"in matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current.” the...
TRANSCRIPT
"In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current.”
The unwavering principle of public libraries is to offer information and civic space freely to help people become good citizens, reach their goals, or pursue their interests. But the techniques we use to guarantee that this principle lives on will have to change to match the predispositions of this new generation.
Thomas JeffersonThomas Jefferson
Overview New customer expectations OCLC perceptions of libraries report Support self-sufficient users What we learn from Envirosell Technology and customer service What can you change now?
All Customers
Want to feel welcomed and respected
Want to be successful
Want what they want when they want it
People These Days Are…
Time-challenged On information overload Always learning Have expectations of 24/7 service Suffer from compassion fatigue Format agnostic
Who’s Your Customer?
More ends of the spectrum tech-savvy users low-literacy users
Older adults Spanish speakers Those who need access to government Those new to your area
16.7% of population move each year
You Only Get One Chance to Make a Good First Impression!
8 seconds for first impression
4 minutes to decide if they like you
15 minutes to confirm or deny their decision
The New Customer Self-directed
navigates independently wants to do straightforward tasks without assistance
Want help: at the point of need with complex tasks
Culturally-linguistically-generationally diverse Expect convenience Tech-savvy customers expect
to have Internet options to get recommendations from peers to participate
Solutions to Meet Needs of New Customer Expectations
Empower users to self serve Prepare before people come in Teach Merchandise Use your website
OCLC Perceptions of Libraries www.oclc.org/reports/2005perceptions.htm
3,300 responses from information consumers in US, Australia, Canada, India, Singapore, and UK
Figure out what the libraries “brand” is in the eyes of civilians
Libraries Are Valued
75% have library privileges 55% use public libraries several times a year or
more Adult use of libraries slight decline last few years
expect slight adult increase in the next few years
Increased usage by 14- to 24-year-olds 40% of college students use public library
regularly
People Prefer to Try On Their Own
All users combined 65% never ask for help at the library 35% ask for help at the library
Those who do ask value the librarian 76% who seek help go to the reference desk 77% who get help believe librarians add value to
the research process
Most trusted source of info for people is a trusted friend or colleague
Search engines are preferred sources of information
The library never ranks higher then fifth in surveys of where to go for info
Where Do They Go for Info?
What Do We Learn From OCLC Report?
65% of library users borrow books Reference desk not most important People unaware of electronic resources
58% not aware of online databases 33% don’t know about library website
Find ways to get material to people People prefer to self-serve
The Library Brand
70% say “books”
It’s not the librarian Free choice learning
No one else does this well, we need to own it
A place to participate with the community
Friendly and competent service
Service Can Be One of the Libraries Competitive Advantages
Americans say that the way they are treated by business and customer service employees is frequently exasperating, and sometimes even insulting. Too many workers, they complain, are careless, apathetic, and unhelpful. Almost half of those surveyed say that they have walked out of a business specifically because of bad service, and the number is even higher among affluent Americans.
from Publicagenda.org website
Accentuate the Positive?
No cell phones Out of Order Closed No food or drink Quiet Please Children only Please do not reshelve
Donation vs Fine Extended use vs overdue Express check Others?
Creating Self-Sufficient Customers
Set up the physical environment
Teach for future visits
Use your website
Prepare to Serve Observe current behavior Set up the environment so basic questions are
answered signage, architecture pathways with rugs, location of shelves, color self-serve options identified most used product/service easy to find
Make routine transactions independent Cross train staff
Routine Transactions Self-checkout
must be located near help there is some evidence that controversial topics circulate
more with self-check Self-return
get immediate receipt for return get more items faster
Place and pick-up holds Self-service library card registration
user keys in info for new library card at one Contra Costa branch 70% of library cards at new
library issued this way
Success of Self-check Depends on…
Staffing New, flexible roles for ref and circ staff Location of machines and available staff Training
Self-check works when it’s clearly Self-check works when it’s clearly the best option for the customer.the best option for the customer.
Self-Serve Gives Staff Time to…
Greet
Merchandise
Reshelve books
Help new or confused users
Spend more time on individual solutions
Makes your work more interesting and less repetitive!
Empower for Future Needs
Do not magically find and give an answer
Offer to help them learn
Tell them about other resources don’t overwhelm
Teach them to search the catalog
Promote remote access via website
Teach, Not Do
Share your “expert” strategy Explain what you’re doing Let them see what you’re doing Let them “drive” No jargon
What Complicated Services Do You Offer That People Commonly Ask For Help With?
