Transcript Bracketology: Tips for a March Madness Style Bracket at

Bracketology
March Madness style brackets for
library programs
Alvin Dantes
Head of Access Services
SUNY Oneonta
The Bracket
Banned Books Week 2012
Banned Books Week 2012
• Banned Books Week  Banned Books
Month
– Weekly matchups
– Culminating events during Banned Books
Week in October
• Prizes for most accurate brackets
Website
Website
• https://www.oneonta.edu/library/bannedbooks/
• Website for Banned Books 2012
– Contained information on our events as well
as Banned Books information in general
– Updated weekly with new polls and bracket
matchups
– Link to website on all physical materials and
QR codes posted throughout the library
Google Form
Google Form
• Weekly votes with Google Docs form
– Embedded into web page
– Tied to Google Spreadsheet for easy data
manipulation or export
Physical Bracket
Physical Bracket
• Physical bracket hung in the library
– Marketing
– Regular updates
– Reusable
• Made with large format printer
• Book titles attached separately with sticky tack
• Empty bracket still available for future events
Marketing
Marketing
• Each flyer for the events had a bracket
printed on the back that could be filled out
to win prizes
• Combination of in-house materials and
pins/posters/t-shirts from ALA (all of which
were used as prizes)
• Exhibit space in the library devoted to
promoting Banned Books Week
Mistakes Made
• 2nd week of voting only had 17 votes
• Bracket submissions were due early in
September, though classes had just been
in session for a few weeks
– Bracket participation low
– Could not capitalize on later interest
• Timing off during the last week of voting
Outcomes
• Captured campus interest
– 100+ votes each week for matchups
– At least two faculty using banned books and
censorship in curriculum
• Innovation award from the South Central
Regional Library Council
Do It Yourself
Preparation
• Plan things out way ahead of time
• Give yourself a big launch date and
promote it
• Tie the program with other programs
occurring during the same time period
• It’s never too early to prepare for a
culminating event
The Bracket
The Bracket
• We used a large format printer
– Easy (for us) to make
– Easy to use and reuse
– Lack of modularity
– Still relatively small
The Bracket
• Alternatives
– Use individual pieces of paper and link them
with string or yarn
– Make it virtual with a dynamic website or a
kiosk
• www.betterbracketmaker.com
– Other ideas?
What to Put on the Bracket
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Banned books
Favorite authors/illustrators/creators
Literary character showdowns
People of historical significance
Voting
Voting
• Google Forms
– Embeddable into external websites
– Allows multiple submissions
– Integration with Google Spreadsheets for
easy data manipulation
– Lack of web analytics
Voting
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PollDaddy
SelectSurvey
EasyPolls.net
Twitter/Facebook/other social media
Other ideas?
Marketing
• Word of mouth
– Brackets are adversarial. Instant discussion
– Seeding creates upsets, underdogs, and
Cinderellas
• Social media
• Be visual
Marketing
• Update the bracket on a schedule
– Perhaps turn the update into an event in itself
• Keep a website/blog up to date with
information regarding your bracket
– Link to the website or to the vote wherever
and whenever possible
• Book talks/discussion groups
Things to Keep in Mind
Things to Keep in Mind
• Timing is everything
– We did not correctly anticipate the timing of
the bracket
– Remember to build momentum over the
length of the bracket
– Have a predictable schedule of updates
Things to Keep in Mind
• Marketing is everything else
– Find additional stakeholders
– It’s a long process, you need momentum
– Advertise before it starts if you want people
filling out brackets