Who's talking about your library?

There were several great presentations from Internet Librarian 2008. I didn't even have to be there to enjoy them! IL is certainly one of the best for providing presentations online.

Two presentations that caught my eye were Greg Schwartz's Branding: not just for cows anymore and a combined presentation by Sarah Houghton-Jan and Aaron Schmidt's Digital Marketing. After viewing them, I began thinking about how our library shows up online, the conversations that happen, and how we present ourselves.

Branding
Greg Schwartz states that your online reputation is more dependent upon what other's say about you, but that you do have influence over that. He has six tips on how to manage your identity. Keep in mind that his presentation is really focused on your personal brand, rather than your library brand. I am making the distinction of using examples from a library's perspective.

SNIP
1. Have a Homebase
2. Own your username
3. Aggregate your lifestream
4. Join the Conversation
5. Follow what others are saying about you
6. Be Authentic
END SNIP


Homebase/Username
For a library, the homebase would obviously be the library homepage. It would be nice to have a library url that is very friendly, as opposed to the many that are still stuck with a .ci/.us url. We use cglibrary often since it is short and easy to remember. In hindsight, I should have been more consistent with our various accounts. For instance:

http://twitter.com/cglibrary
http://www.slideshare.net/cglibrary
http://flickr.com/photos/casagrandelibrary
http://youtube.com/user/jdscott50
www.splicemusic.com/people/cglibrary (used this to put background music in podcasts, before I knew about Audacity)
http://odeo.com/channels/144553-City-of-Casa-Grande-Public-Library-News-and-Events
http://www.librarything.com/venue/1220/Casa-Grande-Public-Library
http://cglibrary.blogspot.com/


When you search for our library, our library (map included, shows up with our various accounts. Since I have online video, pictures, and other content, that can show up as well. When I search using technorati instead of google, more of the library produced content shows up. It looks good for your library and your community to see great events and programs happening. I was talking about our J.A. Jance program to a new resident and she said she knew all about it, she saw it on our Flickr page.

Aggregate your lifestream


We aggregate our lifestream through Twitter. We also use all of our services in our weekly email blast newsletter. I have played a bit with twitter and sent our new books feed, library events, and library photos through it. According to the report by Rubicon Consulting (Online Communities and Their Impact on Business: Ignore at Your Peril), Twitter is a smaller aspect of social networking, with MySpace and Facebook the biggies.

What's neat about twitter is what it does to RSS feeds. If the marc record of the new book has a notes field that describes the book, it provides it in the 140 character limit. You can also directly link to the catalog entry and place the book on hold, or be the first to pick it up. There's a great article in School Library Journal by Ellyssa Kroski that talks about what we are doing with it, as well as other libraries (46 libraries in all).


People are talking on Twitter
Twitter seems to be a good source of what people are saying about you online. Twitter Search is a service where you can search for what people are saying about your on twitter. This is how I was able to find out some feedback about the library's twitter service. It wasn't a positive comment, but I was able to respond to the person just a day after it was posted. LinkedIn uses a similar service called Company Buzz where it uses twitter and your work search terms to see what people are saying about your company.

For twitter, joining the conversation would involve either direct messaging another twitter user, replying to a twitter user with an @ symbol, or replying to any questions. I do get great feedback from it as well as some complaints. Good feedback are those that know about our books and events faster and we show up where you wouldn't expect libraries. The complaints are usually that there are too many tweets. When there is an rss dump, it can take up 10 spaces all at once. It's always a work in progress.

Your Library Needs to show up
Digital Marking by Sarah Houghton-Jan and Aaron Schmidt's. is more specific to libraries. I will highlight points of interest:
SNIP
Make your library website two-way
Show up in searches whether they are library directories, search engines, wifi finders, community sites, library thing local and community sites.

What are people saying about you? Search social sites to look for reviews.

Find Local Blogs and intereact in a human way.

We're experts too, library staff can show up at answer sites.

Push the information out: newsletter software, email addresses, etc.
END SNIP

Free Wi-fi Directories
The first thing I did when our library provided wi-fi access was to place our library in every single wi-fi directory. People should be able to google and know if you have wifi access. We are still one of the few institutions in our community even providing wi-fi access.

