What I Learned at PLA: Good to Great (how libraries can achieve greatness)

Good to Great presented by Cate McNeely of Richmond Pub. Lib, B.C. , Ironwood Branch: http://www.yourlibrary.ca/aboutus_sub.cfm?lev1=5

What is greatness? Universal use, when per capita circ is 50-100 items, all customers are valued, stereotypes of the library (and librarians) disappear, funding issues dissapate.

They use merchandising and "Powerwalls". Think Book store.
How do you achieve greatness?

1. Think like your customers: Using services at my convenience, want things quickly, needs anticipated, to feel valued, to be empowered, to be stimulated, want to have pleasurable experience. What do our desks look like? are they inviting, barrier free, hospitable??
2. Determine your function: What is your core business?
3. Set core priorities: This system address "critical mass collections" where they have enough to fill need. Big at roaving reference. Got ride of the reference desk and have stand up stations where people can stand and see what you're doing. (Since we know by OCLC study most people are doing it on their own anyway). They are opened 7 days and 5 nights/week. A "Give them what they Want" philosophy.
4. Implement

The photos of their signage was amazing! I hope that her slides are going to be available on the PLA website. Basically, if I understood her correctly, they have the regular stacks with expanded endcaps for face out display, on one floor and the other floor has the "power walls" where everything is arranged by subjects (12 nonfiction categories), just like a book store with items faced out from eye level to thigh and lower shelves had materials in order and were used to replenish faced out items.

While under construction, their circ went up 26% while 1/2 of the collection and services were unavailable.

They talked about "rapid reads". What are these?

They developed a merchandising team as well.