Idea Generator

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Idea Generator
Stephen Abram May 24, 2006
2
Lens

• Does the idea build capacity?
• Does it improve our positioning?
• Is it scalable system, branch, temporal?
• Is it repeatable daily, weekly, monthly,
  annual?
• Is it affordable?
• Is it cheap, exciting, cheerful?
• Does it align with a community goal?
• Will it offend or excite someone or group?

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Just an idea to consider

• Local History Flickr, Blog, Teens and Seniors
• Flickr, Podcast, Vodcast Author Readings and
  Blog
• Music night
• Listen Buffalo Overdrive audio-book aimed at
  commuters like ListenIllinois
• Teen nights gaming, DDR (Dance Dance Revolution)
  YouTube Gallery, Rock the Shelves, GarageBand,
  iTunes, content creation by library card holders
• Big events e.g. Book Lovers Ball
• Review CPL strategic plan and others

4
Just an idea to consider

• New forms of LibraryTourism an ArtTourism
  partner with art galleries, museums, science
  centre, local artists and private galleries
• Tourism Genealogy, Mark Twain, Frank Llloyd
  Wright, architecture tours, Falls, presidential
  assassinations, canal, boats, trains,
• Homework Helpers School Board partnerships,
  teacher collaboration (See CPL, TPL and MLS
  models)
• One City, One Book (ALA and Nancy Pearl plans
  add blog, Wiki, etc.
• Instant messaging pilot to specific group.

5
Just an idea to consider

• Newspaper alliance (beyond book reviews, best
  borrowed)
• PBS Alliance
• TV Station alliances (Why Guy, 2,4,7,29,etc.)
• Book TV
• Talk to advertising and editorial (Compare your
  number of library cards to their circulation
  Patricia Martin from Litlamp)
• Podcasts teen reviews, senior reviews, mother
  reviews, story time.
• Teddy bear night tied to CE support

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Just an idea to consider

• Know your top 10 questions (genealogy, consumer
  health, cooking
• Know your recreational reading (including
  non-fiction)
• Understand the impact of viewing and language DVD
  etc.)
• Know your hobbies
• Know what is over-circulating (spiritual, myths,
  language, etc.
• Know the long tail and manage it.

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Just an idea to consider

• Understand your markets (NDP and Christie
  Koontz))
• Mine your circulation data (DS)
• Predict mutations in user behaviors
• Restore the branch relationship
• Allow for staff (and team) play and pilots
• Plan a new launch every month and gear up your
  operations to support each.
• Dont study things to death
• Plan, Do, Evaluate
• Plan, Do, Evaluate
• Plan, Do, Evaluate

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Key Learnings

• Lead vs. Manage
• Vision vs. Operations
• Motivation Environment
• Building a healthy ecology
• Politics is good economic impact (value
  studies)
• Target (personas?)
• Build commitment to a new culture and future
  dont repair the current one.
• Follow change resisters
• Support library staff play micro-training
  nuggets

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Questions to address

• Culture, Morale
• Union
• Decide your Brand (not about logos really)
• Energy (not just age)
• Staff capacity attitude, aptitude, gaps
• Organization and governance
• Investment orientation and budget
• Productivity vs. the User Experience
• Partnerships current and needed
• Foundation