Social Networking Sites
Most social sites aren't providing any feedback. We are either too small of a community, or those that use those sorts of sites aren't using the library. I have often thought there is probably a correlation between the circulation of Science Fiction books and the amount of library digital services being used. We don't have a high science fiction circulation. If we did, perhaps feedback would show up more often on those sites.

Local Blogs
As far as local blogs go, there are over 156 people in our community that have a blog, of those, only 24 are active. For those that are active, they do provide good feedback about the community. I have only had one mention the library and that was many years ago.

Email is king
We have found the greatest success in digital marketing through our email newsletters. Recently, we have been experimenting with different types of newsletters. We were able to market the newsletter service and also harvesting our database off email addresses. Currently, we have over 3300 subscribers to our newsletter. It's almost 10% of the community. We provide our library news (like food for fines), tutorial via youtube (like how to download books from overdrive), events, and a list of top ten books that provide links to the catalog. We tried the fee based newsletters, but we are just beginning to utilize the email features in our CMS. It's free, and seems to work just as well (we are currently using Liferay).

Overall, most of the sites we have used have been good for promotions and demonstrated that we can do innovative things. The more successful pieces were more practical; not everyone has rss (in the Rubicon report, it's only 11%), but almost anyone has an email address.

More people have mentioned the email newsletter as a factor when they came into the library for a program or found out about a service. We are sending them a personal email, a personal invitation, to come see us.


Your patrons should see your library like Mecca. They should rise and think about how we connect today.

Too often, a patron gets a card, and they don't hear from the library unless they have a book overdue, a hold, or a fine. This way, we can make a connection about everything we do.

Our cost of service for marketing is about 17 cents per person. That's how much time it takes for a library staff member to get a newsletter together, send it out, and copy and paste that information into the email newsblast, the local newspaper, the local magazine (that goes to everyone in the county for free), and any other agency that tracks local news and events. It's the best way to scale and to show up everywhere for a library.

Why Public Libraries Close

This report is now available from Webjunction: Why Public Libraries Close This report was also presented at the American Library Association in Anaheim California.

I was very interested in this report. It isn't extensive as From Awareness to Funding which I wrote about in three parts. However, the Awareness report would seem to explain why libraries close more than this report does.

Very few libraries have actually closed, very few
I read about this program in Library Journal when they reviewed the programs for the annual conference. It was rather slammed. The quote from Library Journal's review was, "Sounds alarmist, very few have actually closed. Very few."

One Tenth of One Percent
After reading this report, the statement that very few libraries have closed seems entirely accurate. According to the ALA Fact sheet there are over 123, 291 libraries in the United States, 16,543 are public libraries. This report makes an assessment between the years 1999-2003. During that time 438 public libraries closed. Well...that's not accurate, 134 libraries actually closed. The first number includes libraries that have closed and re-opened or where services were merged, replaced, etc. It doesn't mean closed and no services. The 134 libraries closed are closed with no services and no alternatives. What is the ratio between the number of libraries in the United States versus the number that have actually closed in a four year period. One Tenth of One Percent!

More than a few flaws
The report only retrieved anecdotal information from one library staff member at each library. I know from my own research into various best practices with libraries that it's important to get the person in charge, but then also speak to front line staff. For this research report, maybe just sticking to the data or using local newspapers may have been a better approach. It is hard to say what exactly is intended here. This approach doesn't seem to stand on solid ground.

Some segments from the report:
The categories of closure are good as well as analysis as to why libraries fail. The ongoing issues are extremely useful:

1) specific actions to minimize potential impacts of the closure on existing library users are rarely if ever taken.

(my comment, how many libraries have used story time, closure, and other items as a political pawn when other cost savings could be implemented?)

2) during the 1999-2003 time period of this study, the socioeconomic and demographic
characteristics of the population within the immediately surrounding 1 mile radius the closed library tended to be poorer, less educated, and with more renters than homeowners when compared to the U.S. population in calendar year 1999 year as a whole.

