Literacy in Everyday Life: Results from the 2003 National Assessment on Adult Literacy http://nces.ed.gov/Pubs2007/2007480_1.pdf
Literacy in my community
A 2003 survey indicated that 19 percent of adults could not read at level one. 4,000 adults could not fill out a job application, read a food label or a simple story to a child.
Community Impact
We cannot afford to leave any adults behind. We need each and every individual to work to their full potential. Businesses need a well-trained workforce; our economy depends on a skilled, educated workforce. We cannot afford to send jobs overseas because of deficits in essential workplace skills. Individuals with lower literacy levels are disproportionately represented in the unemployed.
 Graph provided by Literacy in Everyday Life: Results from the 2003 National Assessment on Adult Literacy, published April 2007
http://nces.ed.gov/Pubs2007/2007480_1.pdf
Economic Impact
1 out of every 5 adults is below basic in literacy skills, which means that 1 in 5 adults do not score above 200 in the literacy scoring used by the National Assessment on Adult Literacy, or 1 in 5 adults do not qualify for any jobs offered in the City. Businesses that cannot find good quality workers will go elsewhere for their business or will not be attracted to the City to conduct their business. At first, they may see an advantage in paying a low wage to its workforce, but the business will never be able to grow or evolve its workforce without qualified applicants. This situation threatens economic development in the city.
Personal Impact
He is a stranger in a strange land of incomprehensible symbols. Knowing the stigma attached to illiteracy, he uses many strategies to conceal his inability - - though he knows people will see through it anyway. That takes even more work, as well as the shame inherent in the ruse. Keeping himself convinced he isn't stupid is a constant effort.
Action is required now to solve this problem in the future.
"The great French Marshall Lyauteyone asked his gardener to plant a tree.The gardener objectedthat the tree was slow growingand would not reach maturity for 100 years.The Marshall replied,In that case, there is no time to lose,plant it this afternoon!"
John F. Kennedy
It takes seven years to acquire a new language and it takes a year for basic literacy skills for current English speakers. Attracting businesses to our community is important now!
"Furthermore, many researchers caution against withdrawing the support of the home language too soon. There is a great deal of evidence that, whereas oral communication skills in a second language may be acquired within two or three years, it may take up to four to six years to acquire the level of proficiency for understanding language in its instructional uses"
(http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/issuebriefs/ib5.htm Lessons From Research: What Is the Length of Time it Takes Limited English Proficient Students to Acquire English and Succeed in an All-English Classroom? September 2000, Issue and Brief)
What the Library is doing to provide assistance with this problem:
One on One Tutoring Program
Laubach technique is used for one on one tutoring.
Tutors for Pre-Lit to 3rd grade reading level.
18 hours of training plus working with the students ahead of time to become a regular volunteer.
Nine month commitment to each student
Need to meet with students two (2) to three (3) times per week (at least 4 hours).
Need at least 30 tutors, 60 when at full steam and they need to fill out monthly reports on progress.
Coordinator will meet with tutors 4 times a year
Library resources
The Library provides a host of resources to assist our tutors and the general public. The library currently has a full set of Laubach materials for one on one tutoring and other resources for the general public. The library will also have computer programs available for students to use on their own to supplement their training.
Library Bookmobile
The Library maintains bookmobile services. This service provides transportation for tutors, the ability to provide literacy training on site, job searching and internet access on site, as well as general bookmobile services.
Other literacy details:
Literacy Levels
"The percentage of adults with Below Basic quantitative literacy decreased, and the percentage of adults with Proficient prose and document literacy also decreased. In 2003, some 5 percent of adults were nonliterate in English."
Education and Literacy
"Educational attainment increased between 1992 and 2003, with a higher percentage of adults completing an associate’s or college degree and fewer adults ending their education before completing high school. In 2003, average prose, document, and quantitative literacy increased with each increasing level of education, except for students who were still in high school."
Employment, Earnings, and Job Training
"In 2003, adults with higher literacy levels were more likely to be employed full-time and less likely to be out of the labor force than adults with lower literacy levels. Adults with lower literacy levels also generally earned lower incomes. On all three literacy scales, a higher percentage of adults with Proficient literacy were employed in professional and related occupations and management, business, and financial occupations than in other occupations. Many individuals with lower literacy levels were employed in service occupations. Specifically, 30 to 35 percent of adults with Below Basic and 22 to 24 percent of adults with Basic prose, document, and quantitative literacy worked in service jobs, compared with 7 to 10 percent of adults with Proficient prose, document, and quantitative literacy."
