The Ubiquitous Librarian

Are we addressing real needs or just offering strawberry frappuccinos? A lesson from Kroger

Yesterday afternoon I went into my local grocery store. I picked up what I needed and moved along to the checkout isle. LONG LINES! They had the self check section, which I like, but most of us had full carts. They only had two lanes open, but each lane had two baggers. Why couldn’t they have cross trained baggers to be cashiers for rush periods?

I could see two other employees messing around with a broken self-serve Georgia Lottery machine... couldn’t they have let that go for a few minutes to open up additional lanes?

I’m sure this happens everyday in every grocery store across the country— but what bothered me is while we were waiting two more employees came out offering strawberry frappuccino samples. Why couldn’t one of them open an additional lane?

Kroger’s priorities didn’t match the customer's need. Each lane was over six customers deep... we all wanted to purchase goods and be on our way, yet their workflow was not designed to be optimized... not build for congestion. Each employee had their role, their task, and even though a bottleneck emerged, employees stayed within the framework.

I felt something similar last summer when we merged our circulation and reference desks during renovations. On the reference side we didn’t have the software or access privileges to the circ client and hence could not check out books or answer patron account questions. We couldn’t address a large portion of actual needs.

Do patrons really need to know about Boolean and Advanced Searching tactics? Do they need to understand and appreciate peer reviewed journals? Do they even need to know how a library catalog works? I'm not against reference or information literacy, but I just feel our approach and rhetoric (as a profession) might be off-message to our users. Very old-world.

Many libraries claim to be user-centered, but when I talk with librarians or read their blog posts or see their flyers and advertising they still seem to be very library-centered, even very reference-centered. We can't seem to move beyond "the term paper" mentality.

I don’t know—still working this one out. But I’m starting to think that all I have to offer are strawberry frappuccinos... and missing out on what my patrons really need.

Note: At ALA, Google was made librarians participate in a 4 question online scavenger hunt in order to earn a Google Pin. How lame is that? Note to all vendors--- ipods and mp3 players are pretty old now--- try and lure us with GPS or iPhones or something cool. Pins? Seriously...

Note 2: Google, please learn who Morrissey is. Gmail has no clue, yet Microsoft Word is down with rock icons.

Punk & Zen - a talk at ALA

Ok, so I told myself I didn’t want to use this blog to promote my talks or articles—it’s designed for something different, a glimpse at my ideas, observations, experiments, and fantasies, but hey, rules were made to be broken, so let’s do it:

ALA
Washington, D.C.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
10:30 am till lunch
The Hilton Washington Hotel — Military room

ACRL – New Members Group (academic librarians)

Myself and Mr Crit Stuart

It’s going to be Punk & Zen.

He’s holistic and Buddhist (not 100% sure about that) and part of ARL.
I’m “allegedly” controversial and irreverent and bring it like this.

We’re building around a theme:
“Too Shy or Too Shameless: Finding a Balance in Personal PR”

Crit will probably talk about networking, influencing people, reputation, the art of conversation, finding yourself/your identity/your voice, domestication of space, and dialectics.

Here is my potential set list:

• The ALA Bureaucracy & Social Agenda
• Walt Crawford’s Book – first have something to say (Read It!)
• Getting Published: style vs. content
• The Secret Code Words for getting conference presentations accepted
• Your Alter Ego – talking/writing publicly
• Does everyone just want to be famous? (how blogs have leveled the field)
• Layers of secrets – workflow in academic libraries  - cliques & alienation
• Planting Seeds – getting buy in – mediocrity – getting shot down, rebounding
• Watch Out! People will steal your ideas!
• What libraries & librarians are supposed to be; the problem with 2.0
• Reference Librarians are elitist; don’t forget about circulation
• Strategic Planning = copy & paste, repeat, repeat, repeat
• Social Software Storefronts = bad idea (just being there is not enough)
• Advancement @ your Library; Advancement in the Profession
• Why Most Library Advertising is Lame
• Motivation & Inspiration & Transformation & Innovation
• Self-hype vs. the buddy system
• Impressing people with creativity = they have no idea what you’re talking about
• The Librarian Zombie mindset

(Note: not all of these topics will be covered.)

