PLA News

1
PLA News Highlights

• Public Library Association Meeting
• Boston
• March 21-25, 2006
• So much to see and hear
• So many directions to pursue
• Report by
• Karen Bradley Angela Strong

2
PLA News Highlights

• Topics Discussed / Presented / Considered
• Customer service
• Competitive strategies
• Implementing Change
• Pro-active library and information services
• Innovation in processes, people technologies
• Staff development
• Conference Handouts

3
PLA News Highlights

• Key Conference Ideas
• Customers vs patrons
• Customer Convenience vs Staff Convenience
• Self-Service
• Merchandising/Branding
• Digital Diversity Immigrants vs Natives
• Youth as assets vs Youth as troublemakers
• Virtual Branch

4
PLA News Highlights

• Vendor News
• EBSCO
• Visual search
• SCPL Find Articles
• What to Read Next
• Polaris
• Inventory Manager News Release
• PAC changes

5
PLA News Highlights

• Exhibits
• Books, Books, Books!
• RFID/Materials Management Systems
• Demos arranged by Crandall Library
• Access Management Software
• Envisionware
• DVD Cases, Library Cards, Book Drops, etc.

6
PLA News Highlights

• 0 Loss, No Shelving Required Downloadable
  Media in Libraries
• Downloadeable Media digital media that can be
  checked out and downloaded to a patrons PC,
  Palm, etc.
• Lessons from Phoenix Denver Public Libraries
• Phoenix Public Library
• Phoenix PL has a 20K E-media collection
• 12K Net Library 7 K Overdrive 1.5K Recorded
  Books
• Phoenix PL joined with suburban libraries for
  form a consortium to offer e-resources Greater
  Phoenix Digital Library Phoenix E-media Site

7
PLA News Highlights

• Marketplace Overview
• EBook vendors that are subscription databases
• Gale Reference Center ProQuest Safari ebrary
• Downloadeable Media digital media that can be
  checked out and downloaded to a patrons PC,
  Palm, etc.
• WARNING 1 There is no ONE vendor that can
  supply all your needs.
• WARNING 2 There is no single interface that
  works with all vendors.
• Technology still evolving in this area PDAs,
  cell phones, laptops, MP3, ??

8
PLA News Highlights

• E-Media Pros Cons
• Pros
• Available anytime, anywhere
• Easy weeding
• No loss, theft or damage
• No processing, already cataloged
• Cons
• Never overdue
• No space limitations
• Quick usage states,
• Special features
• Anonymity
• Accessibility for mobility/visual impaired

9
PLA News Highlights

• Denver Public Library
• E-Video made available 3/22/06
• Subject areas- documentaries, yoga ,self-help,
  classics
• Initial download rate very high, but they not
  sure how they are going to pay for it
• Access to e-resources through public catalog
• 3-5 pm most popular use time (system load issue)
• E-book fans are heavy users of the library --93
  also use traditional books
• Selection Guidelines based on demographics use
  statistics
• 40K budget for 2006 tries to keep up with new
  titles and bestsellers each month buy in a
  certain subject areas as well as for specific
  customers
• 39 of customers are 44 yrs old or older 71
  over 33 or older
• Top Subject Areas
• Ebooks Fiction, Romance, Business Computers and
  Technology Self- Improvement, Mystery
• Audiobooks Suspense classic lit mystery
  self-improvement fiction romance
• Childrens titles not circulating as much
• To introduce these services use multiple methods
• Web-site email catalog bookmarks staff
  training press releases

10
PLA News Highlights

• NetLibrary Facts
• Founding Father in 1998 with reference and
  academic texts
• Sold as individual titles or defined packages or
  bundles directly from NetLibrary or though your
  OCLC reseller
• Current catalog has over 100,000 titles
• Patrons must register_at_ the NetLibrary website and
  establish their user account.
• Enables 15 minutes view time per title and must
  download to the home PC
• Checkout (Loan Period) time determined by the
  library

11
PLA News Highlights

• Overdrive Facts
• Founded in 1986 for Digital Rights Management
• Started offering e-books in 2002
• Web-based digital media service that allows
  customers to download popular digital audio
  books, eBooks and digital music from individual
  librarys website
• OverDrive builds a parallel website to each
  librarys website and seamlessly links to the
  librarys website.
• No separate OverDrive account
• OverDrive will soon be launching downloadable
  video

12
PLA News Highlights

• Librarians' Internet Index
• LII Website
• 50 news sites added per week
• Special collection of links for hot, timely
  topics
• Budget pressures leading CA to cut off funding
  for LII
• BLOGS/RSS
• LII good starting point to learn to use new
  communication channels
• Technorati a Blog finding tool
• Ego Feeds - Use it to guide young people to
  vetted sites.
• Every Thursday morning LII publishes electronic
  newsletter about the new links added to LII
• Good research starting point for teens and youth
• Librarian vetted sites only

13
PLA News Highlights

• Centralized Weeding
• Collection Viewed as a whole
• Extends life of right material
• Realities
• Resistance from branches and staff
• Lack of resources communication
• Weeding Team
• Virtual solutions
• Train Staff Board on virtues of weeding