(my comment, the poor are most affected. However, according to the Awareness report, they provide the least amount of support to the library.)

3) migration of America’s population to large population centers may be creating
problems for rural libraries.

(my comment, we actually have the opposite effect. More people are moving to our community because of the low cost of living. This has created greater usage and strain on our services that we have struggled with. More houses mean more one time revenue, but not more operating revenue. That's a entirely different long term problem.)

Big error in data

"It was during this time researchers discovered a large number of the 438 outlets identified as potentially closed were never closed. Further discussions with the identified contact person for each of these “closures” showed that most had no idea on why the library was not listed in the FSCS database for that particular year. A few suggested that it could be due to their non-reporting of the requested FSCS data for that particular year but they remained unsure about this anomaly. There were 192 library outlets that fell into this “unsure why we weren’t listed in that year’s FSCS report” category out of the original 438 outlets. There was no further processing or analysis done on the libraries in this
category."

(my comment, My library is listed twice. One as part of a system and one as a stand alone. I have no idea why that is, nor do I know how to fix it.)

Conclusions
The general conclusion about libraries was the best part. Even though not that many libraries closed, the advice to avoid it is very beneficial. Here is some advice from the front:

"Finally, question seven asked advice from the librarians for how to prevent negative
closures from happening...
Neighborhood advocacy would help prevent closures. ...

“prior to opening a branch” make sure the library systems can sustain it – ...

Shopping centers might not be the best fit for libraries, if rent changes frequently or it is inconvenient for users to reach...

if the library does control or own the facility, possible closure can not be controlled...

Grants that are not recurring should not be used to open libraries...

open hours that are convenient for its users, in one instance banker’s hours where no one could get to the library led to its demise.

maintain an attractive building with services and resources that people need and can access. "p 25

In summary, it can be seen that public library closures are usually caused by the evolving needs of the local libraries (e.g., remodeling, branch relocations, library mergers) or due to factors that are somewhat outside of the library’s direct control (e.g., reduction in funding or staffing). Lack of library use at the closed library is not the primary reason for most public library closures. p 25

I feel really good after reading this report. There aren't that many libraries closing. The title is a bit alarmist, but not misleading. In fact, the advice provided on how to avoid a closure is gold. It is extremely valuable to emphasize meeting the needs of the community. We are building a new branch and we are looking carefully at the hours and resources so that we don't get in over our heads before we even open the building. It is far more difficult to pull services, than to never have provided them. In the end, I feel good since it confirms the comment, "very few libraries have closed."

Post ALA Conference Report (The exhibits)

Now that the dust has settled from the Post-ALA posts, I thought it would be safe to share some of my experiences while I was there. This will be one of a series of posts that will report what I did during ALA and what I learned.

This first post will cover my experience on the exhibit floor.

The ALA exhibit hall was massive. There were over 3,000 different booths to choose from. The ALA exhibit guide was very helpful as I was able to plan out where I needed to go.
My mission was to hit the exhibits of vendors I was interested in purchasing from. There are several issues at my library and I was looking for solutions that solved ongoing problems with one time costs.

Demco Gaming Booth
We received an LSTA grant from the Arizona State Library Archives and Public Records for teen gaming. I have previously established a contact with Best Buy government services so that I can acquire the equipment. However, it would be easier if I can order some of the materials from existing vendors.

As a result, I headed over to the Demco Gaming booth. They had Guitar Hero going with a complete set-up. They had a boom chair, a Wii gaming system with a console that can store and lock the unit. It can also could store and lock video games.

They also had a big flat screen TV on the top of it. My library will be unlikely to afford that luxury. (Although, it was requested by the local Youth Commission.) We will probably go with a projector and project the screen onto a mobile screen or a white wall.

I spoke with the rep and he stated that Demco was looking to expand the gaming titles and equipment available. I sensed he was frustrated that his company couldn't provide more gaming titles. Demco also didn't offer any of the gaming consoles for sale. I sense that those are difficult to hang on to. Even the Best Buy rep I spoke to expressed concern over getting all of the equipment that I need.

