Library Revolution

Essentia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem

Here are a few anecdotes (true, each one of them!) that will hopefully make my point for me.

• I know of one library where patrons were dropping items off at the circ desk, then running straight over to the OPAC to check to see if their record was clear. The problem was that they did this so quickly that the OPAC display of the patron record did not yet show the items removed from their accounts. The process was about 5 seconds too slow. What did they do? They shifted the nearest OPAC terminal about five feet further away from the circ desk.

• Another library was having problems with the traffic patterns in their beautiful new reference room.  The layout was beautiful, but patrons were unthinkingly cutting behind the reference desks to get from one side of the library to another. The renovations (including immovable, built in desks!) had cost a fortune and the library didn’t really want to reorganize all over again, but this was starting to really cause problems. So they shifted the position of a couple of reading chairs so that they formed a mini reading area right in the path the patrons were absentmindedly using as a cut through.

• After a software upgrade, a library found that their circulation system automatically printed receipts for renewals.  They loved this for most transactions, but complained to a particularly charming and brilliant system administrator that they didn’t want this feature on one of their computers… the one by the phone that was used only for phone renewals. The system administrator (did I mention that she was charming and brilliant?) suggested a fix that worked like a charm and made everyone happy - without a major software rewrite. She told them to unplug the receipt printer on that machine.

• I visited a library that had a lovely built in bulletin board in a somewhat secluded area near to the circulation desk. Unfortunately, patrons were completely missing the program announcements and information posted there. The staff there had resorted to taping flyers to the wall in a more high traffic area (which looked terrible) and the nice bulletin board was basically not used. When I visited again a short time later, I noticed that the situation had changed… the ugly flyers were gone, and patrons were flocking around the bulletin board. Someone had the bright idea to move the cart with newly returned DVDs on it waiting to be shelved so that the cart was directly under the bulletin board. 

• All of the informational brochures in the world didn’t seem to hep one library explain to their patrons how to access their online catalog from home. They had a beautiful, professionally designed Web site and many savvy users, but the catalog just wasn’t getting the use anyone expected. What helped? They outlined the “Catalog” button in a contrasting color. Suddenly it leapt off the page… and patrons started using more!

Sometimes the smallest, simplest changes make all the difference in the world. No complexity required.

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I saw this post the other day, written by Steve Bertrand, Assistant Director of the Kankakee Public Library. Check it out - it’s from a library blog I really love: She Said/He Said:Kankakee Public Library Blog. I always read what Steve and Director Cindy Fuerst have to say. It’s a great example of a library blog where the contributors talk about real library issues in n open, honest, and interesting way. 

This articular post is one I can definitely identify with.  Steve talks about how he isn’t really much of a reader… and neither am I. Sure, I like to read, but I really don’t love it. At least not in the way that a lot of librarians seem to. I mean, so many librarians are really book obsessed! And there isn’t anything wrong with that at all. In fact, it’s a trait I admire and sometimes wish I had more of. And maybe if I had more time, I’d read more voraciously. But probably not.

In using about his similar feeling towards books and reading, Steve poses an interesting question: how do libraries handle dealing with parts of their community who are really not readers? What kinds of services do we offer non-readers, and what are our strategies for reaching out to this segment of our population. (Sorry for the paraphrase, Steve!) He says:

“For centuries, most Libraries’ only strategy for confronting the non-reader was to devise ways to seduce them to start reading. Those who refused were marked up as “lost souls” and ignored… Libraries must understand that non-readers are a tax paying part of our service group who deserve some kind return on their dollar, without having librarians look down there nose at them. As scary as it may sound, people do have a right NOT to read.”

Great comments!  This is a question really worth considering!

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Is being “free” enough of an incentive to make libraries competitive in the current marketplace?  Libraries seem to love Return On Investment studies lately, showing their patrons just how much value they potentially get from their taxes. But in an economic and social environment where people are purchasing things they want rather than just things that they need, I really think free might not be enough.

People are not just buying stuff that they need, but also stuff that they want. There is a thriving market for totally unnecessary items like frozen pizza ovens, ringtones, and baby wipe warmers (completely unnecessary, let me tell you!), it becomes quite obvious that folks aren’t shy about spending a little money if there is something that they want.

I think ease of use is a huge part of this. Time is an extremely valuable commodity these days, and I know that I for one am willing to shell out a few bucks more if there is a level of convenience involved. If it’s easy to just buy what you want, and people seem inclined to do just that, then where does that leave libraries?

It leaves us with the problem that being free is not enough any more. We also have to be easy because potential customers count ease as an extra cost associated in getting what they want. That means easy to use, easy to access, easy to understand, easy in every single way. And news flash – libraries, for the most part are not easier than Google and Amazon. For consumers with money to spend and ease as a top priority, that’s HUGE.

I think that beyond making libraries easier, we also need to be sure that we are offering value added services to attract users. What makes the services offered by libraries special and worth consuming? The social value of a personal interaction? The library experience? A feeling of community gained from participating in the library? Expertise in finding, evaluating, and using information?

If you answered yes to any of those suggestions, you had better make sure that it’s really true… and then make it even more indisputable. Then communicate it to your potential users and make it easy!!!  (Not too tall an order, right?)

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When I saw this film several weeks ago, I was struck by something….

While the field of librarianship has undoubtedly changed in innumerable ways in the last 60 years, I find it interesting that the way we categorize library positions has undergone very little change. Most libraries I interact with still have the same basic categories of library employees, and generally define their duties in the same way, if in an updated form.

I wonder, though if this might be a case of trying to fit an increasingly square peg (our changing positions and responsibilities) into a hole that remains just as round was it was in 1946 (the general job categories).

Something I am always struck by in libraries is how the more departmentalized the library, the more difficult a time they seem to have when adapting to change. In libraries where circulation doesn’t speak to tech services, who has nothing to do with reference or children’s, when new services come along, they have a hard time figuring out who in the organization assumes the responsibility. When traditional services change, they have a hard time changing with them, as sometimes the changes defy the traditional categories.

The result is often frustrated employees, and new services being treated as afterthoughts not getting the attention they deserve. All of which does nothing to meet patron needs and expectations, help professionals to adapt to change, or encourage further innovation down the road.

I wonder if the first step in combating this downward spiral is to reassess the traditional categories of librarianship and how they are reflected in our libraries. What has your library done to break free of the traditional categories of librarianship?

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