I like how there’s now a place to go for group work and informal gatherings, as well as private individual cubicle study. It’s a good alternative to the coffee shop or vacant classroom and, most importantly, a place where “point of need” help is readily available. That the help is also available virtually makes the library accessible to external students… but… when I think “library” I do tend to picture “a place to go to get work done”.

The first thing I noticed was the library here seems to have lost any clients for reference services. Instead, the library energy has been put into doing ‘community stuff’, especially connecting with the seniors and the under-fives. We have done most of the suggestions Kathryn made – except perhaps suggestion 1 about making better use of Google. And in fact, this is my “must do” project for this week – I said I’d re-write and re-work a brochure encouraging people to ask for help finding information; in a far more encouraging lingo than what already exists.

Also I have a volunteer computer person who will run classes on blogs, wikis and RSS, which can run along with our already-extensive classes in using the internet and using a computer.

We’re not quite ready to use the ‘pull’ rather than ‘push’ social software yet….

If you are interested in this topic, can you look at a blog http://www.thirdplaceforum.blogspot.com/ we recently established after a forum looking at libraries as a ‘third place’ in people’s lives. No-one has discovered our blog yet, so any thoughts welcome!

what are other people doing?

LizS

When it comes to meeting customer expectations, then libraries are pretty safe. When it comes to providing a lending service for information and entertainment resources, there will always be libraries. There will always be storytime. There will always be book clubs.

However, as far as addressing information needs in the community, I don’t see this function being pursued enough. Whilst this is arguably a library’s most important function, especially when there is new technology constantly emerging, libraries just aren’t keeping up, and therefore the public assume that libraries are old-fashioned, and don’t demand it. When there isn’t the demand, then management don’t pursue it, especially when there’s a far greater demand for “traditional” library services.

I love your suggestions, Kathryn. Something that I’ve always thought about was making librarians available for consultations, ie. book a librarian for some one-on-one research assistance, and go out of the library and visit clients if they can’t come to us.

Also – having a mobile lending service that goes out to the corporate world ie. offices, etc.