The Librarian's Lounge

Automatic Book Machines

I think this is an excellent example of going where one's users are. Hmmm, perhaps an idea for the new Phoenix Light Rail?

Harassing the Customers

Around 1 minute 50 seconds into this clip is a real gem that speaks to a of experiences I've had as both a patron and librarian, bookseller and customer:

There is a very fine line that exists between customer service and harassment, especially in the world of books. Whereas in other retail areas such as clothes or shoes, generally customers want and expect prompt service, bookstore customers and library patrons are, more often than not, people who like to browse and like to have some privacy in the process. It's not that they don't want help, but that usually they want to be the initiators. They like to know that assistance is available and certainly want it to be friendly, but they do not want to anyone hanging around them in their pursuits. This doesn't mean they're plotting to shoplift and you don't need to hire a greeting brigade for "loss prevention" purposes. I've seen it enough times in action to know that a very hands-on overly-attentive staff can have a chilling effect on the very people they are trying to serve.

I find it disturbing that those libraries discussing the advantages of following a "retail model" are rarely talking about how such practices may negatively impact patron behavior by indirectly creating more barriers to information access. They seem to be too busy wowing library conference goers with photos of their new merchandising techniques to mention the brutal weeding of the collections, the paraprofessionals working in place of professional librarians, or how outsourcing is leading to the privatization of public libraries, let alone any further trampling of people's first amendment rights.

This same episode of Black Books has another funny-because-it's-true segment in it - the ridiculous rules sometimes found in public places.

 

I think public libraries are more susceptible to this problem these days than independent bookstores only because those few independents that haven't been forced out by the big chain stores can't afford to alienate their customers by way of inane quirkiness anymore. Michael Stephens brought photos of similar rules to his presentation on Library 2.0 last winter in Phoenix. What I love about the clip from the show is that the bookstore owner can't even read his own handwriting or remember what the rules are, yet they're still hanging on the wall. I think that happens often in libraries, where sometimes rules have been in place for so long that no one can even remember why they were put into affect to begin with.

P.S. - If you want to watch this whole episode, here's clip 1 - (there are 3 altogether; the first I've embedded is part 3 actually, so watch them from the bottom up). This is quite an amusing show for anyone who's ever been in the business!

IL 2007

Oh, Internet Librarian 2007, I am sorry I missed you. Perhaps we will meet next year. In the meantime, I've heard some great things about the conference from several of my colleagues who came back bursting with enthusiasm and frustration - enthusiasm for all the great new technology out there and dreams of what our library could be doing with it; frustration from being unable to go forward with almost all of it due to IS constraints that are out of our library's control. One of those returning made what I thought was a very important point today during a meeting - 2.0 technology is already the norm. It's not new anymore. And our library in particular (although I'm sure there are many others with the same problem) is getting more behind the times every day because of some very unreasonable web filtering that keeps staff from becoming web 2.0 literate. Which, of course, keeps us from helping our community with it. What's the easiest way to make a librarian's life a living hell? Take away their freedom to access information.

Anyway, one of the neatest things I heard about from the conference is The Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenberg County's fine-payer for teens in Teen Second Life. Apparently, they have something like an ATM that the teens can use in-world to pay off their fines. What I love about this idea is that it's practical, it's located in a place where teens already are ("go where your users are"), and it has the potential to be used in some rather creative ways. Okay, they can pay off their fines in Lindens; now how about extending the service by making it possible for them to work off their fines in-world by reading, building, scripting, hosting events, etc.? It's great that this public library has taken initiative to reach their teen population in Teen Second Life. Here's hoping that more libraries will see the importance of creating a presence in virtual worlds in order to stay relevant to the part of the population who could become life-long library users.

Damage Control

This ad announcement from Google makes me feel a little sicko. This one was a bit more promising though. At least it shows the healthcare industry is listening somewhat. Oh, the stories I could tell...

Here's an article from the New York Sun about hip librarians in Brooklyn. And another from NYT about modern day librarians. Who says "hip" doesn't go with "librarians?" All my hippest friends are in the field!

Customer-Centered Service

There's been a lot of talk in these parts lately about libraries focusing on a customer-centered service model. I find myself becoming ever more confused about what exactly that means. Does it mean the customer always comes first, like in retail? And if so, why? In retail, it's obvious - satisfying the customer's every whim means a bigger profit. But for public libraries, what's the end goal of this?