14
PLA News Highlights

• Bollywood, Bhangra Books
• East Indian books, films and music very popular
  with NRI and American populations
• Films tend to be family friendly
• Books
• Fiction Non-fiction
• Bhangra (Fusion of music, singing and
  drums-Panjabi in origin)
• Music India Online
• Raaga
• Bollywood Films (Hindi/Kannada/Lamalyalam/Tamil/Te
  lugu)
• Bollywhat
• Bollyvista

15
PLA News Highlights

• Tips for Creating a Cant Miss Childrens Website
• Understand your users
• Know what your audience expects to find/What is
  your target audience? Use/Listen to Focus groups
• Include feedback links kids like to express
  their own opinions
• Kids are overwhelmed with too much on the screen
  keep it simple
• Ideas for layout of screens
• Choose simple, sans serif fonts, nothing funky
• Use dark text on a light background
• Have a big bold search box
• Dont put a lot of decoration on the site or too
  many bells and whistles
• Produce websites that are useable
• Conduct usability testing Is your site COPPA
  Compliant? (Childrens Online Privacy and
  Protection Act)
• Consider download time
• Is there staff available to review site and posts
  regularly?
• Alternate content for visual and auditory
  impaired

16
PLA News Highlights

• Making Traditional Library Services Teen Friendly
• Look at our teen population as an opportunity
• Library website is a space for teens
• Teen Demographics
• Teens are nocturnal begin working on things at
  10pm, 31 of teens who go online seek health
  information
• 33 of our users should be teens
• IM is the main form of communication for teens
  AOL, Yahoo!, MSN Messenger.
• Virtual Reference can be expensive, consortial
  arrangements lead to non-local questions
• MySpace.com is the most popular social
  interaction going. 250,000 user accounts created
  daily

17
PLA News Highlights

• Making Traditional Library Services Teen Friendly
  
• Gaming nights are very popular teen programs
• Staff and Teens
• How does staff react to teens in the library?
  What is your service desk treatment of teens?
• Staff response to other patrons problems with
  having teens in the building
• Set standards for staff behavior and how staff
  handles issues with teens and their attitudes
• Teen Baggage
• Be prepared for teens they come in with lots of
  stuff!
• They want and are often required to do group work
  and enjoy group computer play
• Noise
• Social mixing
• Up on latest computer craze
• Teens are patrons too and should be treated with
  the same respect given to adults

18
PLA News Highlights

• You are but IM connecting young adults and
  libraries in the 21st century www.connectingya.com
  
• Base Youth Services on the concept of developing
  the assets of youth (Search Institute)
• Just dont court youth now because you want them
  to vote for future library budgets
• Digital Divide and diversity
• Digital immigrants (over the age of 30) vs.
  Digital natives
• Format explosion pod casting anyone? Have you
  text-messaged today? BLOGs? VLOGs?
• Youth involvement
• Teen representation on the Board of Trustees?
  Friends of the Library?
• Website design Tech tutors
• Connect with H.S. clubs and see if theyll do a
  program at the library
• Library presence on myspace.com or myowncafe.com

19
PLA News Highlights

• Launching New Services Effectively
• Social Marketing
• Think like a patron when planning to introduce
  services
• Focus on patrons use of product, not product
  itself
• Pattern of service adoption
• Innovators (2.5) Early Adopters (12.5)
• Early Majority ( 35) Late majority (35)
  Resisters (15)
• Emphasize different benefits of same
  product/service
• Use different communication channels to reach
  different people
• Use at least 5 communication channels to
  publicize new services

20
PLA News Highlights

• The Customer-Centered Library
• What makes a library great?
• Money? Size? Luck? Use?
• Customers have choices
• New opportunities for libraries to
• Provide value-added services
• Embrace new roles
• Service can be a competitive edge intelligent,
  responsive, personal

21
PLA News Highlights

• 12 Steps to a Customer-Centered Library
• 1. Care
• 2. Think like a customer
• 3. See the problems
• 4. Change your approach
• 5. Abandon victimhood
• 6. Organize your library to support quality
  service
• 7. Walk through everything
• 8. Get the book into the customers hands
• 9. Transform the library into a warm and inviting
  21st century environment
• 10. Overcome overdues
• 11. Take the library to the people
• 12. Make something happen

22
PLA News Highlights

• Trading Spaces Transform a library for 45,000
• Affordable merchandising techniques
• Lingo slat wall highlight new and popular books
• Books for all ages represented
• Redefines new as last 1-2 years shelves
• Kept looking full with mix of cover and spine out
  plus end cap display
• Reinvent library environments
• Strategic focus think of the library as towns
  main street
• Reconfigured shelves to create rooms and quiet
  reading areas
• Inexpensive furniture, rugs, fun accents used
  because they will wear out anyway
• Author labels on shelves
• Let them eat, let them drink
• Change staff culture
• Morning briefings 15 minutes before opening

23
PLA News Highlights

• Trading Spaces Transform a library for 45,000
• Walk-through library to assess services and
  facilities
• Ask customers for feedback
• Know your communitys priorities
• Front entrance - most bang for the buck
• If you only do a little, do it really well
• Leap the chasm dont be afraid to take a big
  step. You cant cross a chasm in two small
  steps.
• SJRLC Trading Spaces Website

24
PLA News Highlights

• Customer Service _at_ SCPL
• What makes a library great?
• Define good customer service
• Do we provide good customer service?
• What stands in the way of good service?
• Issues
• Resources