Search your catalog for books on CD Downloadable audio E-books Find and use a popular database What is Readers Advisory and how to get it Better results with Google How to print from the web with YOUR print
management system
What Do You Do to Make New Users Comfortable?
New user pamphlet Audio tour downloadable to IPOD
for physical building for website
Map of library Color code signs or parts of library New user scavenger hunt
What Role Can Technology and your Website Play in Customer Service?
Wireless Internet access Remote reference RSS feeds Catalogs with
book images tagging public recommendations
Offer Wireless Internet Access
Saves the library money – don’t need as many PC’s
Shouldn’t require a login Know where and how it works Want to attract this audience
Remote Reference
Instant messaging stay-at-home moms are biggest growth area
Email reference Text messaging Chat
Use RSS Feeds for Instant Notification
New books News at the library New content in subscription databases New podcasts or vidcasts www.hclibrary.org/services/rss.php for good
FAQ and list of feeds
Self Serve via Your Website
Remote access to customer account Remote access to databases Ability to search the catalog and place holds E-books E-card that you can apply for online that allows
access to e-resources Email notices of books due soon or reserves
available www.libraryelf.com/Demo.aspx
Readers Advisory
Each generation of library users has changed the library in one way or another:
50 years ago, there were no romance novels in the library
20 years ago, there were no movies in the library 10 years ago, there was no email in the library The Millennial’s have contributed “gaming”
Jenny Levine
Patron 2.0 is not just a content consumer but is a content creator
Use Web 2.0 to Serve Customers
Create recommender services like Amazon or Netflix staff to public public to public use blogs and wikis
Be on myspace,flickr, youtube, and wikipedia Podcasts
Audio book reviews, library tour Vidcast
Storytime, author visits
Examples of Good Customer Service via a Library Website
www.queenslibrary.org/ Aquabrowser User centric tabs Personalize with “My Queens Library” Multiple languages available from top left Moving image Lots of graphics/photos Events Books
Queens Library Recommends and Most Popular
Examples of Library Websites Using 2.0
www.aadl.org/catalog Tagging Customer reviews Blogs w/option to comment Rss feeds Fines payment history Patron-initiated ILL
Offering New Services
Technology needs to… be easy to use be reliable have consistent procedures
Staff needs to: be trained to use the technology have time to use it be able to train the public
Pierce County Institutes Self-Check
Five remodeled branches
Average circulation is about 70% ExpressCheck
Customer surveys show a 90% approval rating of the new service model
Staff have fewer health-related problems caused by repetitive tasks
At any given time, one to two additional staff people are available on the floor
www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6400918.html
New Roles for Staff
Empower users to self-serve “you can do it, we can help”
Cross train staff to answer routine questions common catalog questions directional questions
Keep learning participate in blogs/wikis
All staff teach
The Science of Shopping
The decompression zone
People go right
Signs
Product placement
The Decompression Zone
When you enter the buildingChange in lightMoving quicklyNo decisions for 10-15 feet I’m on a mission, wait until I’m finished
People Tend to Look and Go to the Right
Use space accordingly customer service
important information
welcoming first impression
Signs
Before you place a sign ask: what will shoppers be doing here? moving fast? waiting? browsing?
Use consistency, color, and placement Each zone is right for one kind of message
and wrong for another type size and design relate to audience
Product Placement
Merchandise for intended audience shelf height what is their eye level? what is their reach? do they need better lighting?
are they likely to ask for help ?
Space to move around
If people stop, will it create a traffic jam?
Use adjacencies
What Do We Mean By Merchandise?
Face out Make stuff people want easy to get
popular parts of collection parts of collection not known but related to local community
or current event or time of year Use book trucks
leave out the returns on book trucks? Moveable collections
Staff picks Rotate for time of day
Like a physical pathfinder or a form of Like a physical pathfinder or a form of pro-active readers advisorypro-active readers advisory
The Science of Shopping Teaches Us
Change the Decompression Zone Make connections between spaces
use adjacency, color, signs
Make each zone serve its customer Use places where people stop
promote services on bathroom wall or where people wait
Add pushcarts or baskets Change windows regularly
Envirosell/San Jose/Hayward PL
Research objectives: to explore dynamics of visitor behavior to measure visitor actions at touch points to generate information on how urban public
libraries in California can better serve and educate their visitors, thereby creating a more satisfying library visit
Envirosell at San jose and Hayward
3 libraries studied – 2 weekdays each 350 hours of videotape 269 patrons tracked and timed 240 patrons were talked to as they exited the
library
About Library Visitors 70% were frequent visitors
more then once a week) 37% stayed for 21-30 minutes People visited 3 sections of the library Avg # of items checked out was 5
Slightly more books than other media 15% noticed signs
directional, collateral and book covers viewed most 15% were assisted by staff
avg of 3:44 minutes satisfaction with assistance was exceptionally high!