I left with a brochure and information. We are now gearing up for our grant to purchase equipment. Our first program will be during Fall Break, October 2008.

E-vanced Solutions

We currently use Google Calendar to manage our community room. At times, this has been problematic for booking, particularly with double booking. I would like to try to find a system that can manage requests to use the room. Currently, I have the Google calendar on our webpage and people can email me to reserve the room. It is convenient because I can book the room from anywhere with an internet connection. It is difficult because I would rather have the public request the room through a formal process that can be done all online rather than print out a form, email me, and fax the form and so forth. This way, they can request the room and it can be approved by me. It can also set up a fee structure so that people who want to reserve the room can pay the deposit or fee up front.

They were very helpful in demonstrating the software. Staff can make reservations themselves and the public could do so as well. It is a one time cost and a small maintenance fee. It can help manage the summer reading programs and registration as well. The calendar is much cleaner and looks more professional than Google Calendar, plus it will be easier to manage. I can hopefully get this set-up within a few weeks after I see a more in-depth demo.

RTI

We needed a disc cleaning machine for our DVDs. We tried less expensive companies and the results were disastrous. In one case, machine purchased resulted in further damage of our DVDs, as opposed to cleaning or repair.

Instead of continuing to purchase cheap equipment that didn’t work properly, we decided to contract out with a company called Rubberdisc. It wasn’t as staff intensive as it involved mailing the discs off to be cleaned instead of repairing the discs with equipment that required a high learning curve and didn’t work properly. It was three dollars per disc to have the DVD cleaned. This, of course, added up to just as expensive as paying for an RTI machine. However, it is difficult to pay for something that expensive out of an operating budget.

We made a request for the machine and received funding from the city to purchase the mid-range model that cleans just one at a time for $5,000. We are looking to purchase the bigger model that can clean 20 at a time, but that comes in a three times the cost. I know some libraries simply purchase a new DVD instead of cleaning it. I am not sure if we could sustain that over time.

I spoke to the rep there. I have to say, it wasn’t as sharp as the other booths, but they don’t really need to advertise. Anytime disc cleaning machines are discussed on PubLib or elsewhere, RTI is always mentioned. I gave him my information and he sent me a quote on July 1st. I ordered the machine it was here two days later. I am already using it and we have cleaned well over 100 discs in the few weeks we have had it. It works like a charm, even has different settings depending on the severity of the damage. It definitely saves money through one time costs.


Overdrive

Our library is already part of the Greater Phoenix Digital Library, http://phoenix.lib.overdrive.com/ but I stopped at the Overdrive booth to see about IPod compatible titles and other items. The rep showed me DC Public Libraries website that already had the mp3 titles turned on.

He asked if I had an iPod and I pulled mine out. It was really easy. I selected my title, downloaded it to the new Overdrive Media Console and then selected the title to transfer. The new Overdrive Media Console recognized my IPod (it hadn’t before) and then I clicked to transfer. I had to have ITunes running during the process, and in a moment, it showed up. I downloaded Catch Me if You Can as an audiobook.


It worked great! I always love IPods because it always remembers your place without any fussing around. I can always pick up where I left off, especially useful for an audiobook.

There will be more MP3 titles available. In fact, the Greater Phoenix Digital Library will begin offering them on September 2. 623 titles will be available on that day so be sure to go to http://phoenix.lib.overdrive.com/ on September 2, the day after Labor Day.

One other cool thing to mention is that you can download the Overdrive Media Console to a PDA or Smartphone. The rep had it downloaded to his blackberry. That is a really awesome idea. Now you can go online and download audiobooks, music, and movies right to your phone! I don’t see it available yet, but I think he said something about enabling it for your site. I can’t find it, but I will keep looking.

AWE

At the library, we have 38 public access computers that provide access to the internet with a library card. Anyone can use the computers and those under 18 need their parent’s permission to get a card (they are also filtered).

However, we (like many other libraries) receive demands to have a children’s computer that has educational games loaded onto it, rather than having them access a website to play computer games. We had set one computer up and loaded computer games on it, but overtime the system crashed, more than one wanted to use it at one time and eventually it died.

