: It creates a sense of belonging—whether a new resident or a longtime citizen, having a sense for where one is fosters a feeling of belonging. It highlights the spaces we are all connected to and engenders a fondness for the place we share. By centering ourselves around a hyperlocal value we encourage a community identity and create a sense of communal place we all belong to.

  Libraries are the perfect hyperlocal storytellers. Not only are our shelves filled with stories that allow us to learn, gain more understanding of the world, but we are also the spaces where people come to connect and transform their lives. By telling the stories of the people and organizations who use our spaces, we bring the impact of the library to life. Without telling the stories of the impact of the library, we risk fading to irrelevance.

  Hyperlocal storytelling could be the antidote to global chaos, by telling positive hyperlocal stories, you can elicit a different emotional, combatting the cortisol hit of doomscrolling with the dopamine or serotonin antidote to fear mongering. We want readers, watchers, or followers to feel happy for a second after watching or consuming a story we are telling.

  Because of the volume of information we are always consuming, our brains must metaphorically put information in the trash. Hyperlocal stories cut through the clutter of the onslaught of messages, allowing readers or consumers to see themselves in the messages. Hyperlocal stories will make the consumer linger just a longer – maybe looking for someone they know or even seeing themselves in a story.

  If your marketing piece or story could be picked up and used by another library, it might be too generic. We want our library stories to be recognizable as Spokane Public Library stories. We want to craft stories that people want to read and consume. Now, how do we go about that?

  Here are some tips to tell hyperlocal stories about your library:

• Feature real life people in your community as the hero of the library story. If you are talking about the library as the hero, you might be going about it wrong. By telling the story of the people in your community who are using the library to achieve their goals, you bring the library’s value to life. Tell your patrons’ stories in your social media, blogs, and other library channels.
• Showcase your community: Be the platform for your community to tell their stories By developing programming that showcases talent in your community, you are creating a stage for storytelling that brings your community to life. You have amazing people in your community—artists, musicians, experts—showcase them and you not only have a great line up of programming, you also highlight the hyperlocal talent in your region.

Hyperlocal storytelling can transform your marketing into a vehicle for connection and positivity. There are many challenges we face at our libraries, in our communities and our world, but it is not all dark, and telling positive hyperlocal stories of the people who use our libraries to transform their lives is one way we can provide an antidote to the darkness.

Amanda Donovan is the Director of Marketing and Communication at Spokane Public Library. A John Cotton Dana Award and PRXchange Award winner, Amanda has 20 years of marketing and communication experience including 9 years in library marketing. Amanda is also a Member at Large for the Library Marketing & Communications Group.