You are labeled and protected before being carefully placed in your new home. Maybe you even got the face-out treatment to make a good first impression. Other times you are put on display with a special review or endorsement.
You are a valued asset! Now, envision yourself as a patron and put yourself behind the lens through which he or she experience your library. The space and furnishings may appear from a bygone era, and learning how the library is organized and categorized and how to access all the services is akin to learning a new language. It can be unnecessarily difficult to find that shiny new book that just arrived.
What experiences or enhancements could be made to improve the patron experience? Think about enhancements you can make to your s ervice model. Self-check equipment is mainstream, as is the practice of self-service holds. But service models are continuing to evolve; for some libraries, the creation of genius bars and information commons are gaining momentum as one-stop shops for service.
Equally popular are smaller service points throughout the library. Regardless of your model, make it easy for patrons to complete simple transactions and know where to go for help. To do this, clearly identify help desk locations and services throughout your library. However, providing the community with gathering spaces and offering access to technology are also in high demand. These are natural opportunities for you to show patrons that your library is much more than books alone!
Libraries are constantly adapting and flexing their spaces to accommodate new user groups and services, and zoning by interest and noise level is on the rise.
At the ALA session Signage in Your Library, Tips for Success , presenters describe how a more clearly labeled reference desk contributes to a better user experience. Discovery is about helping patrons find more of the riches that are in your library. We as library professionals need to focus on user experience as well. When we asked library staff about the innovations and new services that they were most excited about, we received a range of responses.
Having more digital materials available was high on the list, with many librarians said that they would love to have more e-books available, and also to offer more tablets and e-readers for checkout:.
I want a library where there is SO much to be found that it is a wonderful path of things to read and learn about! Money is the issue. Patrons hate the time it takes to authenticate for each database they want to explore. Netbooks, tablets and readers for checkout. And preloading them with hot books is a great idea. A method to provide e-books to the local community first before they are available throughout the whole county.
A better method for local stats regarding e-book usage. As far as I know we are the first library in the world to do this. This type of out-of-the-box technologies are making a huge difference to the demographics we are reaching. These types of initiatives do cost money and staff time to develop the program—but if it is important enough, the money can be found.
I really, really want to be able to afford e-books. Others wanted radio-frequency identification RFID tracking systems for books, as well as self-service options that would allow patrons to check out and renew materials. Sorters are expensive, but they provide a great deal of staff time savings and patrons love watching them. I keep hearing from other libraries how great it is for tracking materials and such, but the higher ups are not yet sure if it will be worth implementing in my library cost, mainly.
Many librarians said they were intrigued by the idea of makerspaces, or workshops where patrons can work on hands-on projects and collaborations. Similarly, several library staff members said they wished their library could offer digitization resources for local history materials, professional-grade office services such as videoconferencing, as well as renovated spaces that would encourage collaboration and allow the library to offer more types of services:.
We need places for people to work collaboratively on all sorts of projects, digital or otherwise. Our educational system is doing a great job giving people factual and technical knowledge, but creativity is lacking, which is a huge problem for innovation. Places where people can create and complete personal projects. This could be a robotics project or a recording studio, or a publishing kiosk. Several librarians also said that their goal for future innovations would be to reach patrons in the community, to bring library services to them.
This included book drops around the community, kiosks, transportation to and from the library, and expanded mobile services :. We are currently trying to work out the logistics of rotating loaning collections of large print books to nursing homes in our district. We recently extended our homebound delivery program to include weekly group delivery to a local retirement center where many of the residents no longer drive.
First, it attracts younger something patrons who might drift away from libraries between school and parenthood. Second, it offers our more distant patrons an option of accessing information. We have funding issues, but the bigger problem is geographic and transport related. We cannot bring together a critical mass of young people at one time and one place to do whatever.
I like to say that if you have a valid library card and access to the Internet, you can use your home library for research on a business trip in China at midnight. Or check out a novel to read on safari while at the Nairobi airport. It could serve to enrich the lives of our seniors, and show teens the value of being bilingual while having the potential to help everyone communicate better without a huge impact on our budget.
Another idea would be to bring bilingual teens together with elders to help them write down and translate life stories leaving a legacy that can be treasured by their families and community.