A great post on leadership, confidence, and focus from Fast Company. Three lessons learned from Tiger Woods and why he stays on top, check your ego, trust yourself, and don't blink. SNIP " Check your ego. At the eighteenth hole, Tiger held a three stroke lead. So what does the game’s best player of the day do? With five hundred yards of water to his left, and not trusting his driver to play the ball straight, he plays it smart. Tiger pulls out a three-iron and lays up. Not once, but twice. That’s brilliance. No macho driver for him. Many a golfer have succumbed to ego in such positions and wound up losing. Trust yourself. Tiger knows his game better than anyone. When he was rolling well, he trusted himself to pull out the stops and hit the shots he needed to hit. And frankly for most of the 72-hole tourney, Tiger was in command of his game. He led from day one, hitting great tee shots and even more incredible second shots to get him on the green in regulation. But when his putter did not hold up, he turned conservative and did not push shots to the edge. Better a par than a bogey. Or when things get really tough, a bogey is better than a double bogey. Don’t blink. It is traditional for golfers in the lead walking up the fairway of the 72nd hole to smile, doff their hats and acknowledge the cheers. But with a lead that had dwindled from six strokes to two, Tiger was taking no chances; he maintained focus. His second shot, again from a lay-up position was masterful; it put him on the green, but 52 feet from the hole. His lag putt was a gem, end up just 3 feet from the hole. Brett Wetterich, with short putt for a birdie, missed and Tiger only needed to hole his shot to make bogey and win. When his ball rolled in, then and only then did Tiger flash his million-dollar smile, doffing his cap and acknowledging the crowd. And then as he always does, he congratulated his opponent on a round well-played." END SNIP I recently had a ding to my ego for a project I was working on. I was upset at first that people thought my idea was harebrained. My idea was simple, create a bookmobile from a standard van, insert the bookshelves, and place a satellite dish on top so that patron could check-out books AND use wireless internet access from the van on laptops we provided. Many bigger systems do this, but I knew I would be stretching the limits of my knowledge and I knew I would get no IT support for the dish and wireless. I didn't lose heart that the start of things were rocky. We rolled out the bookmobile without the satellite dish at first and some of our routes did not get any patrons. I listened to my staff and made better decisions, knowing that if I let my ego run wild when I was wrong, the project would have failed. We changed our routes to places with the most need with much more success. I trusted my vision to see the project through. I knew the dish wasn't working, but that the fix would be simple if I could just take some time with the vendor's tech support and do it. I knew right at the end it was make or break and I took a day just to make it work, and it did. We went out this month with wireless internet access. It was fun because it went just how I had envisioned it. We had a bookmobile stop at an adult education location where classes were held. When the class let out, we had books and materials for their GED and language acquisition assistance AND we had wireless internet access with ten laptops set up on a picnic bench right outside their door. They flocked to us when class let out. The project was a success. The funny part was that I didn't realize there was such a negative outlook on the project. It is probably best not to hear your worst critics in the earliest stage of the project, especially if the comments are not constructive. I actually heard that people thought it was harebrained from another city staff member. They told me this while I had the van ready, the satellite dish running, people on our public access laptops with internet, and people checking out books. I was still upset at first, but then realized that I shouldn't be, since I was right and these above lessons helped make it happen.  
Some questions asked of me for a management project from a student at the University of Arizona School of Information Resources and Library Science. 1. Can you give a short account of how you came to be a manager? Was it aconscious goal of yours to become a manager, something you wanted to do fromthe start?I have always been a reader, but the idea of becoming a librarian came later, management later than that. I have always been interested in management, but it didn’t become a conscious goal until I worked for some terrible bosses. I came into management with the idealistic goal of caring about workers and creating an organization that creates impact on the community. The former is always a moving target and takes constant care and attention, the latter can be done rather easily, but doing both will affect one or the other. For example, a great service for patrons may take a huge amount of staff resources, straining library services, but if you don't change services to meet patron demand, then usage suffers. 