Running a computer with kids’ games is problematic because of the high resource demands from the computer. Furthermore, if you have a Desktop interface before you launch the program, people can use the computer for other than kids’ games.

So I took my problem to AWE who provides Early Literacy Stations. They load all of the educational programs onto the computer for you, create an interface that is kid friendly (that doesn’t provide a windows desktop screen, you just go straight into the kids interface), and have equipment that is kid friendly (like a colorful mouse and keyboard). I ordered them and they showed up via UPS inside the Dell boxes. I was a little surprised as they arrived within a week after I ordered them. I was a little concerned that they were in Dell boxes. Would I have to load the software and set it up myself? That wasn’t the case; it was all ready to plug and play.

Set-up seemed fairly easy, they showed up, we connected them and turned them on, and that was it. Now we have four computers that have the games and parents are very pleased to have something that consistently works, provides all educational games, provides both Spanish and English, and is kid friendly.

Other exhibits
I did go to other exhibits on the floor and had a plan to look at vendors that had products I was interested in. I went to Equinox/Evergreen and met Karen Schneider (that’s always neat to meet someone you know online in person). Our county library is in the process of putting out a bid for a new ILS and I wanted to get some information on Open Source solutions with support. It may not be a product we would eventually go with, but it is good to get first hand knowledge of what you could do with the system.

I visited at the Library Thing booth and asked about Library Thing's possible integration with Polaris. I was told not to ask :) I think there are some third party issues to work out. Of course, with a little programming know-how, one could integrate things in Polaris using Library Thing. I bet I could find out how from the Maricopa County Library District (AZ).

I stopped by the Tech Soup booth as I was a contributor to the Maintain IT cookbook. If you were not aware, they are having book discussion sessions on how to maintain the technology in your library. They gave me a button that said I was a contributor, so that was nice.

I stopped by Tell Me More (Aurolog) which provides an alternative to the online Rosetta Stone (no longer available). They were very helpful about their product. I am a bit concerned that we are not getting the usage that we received with Rosetta Stone. I had over 160 students with Rosetta Stone after a year and a half. Three months in with Tell Me More, I have six. We will probably try another promotional run, but I fear that it is the name recognition that made Rosetta Stone popular.

I don’t have any other significant vendor visits. I will say that the vendor room was huge and had I not used the ALA In the Stacks booklet to plan my trips, I never would have accomplished anything productive. One thing I thought was really neat was the card. In the orientation kit, there was an orange card that read In the Stacks. I had no idea what it did and carried it on my badge when I visited the booths. I realized that whatever booth I stopped at in which I was interested to purchase, they took my card and scanned it. They gave them all of my contact information. I thought that was neat because I didn’t need to hand out as many cards to the vendors as I have had in the past. I think the response time post-convention was fantastic. I could credit it to that. In the end, I found four vendors and purchased their items which provided services within a few weeks of ordering. We are definitely enjoying those improvements.

I will include posts for other conference programs (I already included the Why Public Libraries Close which was part of the OCLC report From Awareness to Funding):

RFID In Libraries: The Myths
Not Evolutionary-Revolutionary! Library Re-organization Project
ALA E-Participation: Challenges and Opportunities
Library Leadership and Management Association Human Resources Committee Leadership Skills Committee Meeting
Mobile Libraries: Driving Services into the Future
Top Technology Trends
Programming for English Language Learners.

From Awareness to Funding Part III (how to get support)

In this third part, I will wrap up the analysis of the report and provide what I think libraries could do in relation to this report. This section covers p 112 forward. An analysis of Super Supporters, Chronic Non-Voters, Elected Officials perception of libraries, and what to do about the information provided in this report.

Super Supporters

Super Supporters are avid readers with a long-standing relationship with the library.
Although they use the library only a little more than average, their relationship with
the library is strong because their emotional connection to the library transcends the
library’s practical functions. More than any other segment, Super Supporters see the
library as a place where they can better themselves and become the people they always wanted to be. They hold the librarian in high regard and recognize the value that librarians bring to the research process.p 116

Super Supporters use the library to feed their voracious
reading habits and to recommend children’s books p 118

This group supporters the library, ranking it second highest (only behind the Fire Department) for priority support. However, they support EVERYONE very highly. They are big community supporters, are influential (even powerful) figures in the community.

