Comments on: It’s not just the OPACs that suck

By: Emily Newton

Emily Newton — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 04:19:43 +0000

Re: Sara Weissman’s comment.

I’m not surprised that service and facility come ahead of the collection in surveying the “patron experience”…however, if those patrons were honest about why they came to the library, it would primarily be for the collection.

Certainly some customers come to our facilities for programming and other reasons (socializing, etc.) but they don’t come to the library for service or the nice facility more than they come for materials (whether for informational or recreational purposes).

By: Abigail G.

Abigail G. — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 06:06:00 +0000

I felt like you were talking about a branch library that I used to live near when I lived in NY. I refused to go there and found other ways to get books–despite the fact I lived within easy walking distance of the library. Of course, that they were only open one evening a week past 6 p.m. and I didn’t generally leave work until 5:30-6 kind of inhibited my usage too. Thanks for the candor!

By: Sara Weissman

Sara Weissman — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 18:37:31 +0000

We do a service survey of our public every two years. Over 40% append comments ..and what they remark on (in order) are:
friendly! helpful! staff (this is primarily our circ people in main lobby they are talking about);
spacious, light filled building (and it’s not a spectacular building or any such);
breadth of collection ….
So, service and facility come ahead of collection in the patron experience.
But there are people who don’t even know what their local library offers ..so, we’ve gone to Flickr to “get that out there”, http://www.flickr.com/photos/mclib

By: Meredith Farkas

Meredith Farkas — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 02:23:56 +0000

Lori, I wasn’t comparing libraries to Nordstrom and Saks at all. I was comparing Nordstrom TO Saks to show what a difference space can make in a usability study of two comparable institutions. God forbid libraries become more like Saks! We’d never find what we’re looking for!

By: Lori

Lori — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 01:30:03 +0000

Wow I feel lucky to work for a library system that is the opposite of everything you’ve described. But I have to say it is unfair to compare libraries to Nordstrom or Saks. A lot of libraries are struggling to even keep their doors open. Staffing is always an issue as well. But until the public is willing to pay higher property taxes or pay as much for our services as they pay for a pair of shoes from Nordstrom, I don’t think most can afford to change.

By: Gordon

Gordon — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 23:56:55 +0000

My husband even suggested that he’d be willing to pay $3.00 to have someone get the books he wants to take out and have them ready for him at the desk.

Is it true that most libraries don’t have online reservation systems?

All the libraries I’ve used (Austin, Kansas City, Toronto, Collingwood) have allowed me to search online and place a book on hold. When it’s ready (sometimes it has to be transferred to my local branch or ILL’d) I’d get an email telling me its time to pick it up.

Combine this with a Library Lookup Bookmarklet plugin and I can browse amazon and immediately see if the book is in stock. If so, one or two clicks later and I just sit back an wait to pick it up. Usually the library is faster than amazon shipping.

By: rochelle

rochelle — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 15:16:09 +0000

Re: sucks. I have to say that “sucks” is a regular part of my search vocab. If I am questioning the value of a service or product, I search for “x sucks” to get input from just folks. I also do “x rocks” searches. It’s been an amazingly helpful strategy! Someone once pointed out to me that “sucks” was actually an anti-gay slam, but I’d guess that most people who use the phrase to express a negative opinion don’t think of it that way.

By: Emily

Emily — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 19:28:54 +0000

What a wonderful post – you really cut to the heart of some of the things I think of as I visit the libraries in my area. I feel like we spend so much time and professional energy providing the same old services to the same old people… It’s not that I think we should give up of what seems to work, but I definitely think it’s time to reexamine the things that don’t work and figure out why. Too many times I see new initiatives fail in libraries because of what I perceive as a lack of commitment and follow through. However, these failures are often blamed on other factors.

It’s not what the patrons want is what I hear most often from librarians who gave up quickly on new ideas. But here is what I have to say: Did you actually ask the patrons? The right patrons (who might potentially use the service in question)? How did you approach them? How did you market this service/program/whatever (a two line mention in your junk-mail newsletter doesn’t count as a marketing campaign!!!)? Did you make the service easily accessible to the people who might use it? How well do we know our demographics when we start offering new services, and are we really reaching out to them in effective ways???

So many things in library world need to be reevaluated with the patrons in mind – and not just the ones you already attract. You’re right- there are huge segments of the population who are not library users but could be if we use a little ingenuity and actually provide some services they want. And of course, provide them in the form the patrons would use them in, make them aware of it, and MAKE IT EASY. Why is that so hard?

By: Meredith Farkas

Meredith Farkas — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 01:52:56 +0000

I totally agree that libraries do not have to have large budgets to be comfortable and welcoming spaces with collections that meet the needs of their users. It’s not about quantity, but about quality and knowing what your patrons need and want (instead of just thinking you know). Many of my favorite libraries have been small. Many of them had small, but well-chosen collections. It really all comes down to the environment you create. Is it welcoming? Is it set up in a way that makes people feel comfortable and not claustrophobic? Is the staff friendly? It didn’t take much for me to welcome new patrons to the library and tell them about our services while registering them for a card. You don’t need money to do that — just a good attitude and a desire to make people happy. Any library can make positive changes that cost nothing or very little. Any library can survey its patrons. Any library can make good customer service a priority. Any library can re-evaluate their collection development priorities in light of their changing population.

By: Katie

Katie — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 23:53:28 +0000

I agree with Sarah. Attitude plays a huge role in how the public perceives a library. The last library I worked in had a population of 100k and a bright shiny new library that epitomized every impediment Meredith mentioned (including a massive staircase smack in the center of the building that blocked your view of every other department no matter where you stood). The staff love their work and it showed in the way the public was greeted and assisted. We had open communication with an administration that truly respected it’s employees. The public loved us. Where I am now we have a much better floor plan in that line of sight for each of the collections has been achieved but many staff members aren’t working for the love of the job but more for the paycheck. Admin just wants the work to get done. We have a pop of 225k and are never even close to being half as busy as I was at my beloved old job.