2. What traits, skills, and experiences do you feel prepared you for being asuccessful manager?Reading and experiencing bad bosses prepared me for most work situations. The book that had the most impact on me was On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors by John de Lorean. It talked about his experiences at GM and how he turned the Pontiac division of cars around despite management decisions that made it almost impossible to do so. I think this inspired me to think that with persistence, change can occur and in spite of negative forces working against you. 3. What could have prepared you better? (If you could, is there any adviceyou would have given your past self when you first became a manager?)I don’t know if there is more advice I could have given myself. I probably would have told myself to wait on management because of my family. It is hard with all the time commitments that take me away from my family. You have to take opportunities as they come. This was a big opportunity to run this library and I took it. Looking back I don’t know if I would have done anything differently, but my general advice it to make sure your family commitments are in order and that they understand the pressure and the time it will take away from them. 4. What's the most rewarding thing about being a manager? How about the mostdifficult thing?The most positive thing is knowing that you are making an impact on your community and on the organization. I love it when people come to work who are passionate about their jobs and about the library and when the community is just as excited. The most difficult thing is finding enough money to meet both the internal and external needs. Our city is not that wealthy and its priority is not with the library. Luckily, we were able to get a bond initiative for a new library on the ballot and it won by 66% this past November. This guaranteed library support in the community, a branch library, more staff, and more resources to handle our growth. 5. What do you like and dislike about being a manager as opposed to afrontline staff member?Any specific field of work is different from management, and management is essentially the same no matter the field. Librarian work is very rewarding as you are providing services right there and get a response from the patron right away. You can see the impact you are making from each patron. As a manager, you don’t directly see the changes you are making, and usually you only hear about the bad decisions. No one states that they liked a change, but you can tell that people do by the increase in usage, statistics, and general chatter. 6. What principles and theories of management have you found most effectiveand accurate? How has strategic planning benefited your organization?Strategic planning has been the most effective approach to demonstrating the library’s impact on the community. The strategic plan was also rolled into performance based budgeting which justifies budget expenditure by how well you are meeting the goals and objectives set by the community. We were the first to do this in our city’s organization and the response has been phenomenal. We have had major increases in usage from a general circulation increase of 20%, to an increase of computer usage by 50%. 7. What is the most difficult situation that you have had to deal with as amanager? And how did you resolve it?The most difficult situation was dealing with a major problem employee. In all situations, I would prefer to provide advice and guide the employee back to compliance and to become a productive member of the staff. When they flat out refuse to do so, the process is very stressful and demanding. I think that is why many managers simply refuse to deal with the situation. However, this hurts the organization dearly, and the removal of the employee in the end has helped the organization. 8. What was the most successful change you helped facilitate or implement asa manager? Was there a least successful?The most successful change was the re-establishment of adult literacy services at the library. Previously, the library used the Western Pinal County Literacy Council to provide Adult Literacy in the area. In 1998, that program was disbanded leaving hundreds of students to fend for themselves. In 2005, the library began its strategic planning process using PLA’s Planning for Results. This process identified Adult Literacy as the most important service. The establishment of that program took a great deal of creativity and reallocation of resources. Once established, we hit the front page of the local papers stating that Literacy concern Library with a positive article on what we were doing. We received 12 tutors just from the newspaper article. The program recently took the next step in establishing a bookmobile last month. It was a great accomplishment to create something out of nothing and to change the landscape so that Adult Literacy is not only on the radar screen, it is a major concern. The least successful change has been in staff training. I had some success in December with two training programs on customer service and managing the angry public. I need to do a better job in training staff on technology and the changing world of libraries. We have the double digit growth and changing environment so it is hard to keep on top of all the changes and training staff for them. 9. What kind of relationship do you seek with the employees you manage? Whatis your ideal?I would like to have one that is professional, yet light. I want them to be passionate about their jobs, but not to take things too seriously. I would like their relationship with me to be a good one. In the end, I just want them to be excited to come to work every day and hope that they can approach all situations with a sense of humor. A sense of humor is essential when working for a public library. Some situations can be quite extreme and if you can find a way to laugh it off, it helps dealing with it. I just hope I encourage that. 10. Lastly, what is the key to keeping your team and yourself motivated?I think they key is rewarding employees for doing a great job. I say thank you and tell them I appreciate them. I try to get treats for them on occasion if it has been a tough week. We have several staff events throughout the year, the Friends of the library provide a volunteer luncheon which staff can partake, they provide a staff appreciation reception, they invite staff to their annual dinner, we have a Pizza party in April for staff (usually indicates the end of the busy period, winter visitor season), and I have an employee of the month program in which the awarded employee receives a certificate, a $20 gift card to Walmart, and eight (8) hours of comp time. Overall I have really enjoyed running my library. The changes being made in the community and the value the community has placed on the library has been fantastic. I am always excited since there is so much more that can be done and it is within reach.
