You Offer Me Nothing (A Bit Of A Rant)
Posted by: Emily in Library Marketing, Library ServiceWow, I wish I could have gone to this!!!
Reading the summary (thanks, Laura for posting it!), I was really struck by just how much I could identify with the comments of the panelists. I can’t even tell you how easily they could have come from my own family and friends… and some of them even from myself! My husband and I are really the only active library users among our immediate family members and in our social circle. And it’s not always easy to find incentives to stay active library users.
Yes, I am a librarian. But I’m also a busy working mother, and I do not work in a library. A lot of the time using the library is something I have to really make a conscious effort to do. And it’s often something that takes a pretty signifigant amount of effort, based on library hours (limited on the weekend), distance from my house (it’s FAR! and in completely in the wrong direction!), and program schedules (why, oh, why are there no weekend toddler programs??).
Of course, I do make an effort to use the library. But it’s not always easy to get what I need. Even as a fellow librarian, I often have a hard time figuring out the cryptic rules and regulations most public libraries (at least in this area) like to enact. You know: You can take out three dvds for seven days, unless they are new - that’s three days. Plus the fine rate for a late return on those is higher. Except for the foreign films. Take as many of those as you want. And that dvd owned by another library… that one is a 10-day loan but you can’t renew it and the fine is half as much as ours. Have a nice day! 
The panelists in the session I linked to above also mentioned the issue of being intimidated by the library. I think that crazy confusing rules play a big part in creating a sense of intimidation, at least for me. For others less familiar with public library practices, I can only imagine that being confronted with a two-page handout outlining the rules for registering for children’s programs would make one’s head spin even more. Why do we wonder why folks find libraries intimidating when we make things so hard???
Another thing that makes using the library less than convenient for me is the utter lack of information about the library and it’s offerings that reaches many patrons. I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again. The three public library newsletters that clutter up my mailbox go directly into the trash can with the rest of the junk mail. It’s jsut so much noise competing for my attention. And it loses every time. I’m not alone - I asked my neighbor the other day if she reads the library newsletter. She couldn’t really remember off hand if they even get one. When I told her that we get three on our street, she was confused… if she did pay attention and read it, which one would she read?
What’s really too bad is that so many public libraries depend entirely on a newsletter, a bulletin board in the library and Web site (I also do not go to the library Web site) to communicate their offerings to their patrons. But for many of us, this misses the mark entirely. The panelists suggested reaching out through the local pizza place… now that’s an idea. No matter how busy and distracted I am, there’s always time for pizza. Or the supermarket. Or Starbucks. That’s where I am. That’s where you’ll reach me. (Don’t make me come to you!!)
Librarians are always complaining about image problems faced by the library, and I’m not going to say there is a simple solution to this. But I really think that the problem lies less with the message the library tries to communicate with the community and more with the way that they try to deliver the message. You can have the coolest, hippest library with the greatest services in the world. But if whole segments of your community toss your primary mode of communication directly into the trash without even looking, what good does it do?
OMG! Am I talking about marketing?!?!?!?
For me, the bottom line is convenience. I’ve got 24 hours in my day, and if I take the whole “librarian” aspect of my life out of the equation, going to the library really falls into the “errands I have to do” category — like picking up the dry cleaning, going grocery shopping, and getting the dog groomed. So, for library services to fit into my lifestlye, they need to be fast. Easy. Convenient.
I shouldn’t have to put a lot of effort into informing myself as to what the library has to offer. Because I won’t.
I shouldn’t need a MLS to be able to find something on the shelf when I get there. Because I’d rather sit on my butt and have Amazon or Netflix deliver to my door.
I shouldn’t have to deal with a labyrinth of rules and regulations to sign my kid up for a 30-minute program. “Hi, Gymboree? We’ll be there on Saturday at 10.”
Free is not enough.
Tags: library use, marketingView blog reactions
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October 11th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
well said!!
convenience is king. That’s why I love redbox
October 12th, 2007 at 8:56 am
Me, too. I’m at the grocery store anyway, and it’s not worth saving a dollar to make a trip to the library for a “free” dvd.
