The Indie Librarian

8/17/2007

Teen Furniture, Misleading Advertising & Getting Patron Input

In the August 16 edition of E-Product News from American Libraries, I was a bit frustrated to see the following as the lead item: Teens Love the New Big Cozy Books Booths.

As someone who has extensively researched teen space design as well as talked to thousands of teenagers about library furnishings and design concepts, I have yet to come across a teen (grades 7 - 12) who positively responds to Big Cozy Books (BCB) booths. Don’t get me wrong, BCB products can be a good option for children’s spaces, but not necessarily for teenagers (especially in their existing format). And…I definitely wouldn’t go as far as saying that teens “love” BCB booths. In reality, when I show teens these the booths side-by-side with other booth options, they hands-down choose the other options.

If teens were presented with hard, traditional, wooden library furniture vs. the BCB booths, then, yes, maybe they would choose BCB. Anything is better than traditional, hard, wooden library furniture. Even adults that I talk to in my focus groups would go for anything over the uncomfortable, traditional options.

When it comes to furniture and design selection and “true” likes and dislikes of library patrons, this is why I am so adamant with library staff (whether dealing with teens or adults) about working directly with patrons, showing them all the options, and getting their direct input.

Tip #1: Work with your patrons, show them all the options (and make the options comparable), give them a choice and a chance to give their direct input. Research ALL the options so you can provide a good sampling. And…don’t sway their decision by only showing them one option, options that aren’t comparable, or options that are solely based on library staff likes and dislikes. In this case, I think perhaps librarians love the BCB booths, not teenagers.

My concern about this advertisement for BCB is that they are misleading people. Have they actually done any market research that suggests that teens prefer BCB booths over more traditional or modern booths? I don’t see any teen references or quotes or data suggesting as much.

Tip #2: When looking at any ad, ask yourself the above questions first and then go out and ask your customers before making any purchases. Don’t make assumptions!

Let me know if you need assistance with finding options. There are certainly a lot out there. See the vendor list on my blog to get a good start.

8/07/2007

Managing Team Conflict

There is a great white paper posted on TechRepublic dealing with the topic of managers and effective management of team conflict. This skill should be a core competency for all managers. Discussion includes recognizing team conflict symptoms, determining how to address team conflict, and improving a manager's ability to build teams that can deal effectively with both healthy and unhealthy conflict.

Rob Cullin and I will also be addressing some of this in Talking without Jargon to be presented at the PLA 2008 National Conference in Minneapolis, March 25-29, 2008.

For the complete article, see Effectively Managing Team Conflict

7/17/2007

7/12/2007

More Shining Stars

At ALA Annual the PLA Small and Medium-Sized Libraries Committee sponsored a program entitled More Shining Stars: Award-Winning Programs from Small and Medium-Sized Public Libraries . The program featured a panel of award winners from small and medium-sized public libraries. These libraries show a remarkable range of creativity in developing services and programs that can be replicated by other libraries. The award winners that were showcased have had success in developing collaboration with other libraries and partnerships with schools or other agencies and they have raised their visibility as community centers by developing award-winning programs which will be shared with attendees.

Speakers included Peggy Carlson, Adult Services Dept. Head, Bloomingdale (IL) Public Library; Abby Williams, Librarian, Bloomingdale (IL) Public Library; Linda Yoder, Director, Nappanee (IN) Public Library; Laurel Best, Director, Linebaugh (TN) Public Library.

As the new chair of the Small and Medium-Size Library Committee, I have been asked to post some of the presentations and handouts to share.

Nappanee Presentation

Bloomingdale Presentation

Bloomingdale Handout #1

Bloomingdale Handout #2

7/03/2007

Summer Reader Drawing

Congratulations to April Winters and the Durham County Library (NC)! They are the winners of the E*vanced Solutions' Summer Re*ader software drawing from the ALA presentation, "Using Technology to Market to Young Adults".

6/27/2007

Using Technology to Market to Young Adults

Thanks to everyone who attended "Using Technology to Market to Young Adults" with me and Michael Stephens at ALA in D.C. on Sunday. Below is a copy of my PowerPoint presentation as well as the great handout compiled by YALSA's Technology for Young Adults committee.

Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions.

And...don't forget to register for the drawing for free software. See my 6/15 posting below to enter.

Kim’s Presentation

YALSA's Technology for Teens Committee Handout

Look for more marketing ideas coming soon...

6/18/2007

Developing Outstanding Customer Experiences

For a while now I’ve been reading a blog by David Armano called Logic + Emotion. David has some terrific information and insight into marketing and creating outstanding customer experiences.

One article entitled “What a Stones Show Can Teach Us About Marketing” has really stuck with me. In the article David talks about how we can learn a lot about marketing just from watching a Rolling Stones concert. Key tips include:

• Provide Value
• Transcend Generations
• Embrace Your Audience
• Show Your Humanity
• Deliver A Memorable Brand Experience
• Leave A Lasting Impression

My challenge to libraries:
Develop a marketing initiative and make it your library’s mission to do 2 – 3 of the above items well!

For a full copy of this article visit
Logic + Emotion