See the wonders of the public libraryThe library wants you to use their services. We try very hard to get patrons' attention, to get them to read, to use our resources, after all, it is free (and good for you). You have free access to an education, to a new job, a better life, and free entertainment, all at your public library. However, there is a price to free, you have to share. Unfortunately, some people do not like to share or are otherwise inconsiderate. In order to encourage these users to share, libraries have fines. Libraries would prefer not to do this, as previously stated, we would prefer you to use our services and high fines block patrons from doing that. Furthermore, when surveys go out to non-library users (as we scratch our heads as to why they wouldn't use a FREE service) the top two reasons are they didn't know about us, or they had fines: From librarian.net"Surveying non-users, Sarah Houghton-Jan points to a library who is trying to figure out who is NOT using their library. I did a little bit of this during National Library week. I set up a library card sign-up table outside of Wal-Mart and met a LOT of non-library users. The main reason people didn’t go back to the library? Fines, especially for younger patrons. " Many patrons rack up fines, or realize their materials are so overdue that returning them would cost the same as keeping them. This can often happen when the patron is younger and the parents couldn't get the items back on time, so they never returned. Then, several years later, the child returns, very sheepish, assuming that we are going to smack their wrists with a ruler for having fines. Then they realize we have no record of their activity since its been five years. They happily get a new card and go about their way. Often, these people just don't make the effort to come back and that is a tragedy for that person. Play nice, or it will cost youThen there is the flip side of that. The fiduciary responsibilities libraries have to their taxpayers. A good post this week by the PVLD Director's blog, states about their struggle with fines. "At this morning's meeting someone asked "Why don't we charge a fee for placing holds on items that are on the shelf rather than a fee for uncollected holds?" This is an interesting question as it really relates to customer service philosophy." The director further discusses the differences between a fee and a fine. A library charging a fee for placing a hold is different than a library creating a fine for not picking one up. In the first case, the patron is paying for extra services, and in the other they are penalized for causing extra work. In my opinion, as far as fees go, there should never be an impediment or fee to access materials. A fee on holds creates a tiered system whereas a person with $2 will get the book faster, the others may not get it at all. There is a line between creating fines to encourage users to bring back their items and punishing them for making mistakes. We all want patrons to use the library. If there were unlimited resources we could just say, "Keep all those books, we'll just get more." Of course with the tight budget of libraries, it just doesn't work that way. However, whether we collect fines or fees, over time both become a fee to use our services. Even the best patrons will have fines from time to time and have a running total on their account. We can tweak the fines and fees system to encourage more use, but trying to find a balance is not easy. Our Plan: The Tiered SystemWe found that we had user drop-off from fines. We had a threshold of $10 before we stopped allowing patrons to check-out. What ended up happening was that people would rack up $9.99 on their account, check out four videos, realize that they kept them too long, and with the fine they racked up then, they would never return. What that fine threshold becomes is the fee to use our services. In order to combat this, we decided to lower the threshold, but provided a little give. After $5, patrons were restricted to only two items and now audiovisual materials. Not providing audiovisual means no movies (which carry a heft fine of $1 per day as opposed to $.10 for all other materials). The idea behind this was that patrons would be able to continue to use the services longer since they would more readily provide $5 over $10. Even though it seems we were punishing them, we were not, we were trying to keep them in good graces longer so that they will continue to use the services. There is nothing like going to do some PR at a major event or at a Walmart (as Jessamyn did) with your bookmobile advertising the library's services with the reply, "Oh I think I have fines". They will also remember trying to get out of the fine to continue to use the library, but the library (dedicated to its fiduciary responsibility) said no way. So we shouldn't be surprised when they give us the same cold shoulder. As a way to further help patrons remain in our good graces is to provide Food for Fines. Patrons can bring in one non-perishable item and we count it towards $1 on their fine (which is a great deal since you can buy Top Ramen 10 for $1. It seems like a rip-off toward the library, but the food banks love it. You can't always find a can opener, but you can always find water and a microwave somewhere.) So did lowering the fine threshold work? Circulation went up during 2005 when we first implemented the system. From 2004-2006 here are the collection rates of the library: 2004, $64,000 in charges, $32,000 recovered (50%) 2005, $62,44 in charges, $58,000 recovered (92%) (woo!) 2006, $126,596 in charges, $46,000 recovered (25%) (What?) What happened? It seemed like it was working right away. However, instead of people saying, "Great only $5 and I get full services back." they simply adjusted to the lower fine rate, but did the same procedure. In fact, we ended up fining people more and they paid less. Part of this was a result of an increase in DVD selection and circulation, resulting in higher fines because of the $1 per day late charge. So the theory didn't work. I think it has its benefits for the good library users, but the same users that had problems at $10, ended up having the same problem at $5. Worse, most of the time this threshold didn't matter since they racked up $25 from a lost book right off the bat, making the whole process negligible. Going to CollectionsAfter the dismal performance last year, we had no choice but to with a collection agency to recover our materials (they just ding your credit). I know we need to keep our users, but when they flagrantly keep our stuff, that goodwill ends. We never had a problem with theft (people walking out the door with our stuff), but we have always had a problem with people checking out our items and not returning them. In a way, it is the same problem. So far, the collection agency has worked. We began the service last month. In January 2007, we had $12,000 in charges and $4,000 in payments, this month we have $$4800 in charges and $2800 in payments. So far, it seems to have knocked down people accruing fines, people are bringing back their books instead of keeping them, and people are paying what they owe. It is a drastic step to go with a collection agency, but if gone with the right company. It can be very effective. We want patrons to use our library and we can do that by trying to help them keep their fines low. A tiered system works somewhat, but not well enough on its own. The collection agency puts the message into many patrons' heads that they need to respect and value the library if they want to continue to use it. The realization that they can get into trouble for not returning materials makes them more honest and keeps them using the library (plus it makes it so they can't get away :) I guess it is a form of tough love. By making patrons pay their fines we are keeping them using the library, and that is good for them, even though it doesn't seem so when they cough up the money.
What is your perception of libraries?
Is it this?
or this?
In some communities, you can ask the question, when was the last time you visited your public library. The reply can sometimes be, "There is a public library in town?" I remember when I first interviewed for a job at my library, I didn't know where the public library was. That is still one of the things that I don't like about my library, its location. A library should be located off the main street so it can be seen driving by. In addition , the library is the old city hall building so it doesn't look like a library.