October 12th, 2007 at 9:17 am
Sounds like a lot of griping from someone looking for excuses to justify why she doesn’t do something she wished she did. Lots of complaining, very few suggestions. –The three public library newsletters that clutter up my mailbox go directly into the trash can with the rest of the junk mail.– Whose fault is that? The library? The librarians? Not Hardly. Just another opportunity for someone to blame someone else for his/her own shortcomings. Part of the “It’s all about ME” syndrome. –No matter how busy and distracted I am, there’s always time for pizza. Or Starbucks. That’s where I am. That’s where you’ll reach me. (Don’t make me come to you!!)– Even if we put up information in her favorite pizza place, grocery store or Starbucks, I doubt if it would make any difference to someone THAT busy. If we are an afterthought to this person, I’m afraid that is HER problem, and nothing we do would make any difference to someone who wants to play the “Blame Game”.
October 12th, 2007 at 9:45 am
Oh, I definitely realize I’m not offering much in the way of solutions. That’s why this is basically just a rant on my part.
But I don’t really see it as making excuses for myself, either. I’m really frustrated by the lack of understanding my local public library shows when it comes to my needs as a patron (and others like me). I think that as a taxpayer I’m entitles to that.
I really think that there are a lot of libraries out there that need to do a much better job of understanding their communities and the different ways the members of those communities live their lives. You can’t really effectively serve people if you don’t understand their priorities and needs. For me, it’s convenience- that’s not an excuse. It’s a reality.
As for “playing the blame game,” if someone has to be “blamed” or criticized for the disconnect I see between many libraries and large segments of their populations, It would have to be the library. When you say, “I’m afraid that is HER problem” that sounds an awful lot like blaming the customer for the shortcomings of the service provider. I just can’t agree with that.
October 12th, 2007 at 11:07 am
Emily and Al, I think you both have good points. To some extent it *has* to be the customer’s responsibility to read the newsletters or find time to come to the library. Public libraries are not funded in such a way that we can “come to you.” We are also not funded to have extra staff on the weekend for toddler programs (and other programs), though I can certainly see how that is far more convenient than having these programs during the week. I also agree that flyering pizza shops, laundromats, and grocery stores could be very useful.
You don’t need an MLS to find materials in the library, you only need to ask someone who does. Frankly, Dewey isn’t that hard - if you can count, you can find a book. Librarians need to work on customer service though. We don’t rove at my library, and often aren’t even particularly polite or helpful and it’s only to our detriment.
I do agree that libraries should be set up to make things easier to find, with wider aisles, more books facing out to show the covers, better lighting, more space, and a million other things we can’t afford. It’s a catch-22 - there’s a lot we can’t do without more support, but it’s hard to increase library use and support without these things.
October 12th, 2007 at 11:29 am
The main problem I have with your original comments is that the library WAS trying to reach you, with a newsletter and a 24/7 website. You chose to disregard both, then complain that the library needed to do more. Well, most libraries will do more, but it will still take some effort on the patrons part to see the library as something of value. We will not ever connect with every person, no matter what we do. We will continue to do the things we can do, and hope people like you will benefit from it. But don’t blame the library when you “trash” two of our most basic means of communication. We cannot do anything about that. Nor can we personally meet you at Pizza Hut at midnight. We are not Blockbuster or Borders, nor do I think we will ever be. Nor should we be. When we try to be something we are not, we lose our identity for what we really are.
October 12th, 2007 at 11:33 am
Is it the patron’s responsibility to keep themselves informed about library happenings? I just don’t know about that. Sure, they do have to sort of “meet us halfway” to some degree. But I really feel like if a library is going to offer a service, program, etc, part of really providing access includes making their community members aware of it. If this means factoring marketing costs into the cost of providing that service, then so be it. Librarians can’t get all surprised and upset that your new initiative didn’t take off when all you did to promote it was put a little tiny blurb on the back page of your newsletter.