We have seven weeks of workshops where we work one-on-one with seniors and provide them with printouts of the three top drug programs that best suit their current prescription needs. This program makes us all feel very good about what we do and our patrons continue to express their thanks long after the programs are over.
This will continue since there is little to no cost involved. Public response has been overwhelmingly positive. Unfortunately staff was cut so drastically that we had to drop the program despite the use of volunteers for the majority of the program. We have started using community volunteers to coordinate adult programming, again due to staffing cuts. They are ideal forums for public discourse about timely local topics such as zoning changes, new developments, and government initiatives.
Furthermore, with information on community events, entertainment, and noteworthy destinations, libraries can welcome visitors and help understand and better appreciate the community. Birmingham, Alabama is particularly fortunate to have a library that preserves records of the city's central role in the struggle for civil rights in the s. The library itself played a role in the movement, as the site of an important sit-in by African-American college students. Today, the library is home to an incredible collection of documents and photographs above that tell the story of civil rights activism for following generations.
More and more libraries fill important needs for employers, jobseekers, and consumers. They play a crucial "think tank" role for local start-up businesses and community development advocates, helping them acquire entrepreneurial skills and discover methods of raising capital. For people seeking work or taking on career changes, libraries connect them to employers and specialized job training.
For the consumer, libraries may provide up-to-date information about the best businesses to patronize in their area. At the Johnson County Public Library in Kansas City, Kansas left , workshops complement a business book series and access to online databases. The library's thorough range of services--from recommending useful books to hands-on coursework--provides resources for all kinds of small-scale entrepreneurs. The spaces inside and outside libraries are perfect for public proclamations, celebrations, fairs, and festivals - as well as smaller but no less important events that occur on a regular basis, like brown bag lectures or midday concerts.
These activities reinforce the library's role as a community anchor, and leading libraries are jumping at the chance to attract people by expanding their programs.
To succeed as lively gathering places, a library can offer an eclectic mix that may include outdoor exhibits on science or history, temporary public art installations, games and chess tables, or outdoor play areas linked to the children's reading room. The Public Library left in Mississauga, Ontario plays a central role in revitalizing public space in this city near Toronto. By participating in activities like this "ribfest", Mississauga's library has become a center of public community life.
The public goals of libraries mesh very well with the community-minded aims of public markets. As more cities and towns turn to markets to spur the local economy and encourage new business development, it is becoming common to see library lobbies, parking lots, and sidewalks used for farmers markets, book markets, or art markets. Libraries may be for lending, but there's nothing wrong with getting in on the retail action too.
Others provide their communities with international newsstands and video rental facilities. Making use of their prime locations, libraries can rent space to arts organizations and commercial galleries, or for public events--even weddings! Special markets in Riverside, California left are held in front of the library, creating a critical mass of pedestrians in this Southern California city--which boosts the library and local vendors alike.
Because everyone uses them, libraries need to be accessible. It is essential to provide people with a variety of ways to get there, including convenient transit routes, walkable streets, and adequate bicycle facilities. First and foremost, libraries should be connected to the sidewalk network, not set apart and surrounded by a sea of parking. Nearby streets should be designed so that cars slow down around the library, crosswalks should be well marked, and lights should be timed for pedestrians, not vehicles.
Oregon's Multnomah County Library is conveniently accessible to Portland's residents. Served by Portland's light rail network and located in the heart of a pedestrian-friendly downtown, the library is truly open to everyone. Knowing how to enhance a library with active streets and sidewalks is key to attracting more visitors and patrons.
A library with an entrance opening right onto sitting stairs where people can read outside or sit in the sun, for instance, will be infinitely more lively compared to one with blank walls around the ground floor. Going further, the reading room could flow outside onto a public square.
Creating an active, welcoming outer library is essential to the well-being of the library as a whole. Toronto's Beaches Branch library left is located on Kew Gardens, a beautiful park fronting the scenic lakefront.
With strong connections to the park, waterfront, and the rest of the community, the Beaches Branch Public library is a hub of activity and a popular meeting spot.
A surefire strategy for libraries is providing a series of smaller "places" within and around them to attract people.
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