Often, the perception of public libraries are that they are a throwback to the 1950s. You can insert the obvious antiquated references here (you know the glasses, the hair in a bun, shushing, dusty old books). It seems that many people have not entered into a library in quite some time. The obvious perception of libraries are the first two pictures. However, you want the perception to be the third picture. People at the library enjoying everything the library has to offer. It is not just about books, or computers, it is about a sense of place. It is somewhere to take your family to get an education, entertainment, and a great experience.
The younger generation that never has entered a library are stuck with stereotypes from the media. They will see more saturation from television and the internet's perceptions of libraries, than from actual libraries. In order to combat this, you need to take an active approach in getting attention for your library.
When I first started working at my library, we had no programming and some technology classes (in which attendance was dismal). Circulation wasn't bad, but it seemed that most of the community did not know where the library was. After doing some research, I realized, there was no way we were telling the public about us. No articles in the newspaper, no press releases, no calendar of events, nothing.
I began to write press releases for the local newspaper. It began to get some attention, but the articles were placed irregularly and usually not in enough time for people to be aware of the program. Most of the attendance for programs (if anyone showed up) was between zero and seven people. It was hard to continue with such low attendance. It wasn't until I had a big series of programs in February, did things begin to take off.
The library was conducting a focus group on the direction of the library. It was mostly a defensive maneuver to ward of cuts to the library budget. (It was post-9/11 everyone was getting cut.) I had a series of cultural events I was planning for February. Most of them came from the Arizona Humanities Council. I hoped to get all of the events together at the beginning of the month in a big spread. The paper did one better by getting images to put in the paper of the performers, a full page spread, and well ahead of time. I ended up getting 45 people for the first program, 30 for the second, and 20 for the third. It was a huge success. So when the focus group was asked if they knew about library programs, they said yes and that they checked their local paper for it.
In this vein, I developed a weekly library news section in the paper. Every Tuesday, we were able to have the paper run the library news for the week. Now people can expect when to get the news and were informed well ahead of time of programs. However, it gets better.
Over time, we began to get reporters from the local paper to cover library news. They came to library board meetings. Some of the first articles they ran were not positive and the information was incorrect or out of context on many occasions. The worst one was when they identified someone else as running the library (grr!). So when the library began its strategic planning process, it was a golden opportunity to change the perception of the library in the newspaper and the local community. I asked the paper to send me a reporter to cover the event and to participate in the process. They sent me the same reporter who made the mistake in the paper (double grr!)
The strategic planning process changed the communities perception of libraries. The reporter wrote a wonderful article about how libraries are not what you thought them to be. That classic, libraries are not about books article, it was great. The community's perception of the library was beginning to change. This is exactly what we wanted.
The best part came just last year. We had been receiving consistent positive coverage from the local paper. However, the lead reporter had never written an article about the library. We received coverage from the valley life reporter and other reporters, but nothing front page, no major article.
In April, I gave the library's annual report to City Council which described our efforts toward fighting adult illiteracy, creating a place for teens, and creating opportunities for workforce development. I was hoping for a big article because we had just started our adult literacy program and were accepting tutors. It was a big step. However, a week went by and no article. I was very disappointed. I had worked so hard, but I still did not get anyone's attention. Then, after a week, the article showed up. It was FRONT PAGE ABOVE THE FOLD! It even had a picture of the chart I provided showing the adult illiteracy rate in the community. We received a dozen calls from the public wanting to be tutors for our program. It was fabulous.
Ever since then, whenever I make a presentation to city council, there is a good chance there will be an article and for that article to be on the front page. If I apply for a grant, request a council action, or described progress on a library issue, it gets great coverage.
Furthermore, since we were receiving such good press, attendance at the library shot up. The April article resulted in twice as many sign-ups for summer reading, circulation, computer use, reference questions, and more are all up double digits. We get coverage in the local paper, the local magazine, and free monthly newspapers throughout town. If there is an event in the library, everyone in town knows about it. Just this week, we had two articles and one photograph of our new bookmobile in the paper. We have market saturation. Oh, and the third picture above, that is a local politician who came to the library for a photo shoot for her campaign advertisement.
Some tips on how to get your marketing started:
1. Find out how people get information.
There is always a source of information. A local newspaper, magazine, radio or television show, and sometimes even word of mouth works. We receive coverage in the paper and magazine. When we did some planning for our Spanish language outreach, we talked to the right people since usage of our Spanish language materials shot up right afterward.
2. Get to know your local media.
Who covers the big stories? Who covers the valley life? Who handles the calendar of events? These are all essential to drum up business for your library.
3. Get to know your local photographers for the local media.
Sometimes a photograph is just as good as a news article. Get your name out there. Call the photographer and ask them to come to your next storytime. Have them take a picture of you with your 20,000 customer of the month. Do something creative, just remember, they don't like talking heads. The shot needs to be framed.
