From the Director's DeskSeptember 1, 2006 |
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Creating a YES culture @your library —While it is only September, it feels like New Year’s. Schools are starting at the state’s universities and colleges as well as the many elementary, middle and high schools around the state. This is the time that Rolling Prairie Library System also begins the intense scheduling of the Continuing Education Calendar. As with any new year, there are resolutions, goals, or themes to the year ahead. RPLS has a theme for the continuing education workshops this year. That theme is “Creating a YES culture @your library.” What does that mean, “creating a YES culture?” To me it means finding ways to say yes to the patron who wants a book but cannot find it on the shelves. Possible solutions: ILL the book from another library, direct the patron to a neighboring library that has the book on the shelf, or purchase the book. Depending on how fast the patron needs the book will depend on which response you give. The last thing to say is, “no, the book is not here.” New families are moving into town. How do you reach them? Contact the village hall for people that have recently had water service turned on. Work with the local Chamber of Commerce or local church to put together a welcome basket that will include library information. Make sure that information about the library appears in the local paper or on local TV and Radio. Have information for families available at school registration. Drop that same information off at City Hall, local doctor’s offices, grocery store, etc. Make them feel welcomed to the library and the community by helping them learn about the library, schools, and town to which they have moved Many people walk through the doors of our libraries everyday. Do they leave as satisfied customers or do they leave thinking I will never go back there? As a service profession, librarians need to say to themselves everyday, how can I give the best service possible to every person that comes into my library. Do we have rules or regulations that hamper service or rules that allow access for all? Is my body language or that of fellow staff members welcoming to those who enter the library? Is there enough signage to guide the person to the area of the library they need? How is my attitude, even on a very bad day? I encourage libraries to think about these issues. At RPLS, we will also be discussing how we can serve our members in a positive way. Each month I will be writing about the Yes culture in our libraries. In October, I will be asking libraries to take on a specific task to help them identify when they say NO to a patron and when they say YES!! Rolling Prairie Library System |