You have a good point about funding making convenience cost prohibitive for a many libraries, and that’s a real problem. But in my own case, I don’t think that’s the issue. I’m lucky enough to live in an area with extremely well-funded libraries where providing some weekend services would really make a lot of sense for the community. The problem with that is that the librarians at my library don’t think there is a need. I’ve had this discussion with them.
I really think they’ve fallen into the trap of (as one of my colleagues puts it) “Providing services only for the patrons they know.” That makes it really easy to get into a cycle of doing the same things for the same people all the time, and is a huge impediment to reaching out to other segments of the community who don’t come to the library.
You’re also definitely right about simply needing to ask if you don’t understand – but I’d like to think it shouldn’t be necessary to ask all that often. While Dewey isn’t all that confusing (although maybe it is to some??) I was really thinking more about the more library-specific ways of organizing and labeling materials in the building. You know, color coded dots, crazy and inconsistent abbreviations, counter-intuitive arrangement, bad signage, etc. I regularly visit 46 libraries in the course of my work, and some of the organizational schemes I see really make my head spin. Maybe they make complete sense to the librarian that set it up, but I don’t want to feel like I need to ask for the answer key each time I want to find a picture book for my son.
I think the roving idea is huge, too. If I do get confused and have to ask, it’s so much more user-friendly to have someone available and actively looking to help like that. I hate having to stand in front of the desk clearing my throat to get the librarian to take a break from her online shopping habit.
I think you’re totally right about this being somewhat of a catch 22. And if inadequate funding is a primary factor in a library’s inability to do this kind of stuff, it’s even more of a conundrum. What makes me really frustrated, though, is seeing very well funded libraries who could make changes to accommodate their communities not doing so.
October 12th, 2007 at 11:36 am
Al, True, they are trying to reach me. But they’re failing miserably because (in my opinion) they aren’t doing a good job of reading their demographics. I know that most libraries do more than that to reach out to their communities. Mine doesn’t it’s a real shame. They’re missing a lot of potential patrons.
October 12th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
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October 13th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
OK, so this is a subject that fires me up. A colleague went to this and sent me some notes. My first problem is that the panel was not diverse and not representative. They only had two people. I know plenty of twentysomething non-library users (I’m 25) and I hear all their reasons for not using the library. So I KNOW why they don’t use it. Some of them should have been there. Heck, I would have brought them if we didn’t need someone to cover the reference desk. Did they really have such a hard time finding twentysomethings? There are a lot of us out there (I know I don’t count since I’m a librarian).
Second, you are absolutely right about a lot of the things you posted. Many libraries don’t market the way they should. But we’re TRYING here at Twinsburg, and the public is just not responsive to some of our aggressive marketing techniques. Check out our website. We have a ton of nontraditional library services. But no matter what I do, I can’t get people interested in this stuff. Even friends and family don’t care. I think it has something to do with the library’s image and with our purpose. Let’s face it, if you want a movie the same day, you’re not going to go to the library. My husband works for Time Warner Cable, and we get all our movies from him, because we don’t want to wait three months if we want to see something. Also, we’re not going to sell brand-new books at the library. That’s just not what we do. Should we redefine ourselves completely just for the consumer? Should we have to? I’m not sure. Twinsburg has been highly successful; we are number one on the HAPLR rating this past year for our population group (we’ll see what happens when the new ratings come out). But even here, in such a great environment, it’s difficult. We’re busy with all our new programs, we work hard to market, and we’re doing all the traditional library stuff too. And sometimes it can be very discouraging. I love books, I love libraries, and I’m committed to what I do, but sometimes you work so hard with little returns. You feel like you just have a bunch of people complaining because you don’t have what they want when they want it. I know I sound like a sourpuss… believe me, I still have rewarding experiences here–that’s why I’m still here. I just want you to know that someone out here is trying, but there are some really tough issues we have to confront surrounding the whole issue.
October 15th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Cari, I’m so glad this is something that fires you up! It’s nice to see people getting passionate about this stuff, even with all of the frustrations.
It’s also good to hear about the panel. I was actually thinking when I read about it that it sounded like a good idea that may not have been carried off as well as it could have (bu tthen I got on a rant!!). You’re right: two people? Those are the only non-users you could find? I think that reaching non-users in our communities is so important, and talking to them is a great idea, but the group has to bigger and more diverse.