4. Create a calendar of events.
Always have library events or library news. Even if you don't have any events there is something going on in the library that no one may know about. Did you get a new database? Did you get a bunch of new books in? Libraries are happening places, just talk about it.
5. Write press releases.
You always need a snazzy headline. It needs to get the reader's attention. Make sound (music) @ your library, Fight the harsh summer sun @ your library, do something creative. People will most likely go to a good program, but you have to fight the many headlines of other events going on at the same time.
6. Create newsworthy events.
Sometimes a good angle always helps. If you are having a storytime, you can advertise getting your child ready to read at your library. Talk about the increase of people using your computers to apply for jobs.
7. Use your monthly reports.
If you are using a strategic plan, then you probably need to report on its progress each month. This is a time to shine. Show how much the library is being used, demonstrate your impact by how you are accomplishing your goals. Have lots of pictures and charts and use bullet points to make your messages clear and succinct.
8. Find out what stories interest the paper.
If they are pro-library, great, if not, change their perception. There should be a theme that the library likes. Read anything written by the editor and show your library's accomplishments in the same light.
9. Always find an opportunity.
There is always an opportunity for a news story. When our library broke 20,000 circulations in one month, I found out who had the 20,000th circulation, threw some stuff in a bag and presented it as a gift. I called the photographer and they had a small thing in the paper about it. It was a great press opportunity for the library and make the patron's day.
10. Be everywhere.
Usually, you can combine your events with other events in town. You can combine your outreach with your marketing by making your outreach stand out. We plan to paint a mural on our bookmobile so that we are easily identifiable. Whenever we go out, if there is a picture of a general event we are at, you will be able to see us.
Marketing is everything. You can have the greatest program ever and no one will show up if no one knows about it. That is the only way to test the popularity of the program. If everyone knows about it and no one shows up, it is not a popular program. Libraries are fantastic concepts. Free books, free music, free movies, educational and recreational programs, computers with internet access and its all free!
Long Tail Rules for libraries In the book The Long Tail by Chris Anderson, he states that the future of markets is selling less of more with two guiding principles: Make Everything Available Help Me Find it How does this relate to libraries? 1.Make everything available Libraries make a wide variety available, more than any larger chain bookstore, but lacks the depth of a virtual bookstore. Even with E-books, we would not be able to make everything available as there are cost constraints. As a business, you can make everything available, and reap the benefits of the multiple purchases, with libraries on a limited resource and no additional money for success, this possibility lays far from our reach. E-books, e-music, e-movies, and databases will get us further into providing everything, but it is improbable to get to that everything bench unless libraries are nationalized and all resources are pooled much like how worldcat is offering its worldcat library search. ILL also gets us there, but it is slower than right now, as opposed to purchasing it on Amazon. 2.Help me find it - Nine Successful practices 1.Move inventory way in... or way out: Centralized inventory either in physically Central warehouse or digitally Bigger library systems do this when they have a main central library. This library has the biggest collection, the most staff, and support services that help make the dis-aggregation of library services possible. Bookmobile services, books by mail, reference assistance, and support services are provided to all the libraries in the system. So these libraries will need to get even bigger to provide these type of services. (Digital is another issue) 2.Let Customers do the work: "crowdsourcing" Self-service means work done by the people who Care most about it and best know their own need. This is the tricky part in getting your users involved in library services. If there is a one percent rule, does that mean the smaller the group the smaller the chance of participation? People post book reviews to Amazon more frequently due to the fame of exposure. Will they feel the same about your local library? However, some of the tools are developed are being developed for user participation in the most critical library area, the catalog: New Web Catalog Wins Prestigious Technology Award: "WPopac, the online catalog developed by Bisson turns out to be quite an interesting concept. * built on the WordPress, blogging software, which allows records to have comments and tags. * each record is separate website indexed by search engines with unique permalink (web address) * as an open software Wpopac could be tailored to your library needs and works over your OPAC" See for yourself, Lamson Library Wpopac 3.One distribution method doesn't fit all: one item multiple format and access Libraries provide a multitude of formats from different levels of reading materials, to audio, video, and online free resources. The online resources need to expand to best satisfy the long tail. The selection needs to be very, very big. 4.One product doesn't fit all: multiple formats. Break it down into smaller chunks Provide teaser pieces of collection materials. Many library catalogs provide this where you can read the first chapter similar to what you can do at Amazon. Some other services provide the music clip or a movie trailer, but it is not tied into the catalog. Libraries provide this type of service in other ways by providing dis-aggregated services, bookmobile, books by mail, and deposit collections. 5.One Price doesn't fit all: cheaper means greater hassle, more expensive means ease of use Libraries can follow this model. Especially in the books by mail service. A special service you can charge for that creates ease of use for the patrons. Make it so if they want to pay more, they can get better services. The one thing to watch for is that you do not provide an advantage over access. If you start charging for holds, then you are creating a proprietary layer that blocks access for everyone. 6.Share information: provide recommendations by transparent methods ,why was Something recommended. Easy libraries do this all the time with reader's advisory. If we can find a way to automate it like amazon, that would also be great AND within our grasp. 7.Think ''and' not "or" offer it all! Libraries offer all things to all people. The great difference is that it is just for that community, a smaller version of the long tail. 8.Trust the market to do your job: pre-filtering Vs. post-filtering one is predicting one is measuring Popularity rankings Don't predict, measure and respond. Use the circulation statistics to predict what part of the collection you should be purchasing. If you focus more on the collections that get used, you will increase your circulation. 9.understand the power of free: free piece of product than in Price follows Cost. digital makes it cheaper. Libraries already provide it for free. Probably what we can do is to offer a teaser piece of information that encourages people to sign up for library cards. For libraries that provide everything for free, it is not a price barrier but a time barrier. If you can make it easier for users, you will increase your user base. If you provide some access to your materials without requiring the library card, you will increase your users. Some food for thought.