I always think it is interesting when libraries think organizations, groups, or individuals may not fund a library initiative because the particular entity funds another heavily. It seems to me those who fund, fund EVERYTHING well. I have never seen an either or situation. These are the "rah rah" community supporters.

Super Supporters recognize the library’s contribution to a successful community p 123

Super Supporters believe the library helps bring a community together p 124

Chronic Non-Voters

The Chronic Non Voters segment of the Library Supporter Segmentation Pyramid
represents 26.6% of the U.S. population ages 18–69 in communities with
populations of less than 200,000. Chronic Non Voters are the group least likely
to improve funding support for libraries. Chronic Non Voters are not registered to
vote, or they are registered to vote but report a track record of not voting in primary
elections, presidential elections or local elections. Chronic Non Voters are unlikely to
be motivated to vote in the future. This segment represents 0% of respondents who
said they would definitely vote yes in a library referendum. p.128

I can hear it now when I write this. "Boo hiss boooooo!" These people apparently don't care about anything. They are not involved in anything. Their lack of support isn't just for libraries, it's for everything. They have basically dropped out of democracy and don't support their local community. The more disconnected the population feels, the more the support wanes. I would go so far to say that if the general public has a tendency to distrust government, particularly the local government, support for everything wanes. Even if it isn't a problem with library performance, dissatisfaction for local government or for the local community translates to a problem with the library.

Elected Officials (Chapter 3 goes into Elected Officials perspective)

Elected officials have views about the library similar to those of the Probable
Supporters. They appreciate the added value librarians offer and see librarians as
important figures in rallying community support. Elected officials are knowledgeable
about libraries and their value, but they often do not see the library as a necessity
for the community. The library is seen as a community ‘amenity’ rather than a
‘must have.’ p132

This seems to be a balance of non-usage. Most City Councilmen don't need the library, they understand the big value in the community, but if it hasn't touched their life (they don't use it, their family and friends don't use it) that is where the "isn't necessary" comes in. In my opinion, this really goes back to a complaint issue. People will complain if they don't have adequate service and if the library provides good enough service so that people don't complain, than they are doing their job.

The Library consistently ranks below, Police, Fire, Schools, and Streets in that order. (Reality check, more people complain about the lack of these things. If there is a crime, and the cops show up really late, or there is nothing done about the crime, people get angry. If the Fire response is too slow and it is a life or death situation, that's serious. If the schools are failing, everyone takes notice and wants to know what is being done about it. If the streets are in disarray, that will also cause a trip to City Council to complain. Even though the library is used more often than two of the four services (more people visit a library in their community than need to call police for a crime or fire for a medical/fire emergency, but they do send their kids to school every day and drive them there on city streets), they aren't supported more.

Local elected officials (68%) are more likely than voters (59%) to have lived in their community for more than 10 years. Elected officials are more likely to be members of a variety of local organizations, including Friends of the Library groups. Forty percent (40%) of elected officials surveyed were members of Friends of the Library, compared to 9% of voters and 11% of Probable Supporters. p 137

Elected officials are more likely than voters to recognize library financial needs; yet 73% believe the library has sufficient operating funds p 140

I think this goes back to the complaint issue. If people are not complaining about the lack of service, then it is fine.

Advice from elected officials:

1. Stress the library’s return on investment (ROI) to the community
2. Build strategic partnerships
3. Be proactive
4. Engage voters in the campaign
5. Stress the broad appeal of the library
   

Elected officials on library funding campaigns

Elected officials cited a number of important components required of a successful
library funding campaign:

• Messaging that focuses on the broader value of the library to the community,specifically a community gathering place, access to technology and programs for teenagers and other groups
• A passionate, committed and active champion(s) who can rally support among the elected officials and community influences
• Civic engagement, including a commitment to speak with every relevant group in the community to encourage grassroots support
• A willingness to partner with other public services in a joint effort where strategically advantageous
• The ability to ask for the right support at the right time:
• Voter turnout is greater for general elections than local elections
• It is often easier to campaign for a new building than for operating funds.
  

