Retail marketing is often uses this type of information to make many decisions on how or where to place products. It also focuses on where complementary products or impulse purchase products should be placed. It questions whether there is a way to drive customers to high demand products by way of other things. Retail marketing explains why milk and bread tend to be in the back corners of the grocery store. Using some of these same general principles, what can your patrons tell you about your library through their behavior?

What do your dirtiest carpet and rattiest furniture tell you? If you’re in a cold weather climate, where are there white salty circles or carpet that never dries out from snow? In general, your carpet shows wear patterns even if you don’t live in an area with a lot of snow. It shows where patrons stop and how they travel within your building. Those are the places where the dirt never quite comes out no matter how many times it gets cleaned. Should you make sure there are more displays in this area or information about upcoming activities? Is this the place to put the OPAC, if people are already stopping nearby? The same is true of your furniture. Are there permanent indentations in some of the chairs from constant sitting or scratches on tables from where watches and other jewelry bump and scrape? If you know what chair everyone sits in, should you put materials or displays near it? If everyone stops where the new movies are located, do you need even more copies than you’re already buying?

Are there patches of grass that never grow or footprints in one of the flowerbeds? Your patrons are using the outside of your building as well. If everyone stands in the same spot to wait for the building to open, do you want to pave that place instead of trying to grow grass there? Should you purchase a bench? Should you place advertisements for library services there? Do you want to put an “ash can” in a different place because there are always cigarette butts getting caught in the lawnmower? Probably you don’t want to put outdoor signage, no matter how helpful, in the flowerbed that everyone seems to step through as they take a shortcut to the library, but putting pavers there may make life better for everyone involved.

Why do they keep moving the furniture? If you find at the end of most days that there is always a conglomeration of chairs in an area, it’s a good sign that you need to consider reorganizing your furniture or space a different way. Your patrons are congregating in a specific area for a reason. Groups are meeting somewhere. Should you find out why? Is there no other place to gather? Is the material there supporting the purpose of the gathering? Can the library support this group?

Why is this area always a mess? A surefire sign that people are using your materials is that they are in disarray. Do you let things get a little messy just to see what people are using? If things are still in order, then people aren’t using them. Sometimes order hides valuable information you can use. Magazines are a great example. What magazines are all crinkly with issues out of order? Those are the ones people are reading. Where do people leave their piles of materials they have looked at but are not taking home? Are you consistently finding materials from one section of the library being left in a different part of the building? It could be that the messy place has better lighting, more comfortable seating, or a better sightline to watch small children. Is there an array of cell phones strewn somewhere in your building? Does that tell you there needs to be more accessible outlets for people to use? It is frustrating to find your “house” a mess, but it is telling you what your patrons are using.

Most librarians love cleanliness, tidiness, and order. Look at what the absence of these things can tell you. How do you want to integrate what you know about how your patrons use your library into what you are doing at the library?

The post Being a Library Detective first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

The report begins with a look at The Public Library in the Digital Age and shows how public libraries are poised to play a leading role in helping communities and individuals adapt to our changing world. It names three key assets that the value proposition of the public library is built around: people, place, and platform. The people focus reflects the focus shift from building collections to building human capital and puts people at the center of the library’s mission to inspire and cultivate learning, advance knowledge, and nurture and strengthen communities. In this new environment, librarians will need to be able to anticipate community needs, manage and adapt to new technology, and use data to best advantage. An intelligent community is the goal, rather than large circulation numbers.[3] For the aspect of place, more of a focus is being put on the library as the “family room of a community,” as Akhtar Badshah stated.[4] You immediately get this sense of the library as a place to simply spend time when you walk into a children’s area and find kids playing together with library toys while their parents chat, or you come upon an afternoon of chess or video games. In addition, the report notes that in an increasingly virtual physical libraries are community assets. For the library to be a platform, it has to provide a place for participation and learning, a place where assets are available. Users may customize this platform and adapt its resources to their individual needs. [5] For example, we can provide chairs and tables for business meetings and programs, as well as classes that give an overview of the business resources available to entrepreneurs and programs that can help them connect to resources to develop their businesses.

Finally, four strategic opportunities for libraries are presented.[6]

1. Aligning library services in support of community goals.
2. Providing access to content in all formats.
3. Ensuring the long-term sustainability of public libraries.
4. Cultivating leadership.

To ensure success, libraries must provide services that support community needs and not just exist as the cool new thing. They need to offer access to content in all formats by working with creators, publishers, and government. They must work toward transforming standard operations to ensure library sustainability. To be able to accomplish any of these, libraries have to actively develop leaders who can go out and become an active part of their community, learning the needs from the people.

The report also spotlights lots of exciting ideas and examples of new ways public libraries are working to meet the needs of their communities. Check it out at http://csreports.aspeninstitute.org/documents//AspenLibrariesReport.pdf .

References
[1] The Aspen Institute. “About the Dialogue.” The Aspen Institute Communications and Society. 2015. http://csreports.aspeninstitute.org/Dialogue-on-Public-Libraries/2014/what-is (accessed February 19, 2015).

[2] —. “Members of the Dialogue on Public Libraries Working Group.” The Aspen Institute Communications and Society. 2015. http://csreports.aspeninstitute.org/Dialogue-on-Public-Libraries/2014/participants (accessed February 19, 2015).

[3]  “Members of the Dialogue on Public Libraries Working Group.” The Aspen Institute Communications and Society. 2015. http://csreports.aspeninstitute.org/Dialogue-on-Public-Libraries/2014/participants (accessed February 19, 2015). Page 11.

[4] Ibid. Page 13.

[5] Ibid. Pages 17-18.

