October marks the beginning of a new Fiscal Year here in the City of Huntington Beach, and this new budget year has brought LOTS of changes to the Library.
We have completely rearranged our public desk schedules, to adjust to new staffing levels (8 full time staff members retired on September 30. A BIG change!). When you are dealing with big changes like this (a 22% decrease in full time staff) questions come up tied to what you do, how you do it and why you do it. Maintaining the highest quality service possible is essential, but how do you do this with fewer people, in a busy library?
Simplification is important - we are trying to figure out ways to make the library simpler to use. How do we do this? Do we need to do everything we've done in the past, and do we need to do it the same way? Can we change it? What do our patrons really want anyway?
Should we try and implement self service checkout? People often think that Self Service connotes NO service. But is that really the case? I don't think so. Think about all the things that we do for ourselves - banking with ATMs, self service kiosks at the grocery store, self service ordering at Fast Food outlets, online shopping, etc. Some online businesses give better service and provide a better experience than on ground stores. Zappos is a good example of an online business that makes it easy to get what you want, when you want it and makes it easy to send things back or make changes.
Personally, I like the choice - I can choose to use the online store for some kinds of shopping and then on ground, in person for other kinds. I get to choose my experience. And isn't that really what service is all about? The experience? Sometimes you want or need more care, more time and attention. Sometimes you just want to get in and get out fast. Both are satisfying, both meet your needs, and it really just depends on your circumstances, doesn't it?
So we are grappling with some interesting and complicated issues, as we try and make things simpler and easier for our patrons. I think as long as we keep asking the questions, and working with each other, we will be headed in the right direction. It certainly will be interesting.
