I have been so pleased to see that the youth librarians are using this forum to communicate their thoughts on story time and other issues that affect how the library reaches customers - How about the rest of the staff?
What about our sacred cows….
How do fines help (or hinder for that matter) us to achieve our service priorities. How does staff feel about fines? What do the customers tell you about fines? How effective are fines? Could there be a better way to protect the publics funds and provide excellent customer service?
What about reference books? Do you know that the Internet (Google in particular) is answering BILLIONS of ready reference questions every year while libraries reference questions are declining at a steady pace all over the world and are only in the Millions now. Our own statistics show that every month we are answering fewer reference questions than the same time a year ago. If the information is on the Internet and we are spending lots of dollars on Databases, why are we also putting reference collections in every branch? Should we be spending our time and money on teaching information literacy (so we and our customers know how to find and assess information), and less money on reference collections?
What about food and drink in the library? Do you think our customers would be happier with or without this rule?
Now I know you all have opinions about these sacred cows - so let’s hear them!
Mindy
When it comes to food and drink in the library, I’d like to suggest to you that patrons are going to put the books they check out right next to their coffee cup or read while they have lunch and lots of other examples.
I can see requesting that a drink container have a lid on it to minimize spilling. I can see asking that drinks and food be kept away from the computers (keyboards in particular).
Aside from that, as long as they’re neat and pick up after themselves, do we have a leg to stand on?
Penny
Comment by Penny — November 20, 2006 @ 9:56 am
Good point, they are going to eat and drink around library materials when they are at home. If I could bring my latte into the library, it might have greater appeal as a place to spend an afternoon. I know Zee has been scheming to build a Starbucks in the Rifle Branch for years now…we could make $ selling coffee and nix the library fines.
Not wanting to pay late fees was one of the biggest complaints from those who responded to my teen survey.
Melissa
Comment by Melissa — November 20, 2006 @ 2:54 pm
I would really prefer not to have food in the library, except maybe a water bottle. I find that we are always wiping marks off books made by coffee cups and other drinks. I think that it would be nice to have a seperate area where people could get together with lunch, similar to the Farmington Library.
As far as fines are concerned I do not think they are a deterrent for adults. Then, what is the point of checking things out? Why name a due date? Maybe we should have an open ended checkout. What about media? Will that lead to people just “shopping” the library? Would there be a period of time that if the item doesn’t come back then the patron “bought” the item? They could pay for it, keep it, and then continue to use the library? (how convenient)
Fines are probally a good idea for kids because I find they get into trouble, deal with it, then become much better library users, knowing there is a consequence if you loose or forget about our materials.
Reference….Well I will admit that our Reference Collection has been pretty lame the last few years and we really haven’t missed it. We do rely heavily on the internet for quick “ready reference” questions. I use the Almanac and people ask for the publishing books, which I think should be in NF not reference. Will our medidal databases have access to current PDR? For people who do not hase the internet at home we could always just print out the info they are looking for, or get a book through ILL for them.
Story Time is sacred. Leave it alone.
Comment by Marilyn — November 22, 2006 @ 2:56 pm
I would prefer to limit food and drink in the library- we’ve had some catastrophes (coffee dumped on a keyboard, etc). Possibly, we could designate areas where a coffee cup and a snack is allowed. I’m okay with real spill proof cups, but the cardboard cup with lid is the style that dumped on the keyboard- the lid popped off when it fell. I would love to see us have a cafe where people could munch and drink and socialize. I think this could be combined with a Friends store- people could buy Friends memorabilia, cookies and drinks, etc and sit and chat or read.
I’d hate to see us eliminate fines. Most of our customers see fines as a way they contribute to the library. I think they do function as a deterrent for both adults and kids. I remember when we couldn’t get people to return ILLs on time and we raised the fine. Presto, we rarely have problems with overdue ILLs now. I think we would see an increase in overdue everything if we did away with fines.
I think Reference books should largely go away, with the exception of some key stuff, like the Almanac, dictionaries, and medical books. People like to pick up medical books and look at them privately without asking the librarian for help. And some people are still more comfortable researching with books rather than computers.
Pat C
Comment by PatC — November 28, 2006 @ 12:08 pm