February 23rd, 2010 Brian Herzog
I like to think I’m the kind of person open to the opinions of others, and I certainly don’t expect myself to be right all the time. However, it’s still rare for me to advertise when I think I am wrong, yet today is one of those days.
Last week my director received the following email from a patron and forwarded it to all the department heads to see what we thought about it:
Ms. Herrmann,
I just heard about Red Box doing a trial with Libraries across the country. This is a fantastic idea, there currently is no Red Box in Chelmsford Center. Attached is a link for you to look at.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jan/27/henderson-libraries-become-redbox-locations/
In case you’ve never heard of Red Box, they are dvd vending machines which rent new movies at $1 per night. The machines are located outdoors and are available to the consumer 24/7. Red Box pays the library and also allows the library to free up cash from having to purchase current films.
It would be great if Chelmsford could get in on this trial!!
I had heard of libraries using both Redbox and Netflix, but never really gave it too much though. So I was kind of surprised at my response to my director:
Maybe this is just a reaction based on the kind of day this has been, but I have mostly negative feelings about this. Based on http://tametheweb.com/2009/07/01/red-box-rentals-at-princeton-public-library/ is seems any money we get is minimal, and I’m always reluctant to give
businesses a green light to target library patrons.
If we did put one of these in, I sincerely hope it wouldn’t mean we’d be buying fewer DVDs and rely on this as a crutch, because just like Rosetta Stone, they can pull out at any time and we’d be left
scrambling to fill the holes in our collection.
Its biggest benefit would be providing patrons access to DVDs 24 hours a day, but it also means patrons have a reason to be at the front door 24 hours a day, doing who knows what - the police department might not like that idea. Then there’s also the patrons who return the RedBox
DVDs in our dropbox, those who put ours into the RedBox, patrons demanding refunds and tech support from the circ desk, blah blah blah.
More reading on this:
I know Conway makes money off our printers and the FaxVend people do too, but RedBox feels way more commercial - like letting a dealership put used cars in our parking lot to make it easier for patrons to shop for cars. Or letting a bookstore set up a table of bestsellers in the lobby and sell books so patrons don’t have to wait on a long reserve list.
I don’t know exactly why I don’t like it, but right now I’m leaning against it - but again, it might just my mood. Blah.
So my question is this: why I am wrong?
I don’t feel like I’m right, because I can see positive aspects to a Redbox being in front of the library (especially for libraries that already charge $1/DVD), and it’s unusual for me to be this negative. I don’t think that every new idea or technology has a place in every library, but still, my answer on this surprised me.
So I thought I’d ask the wider library world for your opinions on Redboxes and libraries. Lots of good comments were posted on Tame the Web when Michael talked about this last year, but I’m still not entirely convinced. What do you think?
Tags: business, commercial, dvd, dvds, libraries, Library, machine, public, redbox, rental, Service, vending See Also
Posted under Library, Service, Technology | 15 Comments »
February 16th, 2010 Brian Herzog
I liked this post about a library experience Marilyn Johnson wrote while researching her book, This Book is Overdue!* - actually, I like reading any non-librarian review of a library experience, because it’s the best way to learn how well libraries are serving patrons.
Another post worth reading is Do Library Staff Know What The Users Want? (via Jessamyn). Good user experience has to start with library staff making an effort to accommodate patrons’ needs and wants, but we will not out-smart (or out-stupid?) patrons about everything.
“Anticipate and respond” are words to live by, but it’s also a good idea to go right to the source. Here are a few ideas for that:
- Easy-to-find suggestion box at each service desk and online (and promote it)
- Teen advisory board, or Adult Advisory Board, or ESL Advisory Board, etc
- Focus groups (private and confidential) and open forums to invite comments, reviews and suggestions
- Encourage members of the Friends of the Library to regularly relate their library experiences, good and bad
- Trustees organize a “secret shopper” program - especially to test out library policies, which will help keep them up-to-date with patron needs
- Have evaluations at the end of each program (library-sponsored as well as club/group meetings) and ask open questions as well as specific questions about the facility
- Pay attention to what people ask - if everyone needs to ask where the bathroom is located, that might be an area to improve
- If a patron comes to you with a comment/complaint/suggestion, listen, and encourage (but don’t require) them to put it in writing to make actionable paper trails
- Ask friends and family what their experiences have been
- Visit other libraries for a fresh perspective, and share ideas with other librarians
- Then of course, celebrate Work Like A Patron Day
[Please share additional ideas in the comments]
And when you do make adjustments based on patron input, get feedback on the new setup, too. Nothing is static, and it’s possible to improve improvements.
Using the library shouldn’t be annoying or complicated or antagonistic. Occasionally patrons tell me that they come to my library because the staff at their town’s library was rude or unhelpful, or they can’t find parking, or the policies are prohibitively restrictive. It should make me feel good about where I work, but really it makes me sad they had to shop around for a library.
I am glad they came to us, but I also always tell them to make sure they report their complaints to their home library to make sure they know about it and can work to improve it. Most of the time they laugh at that idea, as if they’ve washed their hands of their home library. What really worries me are the people who have a bad experience at one library and never go back or to another one, and instead take their information needs, community participation, children, and votes elsewhere.
There has to be a balance between what the patrons need and what each individual library can offer, but if we don’t support our patrons, why would they support us?
*Full disclosure: I was mentioned in
the book (page 20 and 258!), but absolutely read it anyway. And if you’re interested in obituaries, I also enjoyed her previous
The Dead Beat.
And check it out - there’s a contest to win a This Book Is Overdue! mousepad
See Also
Posted under Library, Marketing, Service | 1 Comment »
January 30th, 2010 Brian Herzog
Patron comes to the desk and asks,
Are you Andy?
I say no, and he looks a little puzzled, but then continues:
Oh. We can’t make the projector work for our meeting, and when I asked for help and the desk upstairs, they said come down here and ask for someone. I forget what name they said, but they said look for the redhead, so I just figured your name must be Andy.
And yes, he was serious, but he did apologize when I said my name is Brian.
See Also
Posted under Library, Personal, Reference Question, Resources, Service | 2 Comments »
January 12th, 2010 Brian Herzog
I love Kate’s recent post about the words we use and the impact they have on customer service.
Language is very important. Just yesterday I had an unpleasant exchange with a patron. She came up to say she was having trouble with the printer, and I started giving her printer tech support. All of this was unhelpful, because she was actually having trouble with the copier. It was frustrating for both of us, and could have been avoided if I had listened to what she was saying instead of the words she was using.
I’m going to make a point of using Kate’s “yes, and…” suggestion from now on. It’s such a simple thing, yet it encapsulates so much of what libraries do right (and wrong). Great observation, Kate.
See Also
Posted under Library, Service | 2 Comments »