“Should we redefine ourselves completely just for the consumer?” Great question - I think that it’s one we’re all grappling with now. I don’t know if there is a really straightforward answer to that.
October 28th, 2007 at 4:28 am
threegoodrats says that it’s the customer’s responsibility to go to the public library, public libraries don’t have the funds to go to the people….I’m pretty impressed with a Public Library that is taking it to the people…and it seems a little creativity and thinking outside the box was all it took + no doubt 100 hours to build a business case! Do we needd to think about hiring staff with business and marketing skills to augment our Library professionals?
Australian public library in Manly (suburb of Sydney)
” April sees the launch of an exciting new service, Manly Library Afloat, a mobile library positioned at Manly Wharf that will operate weekdays between 7.15am and 9am.
This service commences on Monday 26th of March and is aimed primarily at ferry and bus commuters so they can make the most of their precious time. A golf cart style vehicle (see picture) funded with a grant from the State Library of New South Wales has been custom fitted to accommodate over 1,000 titles (books and audio books).
Our vision is to make Manly Library accessible to all members of the community and ‘Manly Library Afloat’ is part of achieving that goal.”
http://www.manly.nsw.gov.au/Library.html
December 6th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
I agree with the posters who have said the library does need to do a lot more creative marketing. I wish we could have flashy television commercials and catchy radio jingles, unfortunately that is not conducive to our budget. I am a librarian and I do realize that we are competing with businesses that are more convenient and have better advertising skills. People will choose what is more convenient rather than what is more cost effective; and that is where the library’s trouble lies. For the most part, despite the incredibly small fines that people accrue for not being responsible enough to return library materials, all of the library services are free. If everyone felt as Emily does, all librarians would be out of a job. Fortunately, there are thousands of people who do find the library to be convenient, a source of unlimited information, and a fun place to be. I am not worried about the library’s status in the community because I am extremely busy every day serving people who use the library’s services (and not “online shopping”). For clarification, here is a list of services our library offers, since your newsletter is in the trash.
1. Check out books, DVDs, VHS, music cds, computer software, magazines, and MP3 players, dowloadable audiobooks, ebooks, and music, and books on CD and cassette – all of which are renewable online and over the phone, so you never have to leave your couch.
2. Offer computer classes, language classes in French, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish, GED, ESOL, all available in evenings and weekends. My Intro to Excel class always has at least 15 people signed up every month.
3. All variety of specialty programs are available all month, evenings and weekends, for topics such as Grief, Feng Shui, Medical Advice for Seniors, Special author presentations, Movie showings, and much much much more. For more info, look at our convenient Calendar of Events http://www.twinsburglibrary.org/calendarix/calendar.php?catview=0
Registrations for certain programs are completely booked! Like the Grief workshop and the Gingerbread House making.
4. Another well used service is distribution of information. We have people call the library looking for phone numbers for people and businesses; crossword puzzle answers; having books placed at the convenient drive thru window; we offer Know-It-Now, which is a 24/7 reference service online to answer any and all questions you may have, conveniently located on our website. We offer information in the form of blogs and podcasts, which are extremely successful, recipe blogs, readers’ advisory blogs, and technology blogs.
5. We offer readers’ advisory – which means we can suggest good books to read. We offer this service in the form of personal interaction, online blogs, podcasts, etc. The library sponsors 6 different book discussion groups, half of which are available in the evening, including my Ladies’ Night Book Discussion Group which boasts over 20 members.
6. We help kids with research papers (and adults in college). We offer resume writing help for people who are job hunting.
7. We offer many story times and programs for teens as well.
Even if you are not interested in any of the wonderful programs the library has to offer, there are many many people who use the library regularly and keep abreast of the new programs and classes because it is important to them. We work hard to provide services for the general community. Even if we cannot satisfy every single person, I know that our library, at least, plays an important role and we are appreciated by our community.
I hope that you become more invested in your library, and make an effort to learn about the wonderful programs they offer. Because it is you, not them, who are missing out.