The next part focuses on how people vote and awareness. Many people who say they would vote for a bond issue, may not do so.

Furthermore, it states that while the breakdown of support is 37% definitely yes, 37% probably yes, and 26% no the probably part should concern libraries.

Familiarity with the full range of library services was not a determinant of library funding support for the library’s top funding supporters. p 148

Neither was usage

Frequency of library visitation is not a determinant of funding support. p 149

A definite need, the "passionate librarian"

These five attributes can be combined to describe the ‘passionate librarian’:p152

• True advocate for lifelong learning
• Passionate about making the library relevant again
• Knowledgeable about every aspect of the library
• Well-educated
• Knowledgeable about the community.

There seems to be a DEFINITE correlation between passionate librarians and support. Sure if your staff doesn't care about the library, why should anyone else? Furthermore, if you are a mover and shaker is it more important that you ARE one rather than what specifically you are doing?

The library is perceived as a service that provides ‘information with a purpose.’ As the framework illustrates, this perceptual territory, ‘information with a purpose,’ is a very crowded space. There are many other information and learning services located in the same quadrant including Wikipedia.com, online bookstores like Amazon.com, search engines and bookstores.
These brands and services are redefining the role and definition of information.
Belief that the library is a transformational force in people’s lives is directly related to their level of funding support.p 156

Rewards Framework:

• Helps create who you are
• Makes you feel good about yourself
• Allows you to appreciate the beauty in life
• You come away feeling like you really learned something
• Fills you with hope and optimism
• Empowers you
• Helps you seek truth
• Serves a serious purpose

p 157



The library needs to be transformative. Libraries that are perceived the same as "watching a documentary" is a snoozer. Libraries perceived as taking a class for fun, going to a religious service, or getting a college degree are better. How can I change myself? How can I improve myself? What can I learn today? Rather than functional like reading the newspaper.

Increasing support for libraries may not necessarily mean a trade-off of financial support for other public services. p158

The public library receives just under 1% of the total local operating budget. p 158

A side-by-side comparison of the willingness of a voter segment to increase taxes to
fund local public services, including the public library, shows that a willingness to
fund one service is often similar to their willingness to support other local services. p 158

Elected officials are supportive of the library—but not fully committed to increasing funding. Engaging Super Supporters and Probable Supporters to help elevate library funding needs is required. p160

DING DING DING. Don't go after Mayor and Council, go after the people who have influence over mayor and council. Who are those people? Who do Mayor and Council listen to? Those are the people you need to talk to.

Best Factors for motivation

Early memories, the library as a transformative force (your storytime kids will ensure funding in the future )

Current perceptions are important. The idea of what the library can do and what it represents

“People who’ve been exposed to libraries realize that there are
a lot of other cultures and things out there that a small town of
4,000 doesn’t provide access to. The library is literally
a window on the world.”
(Super Supporter, McPherson, Kansas) p 169

During the course of discussion it surfaced that, even for the most passionate lovers of the library, the library is becoming less relevant. Access to information from other sources, often the Internet, is changing the relative importance of the library. Many assumed that usage of the public library is down as ‘other’ people are increasingly turning to the Internet for information. p 171

“If they close off the libraries, you don’t have to worry about a
Brain Drain. You’ll close off the mental capabilities of the people.”
(Super Supporter, McPherson, Kansas) p 172

I felt the presentation to the population was a bit extreme. You either have libraries or you don't Yes that shows what the impact is, but it doesn't address an unfunded library. I think the extremes here are troubling and unhelpful. No we don't want it to close, but will we allow the library to be underfunded? And what is underfunded in the average community member's mind. What is underfunded? What is the community member willing to accept?


Library's Relevance is questioned

• Information: The library is one of many sources of information. It could potentially be replaced by a combination of bookstores, schools, coffee shops and the Internet.

• Institution: The library is an institution sometimes associated with an out-of-date building, aged materials and limited accessibility. (The library has limited hours, the Internet is available 24/7.)
  