So there you have it. This program is geared toward newer librarians, ideally those with less than three years of professional experience, and current MLS grad students are even better. If you’re a library science student at U Maryland or Catholic (or elsewhere) and are not attending ALA for some reason, come on out to this session as my personal guest. I’ll get you through the door, just don’t tell ALA. For an organization that preaches open access you’d think that our conference papers would be free, but not so... Rettig, do something about that, please.

Anyway, it should be a good session. Crit and I will each talk briefly and then lead (co-lead?) group discussions and whatnot. For those who are new or entering the profession, you’ll get a good blend of perspective and experiences. I think we can all learn a lot from each other. Crit green-lighted several of my projects so you’ll hear how we worked together in the roles of administration vs. frontline staff. We’re both a bit outside of mainstream librarianship, so it makes sense that they put is in the “military” room—because we’re battling tradition.

And those of you out there who have been in the profession for some time… I’m sure there will be some other fascinating session on information literary, a workshop on wikis, or something like that. I don’t want to discourage you from attending, but this is for “new” members of ACRL.

Oh and if you’re looking for something to do Sunday night of ALA, try the Black Cat.
Straylight Run, Sparta, and lovedrug are decent indie-rock bands, not bad for a $15 show.

“Get Connected” – A Campaign Idea

I absolutely hate television commercials! In fact, I am very quick with the remote control to channel surf whenever they come on, but lately that’s changed. Now I can’t seem to get enough of them. I’ve started deconstructing every ad I see. What is the real message? What are they really trying to say? Does it hold my attention? Do I care? In fact, now I even flip to channels I never watch (Lifetime, Nickelodeon, Home & Garden) hoping to catch commercials I don’t typically see.

Long story short, last night I saw a “dating” phone line commercial featuring females urging guys to call in and get connected. What a great campaign for libraries! Why not tap into the library experience and use the “get connected” theme throughout print, video, and web advertising. Something like this:

A group is gathered around a computer. It’s an active conversation. One of them uses a laptop to search for graphics. Another flips through a pile of PDF articles. A whiteboard beside them is scribbled with notes. They are working together on a project. The Library enables them to be connected, the synergy, collaboration, and all that stuff.

We see the group again. This time they are dressed up and off in a room making final preparations before they head off to class to give a presentation. A PowerPoint slide is projected on a screen and one of the members fixes a typo. Another makes photocopies of a handout. One of the guys is struggling with his tie and a group member helps him out. They get ready to rehearse one more time.

A few days later. The group is now in the café, talking, laughing, relaxed. They’ve bonded through the presentation experience and are now taking a break, catching up, whatever. People around them are sipping drinks, flipping through magazines, surfing the web. A professor talks casually with a student. It’s a fun and chill mood. The café is a socially connecting agent.

This is the kind of advertising I want to see. Don’t tell me you have a million books, and offer classes, and have great reference assistance—show me! I kind of think we overemphasize quality, rather than utility. Give me context that applies to my life. Why should I use the library? Why do I care? Build stories that show snapshots of patron use. Give me a potential need and solution. And make it real. It can’t be someone reading a script, or looking too posed. It can’t be too neat or too obvious. I don’t want generic examples of how wonderful the Library is or how to use Boolean or telling me how important peer review journals are and how bad Wikipedia is. Show me what my peers are doing. Make me think “huh.” Redefine the Library through actions.

I try and walk throughout the entire building (and around campus) several times a week, morning, noon, and night – and I always see stories unfolding. Sit and watch your patrons sometime and build your advertising around that, not around what you think your library is or wish it was. Help them to see the value of the Library and how they can “get connected” with us and with each other.

A big theme of mine is to attempt to reduce the idea of the Library being a place that students have to go, and turning it into a place that students actually want to be. No one wants to do homework, but if they have to, so why not give them a proper environment? Connect them with what they need to succeed in the broadest sense: books, journals, dvds, workspace, study space, computers, software, equipment, supplies, tools, wireless, cultural events, socialization, relaxation, updates, news, etc

ALA should be doing this kind of stuff at a national level. Show Americans why they should care about libraries and how they are relevant. Putting Natalie Portman on a READ poster would be great, but that’s not going to change public perception of libraries. Inspire me ALA!