[6] Ibid. Page 33.

The post Dissecting The Aspen Institute Report first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Brian Gambles

From August 12-13, 2014, the IFLA Public Libraries Section held a satellite conference, Public Library Futures in a Global Digital World, at the new Library of Birmingham, England. Its director, Brian Gambles, opened the conference with a keynote speech about change. “Leadership has to be hungry for change,” he stated. Small steps were made: a redesigned organization, a new dress code, shared desk space and welfare facilities, as well as new working practices. But change is not embraced by the whole organization: according to the 20:60:20 rule, 20% of staff agrees, another 20% is against. For Gambles, this last minority has to be left alone and “invited to exit the organization.”

The conference confirmed that these are the days of a “renaissance of space.” Here are four experiences of new spaces built by incredible staff and successful branding.

 Vera Binz and Sarah Dudek presenting the “Themenraum”

Themenraum

If you had an empty room in your library, how would you use it? 3D printers? The latest high-tech gear? Games? No way! Imagine a book display on a specific topic and let it explode in different dimensions. At the “Themenraum,” or “topic room,” at the Zentral- und Landesbibliothek (Berlin, Germany), web links are next to print bibliographies, while printed books sit next to a Twitter wall and news items. The topics, often inspired by the latest news or important anniversaries, change every month. The patrons’ favorite ones so far have been the Leipzig Bookfair, fairytales, the diversity of Islam, and “poor and rich.” The Themenraum shows how digital curating has emerged as a new skill required by librarians, as well as the public’s need for digital literacy.

Corinne Hill presenting the 4^th Floor

4^th Floor

“Transformation” is one of the main values of the Chattanooga (Tenn.) Public Library’s mission. The 4th Floor is a space in continuous transformation, thanks to a high performance staff. Before a chaotic repository of unused materials, now the 4^th Floor hosts programs and events about coding, genealogy, STEM, and makers. Print collections are still relevant though: “responsive collections” is another strong value of theirs.

Henriette Dybdal and Allan Thomsen Volhoj presenting the FolkeLab

FolkeLab

Public and academic libraries in Aarhus and Roskilde (Denmark) created a project with six temporary innovation spaces, such as TechLab, Wastelab, or GuitarLab. The lessons learned can be summed up in a decalogue: (1) people are not reduced to just guests; (2) people are more important than technology; (3) people have opportunities to engage at different levels; (4) people determine the clout of the maker culture; (5) people create together; (6) staff must be willing to change the frames and expand the ideas; (7) staff uses its own creativity and skills; (8) staff must assure different thresholds; (9) learning is something also done with the hands; (10) creativity comes from chaos and mess.

BiblioTech

BiblioTech in San Antonio (Tex.) went far beyond the library as a book repository, eliminating books completely. Despite being a recent pilot experience, BiblioTech enjoyed terrific global press coverage as the first “bookless library” [1]. The advancement of digital literacy, intended as something more than knowing how to use technology, is one of the main goals. The equipment includes 600 e-readers for external circulation, 45 iPads for internal use, and four surface tables. The library’s success is based on its programming (for seniors too), community partnerships (i.e. with the San Antonio Spurs Foundation), and an attractive brand.

Jens Thorhauge, the guru of the 4-space model, ideally closed the conference describing how the traditional role of public libraries has been challenged during the last 20 years. His provocative assertion that “access to information is not the librarian’s business anymore” hit the mark, considering it preceded by just a few days the launch of the Lyon Declaration on access to information and development.[2]. Thorhauge highlighted that nowadays libraries struggle to compete with fast-movers in the media market (i.e. Facebook), and with commercial media streaming services (Netflix or Spotify). He can’t see a new standard model for libraries though, so the discussion continues.

Table tennis at the Library of Birmingham

References

[1] BiblioTech – An Entirely Bookless Library, by Elena Rivera on February 21, 2013. BiblioTech opened in September 2013. Two satellite facilities were opened more recently.

[2] The declaration will be one of the main advocacy tools for IFLA in the next months.

The post Report From the IFLA Public Libraries Conference first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

This reminded me of one of the public libraries in my town.  I live in Toledo, Ohio and the downtown public library has a rooftop terrace complete with wi-fi,tables, and chairs for the patrons to enjoy.  This is a little different than a pop-up experience on ground level, but is still a wonderful addition to the public space and a great option for Toledo area patrons.  While working there one summer, I spent almost ever lunch break that was not encumbered by rain out on that rooftop reading and eating my lunch.

And then some more good stuff…

Additionally, “The New York Public Library is celebrating the excitement and personal joy of reading with the hashtag #ireadeverywhere. Beginning on Aug. 5, we are asking all of you to join authors, librarians and other readers from all over the world to share your favorite — and unusual — reading spots, along with the hashtag and our handle @nypl, all in an effort to inspire others to pick up a book (or an e-reader) and start their own adventures.” (nypl.org 2014)

Many times when I write about different happenings in the library world, I try to envelop it into my own work environment.  This program is an easy way to get patrons to connect with the library and to other patrons.  It may also inspire some users to check out new spots to read a book, or check out a title that they see in other patrons’  tweets.

In addition to participating with NYPL’s hashtag event, take these ideas to your local libraries and see what sort of response and inspiration come from them.  Getting the community involved via social media is a great way to spread the message about the joys of reading in your town and around the world.

Works Cited

nypl.org. July 20, 2014. http://www.nypl.org/voices/connect-nypl/readeverywhere?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=referral (accessed August 25, 2014).

The post Outdoors or Indoors – Anywhere is a Good Place to Read first appeared on Public Libraries Online.