• Nice to have: Availability of so many other options for information and learning make the library a ‘nice to have’ service, rather than a necessity.

• Past: The library is an important part of supporters’ lives, but they question whether it is still relevant for their children and grandchildren.
  

• Altruism for others: The library is less important to them, but it is important for ‘other people’ in the community.
  

p 174


Why people vote no

Even though the libraries in that town were closed at the time of the focus group research, the Probable Supporters were planning to vote ‘no’ at a pending library levy to raise the operational funds that would allow the library to open. This was not because they were against the library,
“Feeling good doesn’t equate to voting ‘yes’ for a library referendum.” but they saw it as a personal statement against the local city council who they felt had mishandled funds that had previously been raised for the library and then placed into the general fund. Even in that situation, the residents believed that ultimately the funding situation would be resolved and the libraries would reopen. p 179

I remember the City of Mesa in Mesa, Arizona when their property tax initiative failed. It was perceived by the public that the city had mishandled funds and that this was a bailout. Some other failed initiatives have the same theme, "We feel you mishandled our funds.", "We feel you are not going to use these funds what you say you will." Track record of previous projects will crop up. Does the library appear to be using its funds adequately? If there are detractors, what are they saying, is it being addressed. If you have a bond or referendum election during an off election year, the no vote becomes that much stronger. If you have that same election during a Presidential or Congressional election cycle, you will have a better chance at success. I wonder if OCLC actually looked at the stats on that?


Probable Supporters and Super Supporters felt that support for libraries
can be improved by increasing the public’s attention to four essential community benefits that the public library uniquely delivers:

• Equal access: “No kid should have an excuse for not having a book or knowing how to do research. If you don’t have a computer at home, you can go to the public library.” (Probable Supporter, Huntsville, Alabama)
  

• Shared community values (or teaches values) “It’s one of the few things that truly can provide a sense of community. It doesn’t belong to anyone but to all of us. It’s a good lesson in respect, being quiet, signing up for Internet time, returning books on time. It’s kind of a good building block in respect.”
  

• A sacred place “It’s a gathering place where lots of different people can listen to someone else’s ideas, whether spoken or written.” (Super Supporter, Medford, Oregon)
• Community stature. “It represents a commitment by the community to cultural and intellectual activities.” (Probable Supporter, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
  

p 180


Some objectives

Make the library relevant for the 21st century.
Instill a sense of urgency by putting the library in the consideration set
for local funding with other public services, like police, parks and fire.
Activate a conversation about how the library is a vital part of the
community’s infrastructure and future.

General conclusion. This is the same research you can find on getting any bond election passed. They are the same issues for the community as for the library.

The city wants to pass a bond, the perceptions must be the same. You must also time this during a big election with already high turnout. Any negative campaigning can be drown out.

If there has been some scandal in finances or if this is perceived as a bail-out, expect a no vote.

If you have tried a levy, etc, and it failed, and you are going again and haven't changed the package, you will continue to fail.

Most U.S. residents are aware of the traditional ‘informational’ library services, such
as books, newspapers, magazines and Internet access. Far fewer know about the
many value-added and ‘transformational’ services provided by their libraries, such as
teen programs, computer training and ‘English as a second language’ (ESL) classes.p195

The transformative nature. Let's look at activity based costing. The most expensive program is the tutoring program. It is the most transformative, but most costly. These people will be supporters and the people who understand that need will support us supporting them. The person must see the need.

Today’s support comes from those who believe libraries transform lives. I would also state that a library that is perceived to do this, even from people who have not participated in the library, would show support for a library that does this. In fact, the person who sees that the library is doing this will support the library more than the person who is actually using the service for that need. This is generally why libraries that are more successful are action based (strategic plan) versus stats based (your stats went up, so what?). They can also change the perception of the library. If the library is perceived to be old, run-down, and mis-managed, you won't get funding even if you need it. If the library is perceived as modern with modern conveniences, even if the library doesn't need the funding, they could get it if they asked. Is it just a perception issue that libraries can work on with a focus on how the library transforms people rather than provides access to things? There is a great deal to ponder here.