This year was an active one for me. It is nice to think back on your accomplishments to see the improvements that you have made. New ComputersWe started this year with 11 Gates computers from the 2001 cycle and 4 thin clients. We also had to sign people up to a computer by clipboard. With a $30,000 Capital Improvement Project from the city, and a $26,400 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, we have 30 brand new computers with all the works, plus a time management system that signs people up for a computer and kicks them off when their time is up. We also received an additional $12,000 grant from the local Indian Reservation, but those won't be installed until next year. Automation of ServicesUsually automation is nothing to brag about, but if done in the correct way it can improve services and reduce wait times. Our Friends group purchased a new 3M V-1 Self-check unit. It still is not at 80% of our check-out, but we are getting there. We also automated our phone systems to call people for holds and overdue books. This saved a huge amount of staff time and stress. We also automated our inbound services too. Before, people just left a message and whenever a staff person got to it, that book was renewed, now patrons can do it themselves in real time. We also automated the computer sign-up. Grant WritingI was able to secure several grants. We were awarded three grants at a total of $75,000 for more computers and a bookmobile. Public Relations The library got on the map during our annual report. Our report on our adult literacy accomplishments got the front page of the local paper with an outpouring of tutor support. The local United Way is duplicating our program to our surrounding communities. With a little luck, we will have the same Adult Literacy/ESL program throughout the county. We hit the front page of our local paper three or four times. Literacy I started the city's first adult literacy program in eight years. We will also add an ESL Component and bookmobile services. A recent interview process over the summer identified key needs for Spanish speakers. The resulting change in collections, services, and programs has brought an increase in usage from this population. Something our library has never been able to accomplish. New Library We passed our bond and we are already in the process of planning our new library. We will also expand our current facility. New Databases/Electronic Resources We have expanded our databases through agreements with the state library, our county consortium, and expanded our own budget. This also includes the purchase of Rosetta Stone that teaches English and Spanish. It does this online and you can do it from home! I revamped our website so that it looks like an actual library information portal. We will be rolling out a host of mobile services using library 2.0 concepts. Participation We have an increase in circulation, walk-in business, reference questions, database hits, and program attendance. This last June all of our service skyrocketed higher than expected. We have a host of well-behaved teens using our library (middle schoolers too, just not as well-behaved) and even have our own teen group. AND I started this blog to talk about it all. It has been very cathartic to write about the bad stuff, that didn't work out. It has also emboldened me to try new things and MOST importantly, to brag about myself. For those who read my blog and subscribe to it, thanks for reading and have a Happy New Year.
With our successful bond election, we will build the first library in 31 years. A brand new facility, planned with our own staff, and working with a local high school as a joint-use facility. A successful bond election can go to your head. It is an affirmation from the public of the job that you are doing. If it was a general city bond, it would be one thing, but since the library question was separate, a 66% approval rating can make you feel quite invincible in your decision making. It is so exciting to begin to plan for the library. We are planning new bookmobile services, a new library, and a renovation of the existing library. We will have everything brand new in four years. Just a few years after that, we will plan for a new main (25,000 square feet plus) library. I have only been running my library for about two years and it is exciting to see the fruits of my labor so quickly.
