Archives for posts with tag: customer service

Bibliotheca Alexandria Safe-ish

February 3, 2011 //

Egypt’s been in the streets for a week now (and it’s clearly getting crazier). With the Egyptian Museum threatened and under the army’s protection, what about another valuable (albeit, less famous) cultural and knowledge centre: the reduxed Library of Alexandia.
Good news:

The library is safe thanks to Egypt’s youth, whether they be the staff of the Library or the representatives of the demonstrators, who are joining us in guarding the building from potential vandals and looters. I am there daily within the bounds of the curfew hours. However, the Library will be closed to the public for the next few days until the curfew is lifted and events unfold towards an end to the lawlessness and a move towards the resolution of the political issues that triggered the demonstrations.[from the BA’s site]

They’ve posted a photo gallery of citizens and librarians banding together to protect the building.

History shows that times of upheaval are not particularly kind to libraries and museums.

I have my fingers crossed that the outcome will be different this time. Here’s to speedy, safe(r), and democratic peace in Egypt.

Tags architecture, Change, crowd-sourcing, customer service, Egypt, library, Museums, optimism, Security

Categories Library News, Security

Beware the Long Arm of the Library

February 1, 2011 //

Return Your Books, Son.

Apparently, the Chapin Memorial Library in Myrtle Beach has been flexing its legal muscle:

Some people in Myrtle Beach owe money to Chapin Memorial Library, the city’s only library. In some instances it has reached to a point where police have to serve warrants.

The warrants are referred to as courtesy warrants according to the City of Myrtle Beach Police department but the problem deals, in great part, to a lack of courtesy.

Police said people check out books and videos and despite written requests from the library to return them, the patron ignore those requests.

“If they are not returned then it’s considered a larceny by South Carolina law and it is treated as such,” said library director Briget Livingston, “It’s not for someone who owes us a dollar, this is for someone who as not returned many many materials at least $50 worth.”[full article]

Courtesy warrant? It’s probably a courtesy they send the cops and not this guy.

I wonder if this is good press for libraries where many are struggling to justify themselves in increasingly stringent times? Are issuing warrants like this an unnecessarily visible action? Could this pressure on delinquent users be done better, so that it stays off the oddball news sections.

Tags collections management, customer service, library, Policy, Public Libraries, the law

Categories Public Libraries, User experience

Libraries Under Siege! Pictures Worth Cash… Hopefully

January 24, 2011 //

Faced with hard cuts from state funding, Floridian public libraries are making a dramatic effort to prove their worth to their communities.

The libraries are taking part in a statewide event, Snapshot: A Day in the Life of Florida Libraries, coordinated by the Florida Library Association. Other states have conducted similar programs but this is the first one in Florida, said Faye Roberts, the FLA’s executive director.
Libraries will gather statistics on customer usage, take photos of activities and collect comments from patrons. Roberts said her organization will use the results to remind elected officials of the importance of adequate funding for libraries.[Full article here]

This is a great. It has got every piece necessary to give a human side to what’s at risk when cuts to libraries are made.

And, if the most hard-hearted budgetary wonk’s heart won’t melt, they’ve got some numbers to help them:

Faye Roberts cited a recent study that found that libraries have an economic impact of $8.30 in public services for every $1 invested in them.

Is this enough?

When so many demands on state/provincial, municipal, and federal funding compete, public libraries need to show system-wide thinking to find ways to prove their worth. It’s a frustrating cause in the US, where state and municipal budgets are bound by law to not run a deficit.

The outcome is all too often lose-lose… which sucks.

Efforts like the Florida Library Association’s are what’s called for.But, libraries should not wait for Mr. Big Cuts to come knocking. I think most libraries should have something like this ongoing and in their back pockets. Now’s the time. Rally the staff! Rally the users!

Tags crowd-sourcing, customer service, library, money, optimism, Public Libraries

Categories Public Libraries, Services, User experience

Are Libraries Faced with a Tyranny of Customization?

January 14, 2011 //

Next week, I start a new job in a government library. As I bid farewell to the multi-national mega-chain retail cafe, I want to write a few posts about customer service and library user experience.

There was a recent Globe and Mail article about choice and customer experience. It boiled down to this:

A myth I often deal with is: “Our customers want lots of choices, and the ability to customize.”…

Big consumer myth No. 2 relates to customization, specifically to companies believing that customers want to customize products. This myth is tied directly back to the logic around consumer choice limitation as a good thing…

Offering your customers more choices, whether in products or features, and the ability to customize will likely not do them, or you, any favours. Having the courage to limit choice, and taking the time to create a personalization path, can create a more favourable customer experience, and may just increase your sales.[full article here]

Are libraries embracing too much customisation? Is this interfering with user experience?

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags customer service, online, Public Libraries, Technology, websites

Categories Public Libraries, Services, Technology, User experience