N.J. libraries to participate in texting program

Ten libraries in New Jersey will become the first in the nation to test a program that makes text messaging a primary form of communication between librarians and some patrons, officials announced yesterday.

Cherry Hill's library and the Burlington County and Atlantic County systems were among those selected for the six-month pilot program, which will target teenagers and young parents.

"We get to be the guinea pigs for an experiment that has nationwide implications," said Andy Woodworth, a Burlington County librarian. "We'll be pioneering this service for other library systems across the country."

At the beginning, people who sign up will receive a maximum of two messages a week, said Nancy Dowd, director of marketing for the State Library, which is funding the program.

For parents, the texts might be tips for homework help or programs at the library. Messages for teenagers could be about contests - for example, who can give the best book review in 140 characters, the length of a standard text message - or surveys about music or movies.

Participants will be able to respond and forward texts to someone who may not be signed up.

"The advantage of mobile marketing is it can be very interactive," Dowd said. "We'll actually be able to get input from our parents and teens."

The mobile marketing will be combined with Facebook because many libraries have their own Facebook pages. But, Dowd said, texting is the primary method of communication used by teenagers and some parents.

"We're finding more and more parents are using their mobile phones in order to receive their information," she said. "Teens aren't e-mailing. They don't e-mail anymore. We believe that the texting is the way that they are communicating."

Although the program will be offered only to those with a text-messaging plan, it can work on any phone, not just a "smart" phone. There is no limit for how many people can sign up.

"We can run contests. We can award prizes. We can generate a lot of user content," Woodworth said. Teens "can create stuff and share it with us, and we can in turn share it though our Web site with other teens."

The program will begin the first week in August, Woodworth said. The cost for all 10 libraries is about $4,000, Dowd said.

"We want to get out to where people are and to where people could possibly use us," Woodworth said.

After six months, each library will report its experiences with the program, which could be implemented statewide.