May you get what you wish for is a curse and for good reason. You say to yourself, "If I were in charge I would solve all these problems...no fines for patrons, more money for science fiction, and I would re-arrange how the whole library is laid out." Since I have been in charge, I have been able to change many things with the result being increased usage from the public. I introduced public art, collection expenditure by circulation, programming to need, a strategic plan, new policies, re-aligned staff and space, over $100,000 in grant awards, over $100,000 in capital improvement projects provided by the city, and additional collection space. The usage of my library has gone up dramatically. We were able to get a bond package together as a result of our success. Our bond passed by an overwhelming margin, allowing the library to grow, not just in our current facility, but also become a library system. The next 18 months will be the most exciting in my career. We will build a new branch, expand the current branch, possibly buy land for a third site, or work with another division of the city to build a multi-generational site with a library in it. In the next 10-15 years we may have 4 libraries as opposed to the one we have now. I have the opportunity to build a whole library system almost from scratch. It is very scary, but so very exciting and awesome. It will be amazing to see what I can do with this place and this community. We just had our first meeting designing the new library, plus we just hired a technology consultant that will create a floor plan for the expansion of the current facility. Less than a month after the bond passed, we already have hit the ground running. We even have the layout of how the new library will look and where it will go. Better yet, library staff, our Library Advisory Board, the High School Board, and the general public all took part in the decision-making. I will post about that experience separately. Our bookmobile service will start in a month too. It is so exciting to see all these changes and to know that what you are doing as a manager is driving it. We will have the first branch library in our vicinity, we will double our library space, our staff, our collections, programming space, and computers. I am all a buzz with the possibilities. This was the reason I got into this business, to affect this type of change. I couldn't be more excited.
There is such a thing as too much success. It typically comes when all of your plans have succeeded. You did your strategic plan. It worked! You are getting all these new people getting library cards, checking out materials, using computers, using the library, and talking about how great it is!
Unlike a business, a public library, or any government entity, will experience a gap in service, between the success and the money. You realize that you are really successful, but then you realize you don't have the space, the computers, the collections, or the staff to sustain it.
You must trust that your library will receive the rewards of the success. Hit all of your budgetary authority, general public, and key figures with everything you have measuring the great success, especially when that success is in an area dear to some of those stakeholders. It will not always happen. When it does, it is great! When it doesn't, it makes staff very frustrated. Trust the system, because by denying a successful library, they are denying what their community wants. I have read it over and over again, about communities with no libraries, who demand it. One can see it in areas like Johnson Ranch, Goodyear, El Mirage, and Mesa, Arizona. There will always be a demand for library services, but never enough to go around. Things will turn around; one must always be vigilant to stand one's ground, to get what the community wants.
Here are some tips to make your library a priority in your community:
1. Find out what your budgetary authority prioritizes (Whether that authority is City Council, County Supervisor, Dean, whomever.) Anything they could possibly prioritize is an aspect of library services: education, economic development, workforce development, small business assistance, literacy, technology, fiscal responsibility, can all be demonstrated library impacts.
2. Create a Strategic Plan to help you find out not only the budgetary authority's priorities, but the community's priorities. You find that most of the priorities are the same. The more people you get, the more voice the library will have in the community.
3. Get advocates- sure you need more money, space, staff, and resources, but you it will always be you who asks. You need to get other people to ask as well. A request from the President of the Chamber of Commerce will go father than yours in many cases. (Plus the budget authority will see that person more often, making it harder to say no to them.)
4. Demonstrate impact in any which way you can. Typically, you need to send in reports, or demonstrate some sort of progress on library services. This may be the only time you can demonstrate the impact of library services. Make it clear, clean, and precise. Try to use as little data as possible. (Of course I don't always follow that, but the eyes of non-library people will glaze over if you don't.) The human impact is more powerful than data alone.
5. Advocate- Indoctrinate patrons, your staff, anyone who will stand still for five minutes. Every conversation is a segway to a conversation on the need of library services, even with those who have a complaint (especially a complaint).
6. Be flexible with your services. When we did our strategic plan, we didn't get any new staff or resources, but we were able to prioritize services and re-allocate staff to those needs. With some staff training, you can create adult literacy programs, teen programs, lifelong learning, and technology programs.
7. Find the need and make it public. When you see a huge need that you are servicing, make sure everybody knows about it. Contact the local newspaper, other new organizations, talk to community leaders, important people, and make sure no one turns around in your community without seeing it.
8. Market your library services, create email lists, rss feeds, podcasts, a running library news section in your local newspaper, magazine, and anything else that will reproduce print or talk to your audience. If something new happens at the library, EVERYONE should know about it. When our library broke 20,000 circulations in one month for the first time, we found the person who checked out the 20,000th book, gave her a goodie bag of library items, called the local newspaper photographer, and the picture was in the paper.
9. Engage the community- Put your services in your patrons' hands. Electronically or physically, they need a reminder that you are there and to know where they can find you. Outreach programs, books by mail, bookmobile, just get out and about and let them know you are there. They can perform their genealogy research from home by going to your website. They can repair their vehicles with the library's help, or learn a new language. Find services that will blow their minds. I will always remember something David Keeber, Director of the Sedona Public Library, told me, "People need to wake up and see the library like Mecca. How do we connect today?"
10. Thank them for their patronage. Our community passed a bond and we thanked them in the library's weekly news bulletin, in the newspaper, via email, and the website. The best signs I have seen are for the Chandler High School Bond. They placed signs advertising "Vote Yes" for the bond, and then when the bond passed, they placed a thank you sign on all of those signs. That makes you feel warm and fuzzy. It feels more personal.
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