Meet me at the Library!
Originally uploaded by iblee....
Gosh, give people ways to connect thru your website & you will drive the use. One of the primary services, (to add value remember), means exposing the seams between the virtual and physical & helping people connect.
Why not think more like a patron
Originally uploaded by iblee....
Why did I never hear from the ILL department?
3 months later: In under one week, I obtained this article from another ILL department.
How many patrons are that persistent? How many have been silently frustrated? Why can't we anticipate or adumbrate or predict our patrons' desires? Why do empathize so little with our patrons’ information needs? Why not think more like a patron and less like a librarian? There are ways we can get peoples' information attention -since we have both skill sets: librarian & patron we should be able to meet their needs before they know they have a need.
Why do we force patrons to think like us? When we hate that very thing in other organizations, like the DMV, Health care, Banking?
great food 1
Originally uploaded by iblee....
In the Way of the Gun, they talk about this and over at the Sushi Economy -they're talking about it too. Worth a look.
jennimi2iblee
Originally uploaded by iblee....
To create a space to work together is pretty neat -this recognizes the fact & returns to the value that: in libraries we are all equal.
Check out the size of the monitor and the space it's in.
Be sure to humanly advertise your services: we are supposed to be about people.
Let's finish with some signs that work, actively.
Students want a library
Originally uploaded by iblee....
Your entry is meant to be informative about the Library in general. I bet your library has awesome resources, great people working there (Hmm, imagining an entry on the actual personalities now ), and a rich history. Portray your unique history -even if it's not deep or long or ivy- the curious or casual browser may become enamored with what they learn about the library; they may learn that libraries are these fascinating places where bytes and bricks can meet. You never know when you are going to bring the library into someone's life.
I would bet money that schools and therefore other parts of a school do get looked up on Wikipedia. Since we are one of the items students consider when selecting a school maintaining presence makes sense.
"On students' must-see list during college visits were buildings housing their major, said 56.8 percent of respondents. Rounding out the top five were residence halls at 53.1 percent, the library at 48.4 percent, classrooms at 46 percent, and technology facilities at 40 percent."
http://chronicle.com/weekly /v52/i40/40a02701.htm
Above all else: avoid library-speak in your entry. Make it human-readable.
jennimi2iblee-2
Originally uploaded by iblee....
Work towards mindfulness in the world of information. reDiscover a feeling of fascination & then suddenly snap back to embracing ideas as a source to make everything new again. It's not old or new. It's old+new=the middle way.
Often, we forget to think about ideas through the eyes of other people. Not everyone has the time, to think about why, you think a database is better than a search engine. Should they have too?
Links:
Wired Cover (+my own photoshop additions)
And further inspiration.