National Library Week, April 11 - 17

This week is National Library Week, a time to celebrate libraries and the many services we provide.

Libraries are increasingly essential in today's world - we provide access to the Internet, we have information and resources for job seekers and career changers, we support families and provide all kinds of enrichment programming for children to help ensure their success in school. We have amazing staff members who are all here to help you.

If you haven't come into your library recently, I urge you to do so. You will be surprised and amazed at all the wonderful things you can find here.

Libraries across the country will be showcasing programs, training, resources and all kinds of activities and services this week.

We look forward to seeing you here and joining in with the celebration of Libraries, literacy and learning!

Libraries, reading and E Readers

As we start 2010, there is a lot of discussion and talk about the future of reading and the future of libraries. There is a lot of media buzz right now about E Readers - Amazon's Kindle did booming business over the holidays, and Barnes & Noble's new Nook reader essentially sold out after it was introduced.

More E readers are on the way, with new ones from a wide range of companies. Some of the new readers are bigger, some are thinner, some look a bit like a book, some are very modern and streamlined. From the sound of things, this is just the beginning.

So what does this mean for libraries? In a recent post I talked about what makes a library a library - well, what makes a book a book? What is the reading experience? I think we are beginning to see some real changes in the reading experience and the new E Readers are a manifestation of this change. People are getting used to viewing content in all sorts of ways.

What do the new E Readers mean for the library? We are already getting inquiries about E Books and content for E Readers. We are being asked which reader we support and which ones we might recommend.

Recently the Go to Hellman blog talked about a new future for libraries where we facilitate access to content. The forecast is for more library consolidation to provide greater access to a wider range of content, while at the same time more outlets opened to facilitate that access. So are we looking at "Super" library systems, but with lots of small outlets with computer access and pickup facilities? It is an interesting question.

As the owner of a Kindle, I do enjoy the device and use it regularly. I now read the newspaper on my Kindle, and I really enjoy the convenience when I travel. But I still read "old style" books.

So the New Year looks like the year of the E Reader - the buzz is hot and it gives us lots to think about, while we all grapple with maintaining service and budgets.

I'd love to hear what you think about all the E Reader buzz and what it means for reading and libraries. Is this just gadget enthusiasm? Or are we seeing a fundamental shift in how we read? What does this mean for libraries?

I'd love to hear what you think.

Netflix for Libraries?

The Hayward Public Library in Northern California is launching an interesting new service for library patrons. For a fee, library patrons can have a set number of books out indefinitely, without incurring additional fines and fees. Here is the article about the Hayward Library service. (I have to thank Kathy Gould of Palos Verdes Public Library - I saw this in her blog and I had to go see what Hayward was up to. Thanks Kathy!)

Hayward has chosen not to mail materials – so patrons come into the library, but they don’t have to worry about due dates or renewals.

I would love to hear what you think about this idea – Would you be willing to pay the library a monthly fee so you wouldn’t have to worry about due dates and fines? Would this work in Huntington Beach?

Reading at the Beach...

Here’s an interesting idea –

In the Netherlands, a number of public libraries set up Beach Branch Libraries. The Beach library was set up right on the sand, during the summer for 6 weeks. There were no fines, no fees, no library cards. To borrow something you just sign your name and address.

They have averaged 15,000 circulations during the 6 week period with only 1% of borrowed items not being returned. About 25,000 people visit the beach branches during the same period. The Beach libraries have circulated everything from books to IPods, audiobooks to Ebooks. The Beach libraries have also offered yoga classes and creative writing workshops for beachgoers.

Some preliminary research shows that the beach branches don’t bring new patrons to the regular library. But it is one way to take the library to the people.

I’d love to hear what people think about Libraries on the Sand…

Get your Geek on!

What do you Geek?

I love the new Library Advocacy/Public Awareness campaign that was just launched this summer in Georgia and Iowa – the website is http://www.geekthelibrary.org/

People can log on and tell others what they “Geek” and find out how the Library can help them “Get their Geek on”.

Sponsored by OCLC (the Online Computer Library Center), the new Geek the Library campaign is partially supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to help develop an effective public awareness campaign for all libraries.

Libraries are amazing places, where your Inner Geek can break free and shine – we just need to get the word out about the wonderful things @ your library.

So, what do you Geek? I'd love to hear...

The American Library Association Conference

Things I brought back from Chicago…

I attended the American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago, running from July 10 – 14. I am serving on 3 committees, so my time was taken up with lots of meetings, but I did manage to see some of the Conference exhibits and to hear some of the library buzz out in the halls. And of course, there was the Book Cart Drill Team Championships. (See this year’s winners at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106561675 )

I was so engrossed in meetings that I didn’t get to see many programs. But I did get to hear how other libraries are coping with the current economic crisis – how things are going, how busy we all are, how libraries are more important than ever.

I got to see and test some really interesting and exciting new automated library machines – the Go Library and the Lending Library. These machines are like an ATM or Vending machine for library books. The Go Library is really like an ATM – it is a kiosk and you do everything on screen and then the machine releases your item to you. Or lets you return it.

The Lending Library by Brodart is more like a Red Box Video machine or a regular vending machine. You can see the books and select them, checking them out with a sweep of your library card.

Both machines present interesting possibilities for expanding the library’s reach out into the community. The Go Library is being tested in Northern California at BART stations.

And then there is the unexpected take away from the Conference -

I brought back a pretty inspirational Customer Service mantra courtesy of a famous Deli – Zingerman’s of Ann Arbor. Zingerman's Ari Weinzweig was at ALA, making a presentation on his newest book Zingerman's Guide to Better Bacon. (After all, everything is better with bacon)

Apparently, Zingerman’s has an amazing customer service creed that they live by – Here’s the link to the Zingerman web site http://www.zingermans.com/CustService.aspx#guarantee

Good food and happy customers – Zingerman’s is doing it right.

I love that we can learn something from a Deli on how to treat our customers/patrons/clients.