Top Level Conclusions The needs of library patrons are evolving.
Internet usage, media browsing, customers prefer to navigate independently for less complex tasks
Socializing in groups, especially at computers Libraries are local.
Highlight community members’ achievements Tie programming into this effort
Future library designs should take ethnicity into account, rather than age or gender.
Different “shopping” interests emerged among ethnic groups, demonstrating that services and fixtures can not be uniform, even across libraries in a single region.
Hispanic visitors need help using the libraries. Teach these visitors how to use the library.
Encourage outgoing behaviors among librarians and library staff.
Enivorosell Recommends Encourage library staff and librarians to proactively approach patrons. Try to get staff out from behind desks. Encourage librarians to be more inquisitive with patrons about their
needs. Offer new users an informal introduction to the library or formal tours. After ensuring that basic needs of newer users are met, teach these
patrons, especially Hispanics, about what other services are offered by the library.
Services that are familiar to long-time library users might not be known to new users.
Create suggested Reading Lists with excerpts or brief descriptions of each book
Provide copies of all services in multiple languages A take-home manual or welcome booklet in multiple languages might
alleviate confusion or assist patrons who are reluctant to ask for help while in the library. This could be something sent out in the mail to community members as a way of promoting the libraries.
New Customer Service Models
Oxnard – dispatched reference come out from the back as needed
Contra Costa peer libraries (instead of main and branches)
Sacramento and Contra Costa single service desk (merge circ and ref)
Livermore – roving staff San Jose Public - zone staffing
What….No Reference Desk?
Librarians can spend more time on professional level activities Selection Design displays Programming Outreach Readers advisory
Yorba Linda Goodreads program
Single Service Point Located to see as much as possible of library Desk is always staffed
usually with a librarian and a non-librarian Staff are cross trained
librarian help with checkout, library cards other staff can answer catalog questions staff can leave desk to help customers
Use voice communication technology to access other staff (Vocera)
Roving staff
Many more customer interactions Train how to approach customers
respect privacy know when to help, when to refer
Must be easily identified Need to be in communication
pager, full voice, text message, headsets, radio, phones Not all hours Must write guidelines and train rovers
Roving at Livermore PL
All of their information service staff rove (library assistants, librarians, etc.)
All of their rovers wear a branded apron, making them easily identifiable to the public
The apron’s pockets contain papers, writing implements, and phones
They found that roving any more than two hours was very difficult and hard on staff
What Can Roving Staff Do?
Offer assistance to those who appear to need help Straighten up Shelve misc items Do displays Restock flyers Shelf-read Pull paging lists Shelve holds Help with self-check Weed
Zone Staffing Assign staff to cover a section of the library during a particular
hour instead of a desk. The type and number of staff assigned are appropriate to the
types of questions that might be asked there and to the time of day and number of people in the library a librarian in the adult stacks section a clerical person near the checkout machines
The zones often overlap at the single service point all staff often end up there with a customer
People aren't assigned to cover the service point (ie sit at the desk and wait for customers)
The Library Experience
Think of the library as a destination that offers an experience
Library as third place Not home, not work Place to learn and connect with others Feel a part of the community
Create sense of place in different parts of the library that appeal to the right clientele
Create the Experience
Friendly, cross-trained staff Comfortable furniture Positive signs Simplify wayfinding Community place
games, contests, social events and activities Tech-friendly
Free wireless Enough computers
Not locked down!
Hot Picks Project at Oakland Public Library Created new area with inviting furniture Books, magazines, and DVD‘s 7-day circ with no holds, no renewals Limit of 4 DVDs and 4 books/magazines Increased circulation Drew new customers Items in collection no more than four months
Staff Discussions: Know Your Purpose/Values
How important is it to help the public on the Internet?
How can you find time to learn new technology? Is it more important to help someone immediately
or spend time creating a tool to help many?
Redefine Customer Servicefrom San Jose
Put yourself in their shoes not reactive or proactive but interactive
Attitude is everything - customer is not an interruption Everyone teaches Everyone serves youth
need to understand youth and teen behavior Flexible – the customer doesn’t know your roles!!!
need to be cross trained role is defined by the needs of the work, not by a job description
"Don't get angry, get interested!" - you can't be angry and curious at the same time