Or does such service mean that our library services are tailored to all our customer's current needs? That must not be it because if it was and we were trying to satisfy everyone, we wouldn't get rid of any of our older services, especially those that are most helpful for those on the wrong end of the digital divide. We'd keep the videotapes, the cassettes, the hard copies of journals while adding the dvds, the cds, and the high speed internet from which our magazine databases can be accessed.

Maybe it means do everything we can to please the average patron of our community. But if so, who decides who the average patron is? In my community, we have almost equally two very different groups of people - the wealthy and the working class - and their needs are very different. Who should a library cater to if it comes down to making a decision that will be detrimental to one? 

I truly hope that "customer-centered service" does not mean that libraries are to justify the decisions they make by simply adding a customer-centric spin to everything. Just about any decision a library can make can be given some sort of spin that makes it look like it has the public in mind first and foremost. For example, a library can ban cell phones and say that it's done to maintain a place of peace and quiet that their patrons have come to expect. They can ban food and drink to preserve the collection bought with the taxpayer's money, or allow food and drink to make the library a friendlier place for the taxpayers to use and enjoy.

Whatever we mean when we use this phrase, I encourage us professionals to stay honest with ourselves and our users about the reasons why we do things. If we feel a hesitancy to do so, we should definitely be asking ourselves why. It could be a sign of a larger problem such as a conflict of interest, mismanagement, or having strayed from the institution's mission.

The Jackson County Library System

It's officially closed, as of April 7th. I find this so disheartening, especially since that part of Oregon was under consideration as a possible place to live someday. What is Ashland, famous for its Shakespeare festival, without a library for people to learn more about the bard? Not a place I'd move to, that's for sure. Here's hoping they find a way to open them again soon. The news in their blog seems optimistic about a short closure. But any loss of such a vital public service is unacceptably long.

More Money for the Masses

Masses of librarians, that is. This is certainly good news.

Pssst...

Bookman's is looking for a Friends of the Library group that might be interested in acquiring some popular fiction titles.

This 'n That

For those of you who haven't heard, Worldcat is now open to the public at large, making it easy for anyone to see what libraries near their homes carry a particular title. In my system, this is soon going to become an added feature to our catalog, which will certainly help us info-folk save some time logging into FirstSearch to answer a fairly straight-forward question.

It was nice to find out that Movie Licensing USA has added New Line Cinema to its list of authorized movie studios. Now, libraries everywhere that subscribe to the service have an even wider selection of films to share with their patrons inside the building.

For those who like to think outside of the box in terms of library building design, check out this bookstore in Beijing known as Kids Republic. I couldn't find the actual site for the store itself - all links lead back to The Cool Hunter at this time.

The Burlington Free Press has run a story about Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic and the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For. I picked this up recently and really enjoyed it. From the article:      

"As a result of her family's discomfort with the her candor and very public story-telling, Bechdel    said she hasn't been able to fully enjoy the success of the book. She's almost become ambivalent about the notoriety she's achieved because of the book, and it seems more baneful than anything. She acknowledged that while she had to get her story out, perhaps as a way to make peace with it all, the process wasn't easy and the aftermath of the book has completely disrupted her life."

Want to help a library or perhaps yourself get some new reading material? Check out Bookmooch, a new service run by people who believe that "the worst thing that can happen to a book is for no-one to be able to read it."  I'm thinking this service, if it becomes big, could be a great thing for people who are moving, don't want to lug their books with them, and are willing to potentially part with them forever. Just send out the books to the world and once re-situated, cash in your points for a whole new private collection!

And lastly, just for fun or mild perplexity, check out the Flickr set devoted to Engrish.

IT Workers Have the Most Stressful Job

I love this article that came about that shows 97% of IT workers are traumatized by their job. What's even better is this little jab from the author:

"Yet, according to a paper presented to the British Psychological Society earlier this year, librarians suffer more from stress than any other occupation.

"It is hard not to sympathize with all of them. IT workers have to wrestle with technology that never seems to get more reliable or user-friendly. If our cars were as wonky as our computers, we'd all keep a spare horse in the garden just in case. Librarians have to deal with people who don't bring their books back on time, or maybe fold down the edges of the pages. (Well, maybe most of us could roll with those punches, but they are very gentle souls, which is why they didn't become firefighters or hedge-fund managers.)"

Okay, this is clearly someone who isn't in touch with the IT work us "gentle souls" do on a daily basis. He kind of saves himself from eternal damnation when he concedes that every job is stressful and the figures probably don't mean anything.

If you follow the logic of these studies, though, it would seem systems librarians must have the most stressful jobs on the planet. It does seem like theirs is mostly a thankless task. Maybe there needs to be a System Librarian Appreciation Day...