1. Display and distribute the “Tell Us Your Story” cards we have created for your library. The cards ask for basic contact information and a brief description of the experience the person wants to share.
2. Have a staff person enter the information to a Wiki, Microsoft table, Excel spreadsheet or some other format that you can use to keep a record of your story submissions. Be sure to create an area on the list where you can write down comments that the contributor has shared with you or that you observed that may impact on the story. For example, you may want to comment on whether the person would be great for a live interview or better for print interview. These comments should only be used by your staff.
3. Have a staff person call the person and review the background about why you are collecting the stories and what you will do with them. Confirm the contact information and go over the story. Depending on the story, you may need to confirm the facts of the story. A short cut in this process could be to have a staff member go over the story in person when the story is submitted. Then you would only need to call those people you haven’t already spoken with in person.
4. Stories should be updated about every six months.