ALA 's Marketing Efforts: what will the emerging leaders do?

I will be interested to see where Leslie's Emerging Leaders go with these projects . The two I am most interested in are:

• Design a membership brochure at attract nextgen librarians.
• Work on recommendations for a new branding campaign for ALA including a new logo.

Seems a bit like siloing of talent and resources to me. Just a humble suggestion—think mixed media. Brochures are nice, but there are other methods to spread the message. Use as many mediums as possible. I REALLY hope that nextgen is going to be marketed to by nextgen.

Meanwhile, I wrote the draft introduction to my ‘advertising' book for ALA Editions over the holiday. I hope to be able to share it with people soon, but I have to find out about the legal technicalities. I have a chapter tentatively titled “Brand the Patron” -- which is shaping up to be my favorite.

The Ubiquitous Librarian Sells Out!

That’s right folks—I’ve signed a contract with a major label (in the library publishing world) to produce an alternative marketing book. It should drop in 2008.

Why I am not applying for ALA's Leadership Program

Several people have asked if I was applying for ALA's Emerging Leaders Program .

NO!

The problem with library ‘leadership' is that there is too much echo. Too much conversion. That's the problem with climbing the ladder; you adopt the credentials of those before you and essentially become a clone. The “this is what libraries should be!” mentality.

It's cool if you're into it. No disrespect. I just don't want to be part of that clique. Besides, look at the credentials to attend:

1. ALA member, and
2. Young (under 35 years) or new librarians of any age with fewer than 5 years post-MLS experience, and
3. Recent MLS degree from an ALA or NCATE accredited program or in an MLS program currently, and
4. Able to attend both ALA conferences and work virtually in between, and
5. Ready to commit to serve on an ALA , Division, Chapter, or Round Table committee, taskforce or workgroup upon completion of program

Basically, a new librarian, who pays membership fees, can afford to attend a handful of conferences, and is willing to volunteer for committee work.

Where is the leadership potential there? Seems to me ALA is just looking to bring the Next Gen folks into the loop: You're special, we're letting you into the club. You will be the future leaders! It's up to you to save the profession. And sure, there is a lot of bureaucracy, but you're on the inside now. Ok, please pay your fees and attend our conferences because that's what good leaders do.

No thanks.

I would be much more interested if it was ALA 's Innovators Program. Have each person submit a ‘realistic' idea, something that could be implemented in a year for less than $500. Then bring together the top 30 candidates to discuss principles of entrepreneurialism and project management. Bring in some good speakers from within and outside the profession. Then have ALA fund the projects, yes, you know, actually give back to the membership, and package the ideas and release them for free to the library community. If you offered something like that, then I would apply.

That's right Leslie , if you really want to transform libraries, it starts with generating new ideas, rather than zombie-fing the next generation. Help us create and implement something meaningful and then let us tell others about it. Strive for building enthusiasm and innovation, rather than encouraging cardboard cut outs of ideal leaders. We gain leadership through experience, not attending ALA conferences and reading books like this .

Updated 9/12/2006

Ok, maybe those Doom & Gloom articles got to me? Maybe I took it too far with Zombies. My point is that when you attempt to create a community of leadership, it feels contrived. I understand that there is concern about the future and it's nice that ALA has succession plans in the works, but my first impression when I read the announcement was that it was manufactured. It made me think of the Wal-Mart Manager's brainwashing seminars.

I know that change has to come from within. I know it's easy to be against something. I also know a handful of people applying for the program. I wish them luck and will be interested to hear about the experience, unless of course you have to take an oath of secrecy. Here are some leadership principles to get you started: vision, ethics & integrity, service orientation, communication skills, self-awareness, teamwork in diverse groups (Osher & Ward) Have fun!

Final thoughts on the topic: I feel that ‘new' librarians should focus on gaining experience their first 5 years and then in years 5 – 10 shift toward leadership and management. The best coaches are players first, ya know?