Durham County Library staff and community members took a trip to Greensboro and Burlington Libraries last Tuesday.  There we saw many wonderful things we would like to take back to Durham County.

 

We saw:

 

ART!!!

 

 

 

 

Wonderful Outdoor Spaces!!!

 

 

 

And Fantastical Children's Rooms!!!

 

 

 

All of this to excite the imagination and inspire the minds of every person who walks through the library.  Please take the time to read through the comments of the people who went on the tour and add your favorite ideas to the table below.  If you've got pictures, comments, or other ideas, post them to the wiki and let us all know what you think the Durham County Library's Best Practices could be!

 

 

Tour Schedule (Revised February 21, 2007)

                                                                                                                                                                 

March 22 Comments from the Charlotte Bus Trip
April 12

Comments from the Henrico Bus Trip

and

Observations from Youths' Perspective

April 24

Comments from the Greensboro (NC) Bus Trip 

 welcometrip.bmp

Best practices from the different libraries that are especially liked by wiki commentors have been put in the table below.  Please feel free to add best practices you thought were really special to this table.

 

 

 

 
Charlotte
Henrico
Greensboro
Ideas with most potential for Durham to adapt or build on
Customer-Centered Library
 
  • Graphic novels (YA/Adult) all in one location
  • Face Out displays
  • Reading areas near coffee/gift shop
  • Adult computer space with children's area close by and adult space near children's area
  • Social teen area
  • Quiet area
  • Maps of the library in the restroom
  • Coffeecart at the Main Library
  • Self-service reserve book pick-up
  • Interfile the VHS and DVD’s
  • Non-Fiction Audiobooks interfiled with books
  • Pass through security system
  • Coffee Cart
  • Children’s library in a separate building
  • DVD's & CD's in slick looking department with displays

Customer-Centered Library: Charlotte 
  • Self-pick-up for holds
  • Automated book return as well as self-checkout
  • Drive-through book return
  • Selling jump drives, computer disks, closed
  • Outdoor area for staff and patrons
  • Subject labels as part of end of shelf guides
  • Magazines issues could be  checked out except current copy
  •   Children's area physically separate from rest of library with walls and/or doors.
  •   What I didn't see on this tour - large Teen area.
  •   Power outlets embedded into tops of work tables.
  •   Reservation for classes and rooms over the internet
  • Benches and shelters set up away from entrances
  • Same fines for movies and books
  • Soundproofed quiet study room
  • A little room for community fliers and stuff.
  • Good, high-tech study carrells "checked-out" by patrons for a two hour period.
    		•
  • Career areas including circulating books.
  • Coffeshop
  • Better signage
  • Lamps around the library
    		•
     
    Emergent Literacy
     

     
  • Story kiva like the one at Henderson with an ampitheater style
  • Book group for adults who like to read kids'  books
  •  
    		•
    • Bay windows in the children's room
    • Wheeled stage in the children's room
     
    Serving English Language Learners
     
     

  •  

    		•
     
     
  • Multi-cultural branches and areas
    		•
     
    Delivery of Service
     
  • Staff have contagious enjoyment about their jobs
  • Single form for library card, internet permission, and DVD/video agreement
  • Accept Credit/Debit cards
  • Phone Reference Center
  • Self pick-up of holds
    		•
  • Lots and lots of signage!!!
  • Tax help volunteers present daily
  • More signage
  • E-Vance.  Meeting room booking software
  • RFID automatic check-in for the drops
  •  
    		•
     
  • Lots of signage
    		•
     
    Library as Center of Technology Expertise
     
     
  • Instruction labs for computers
  • Check out mp3 players with books loaded on them
  • 15 minute express computers
  • Virtual Village, esp. with the equipment and services for the disabled
  • Ceiling mounted LCD projectors
  • E-Mail Express stations
  • Separate computer room with its own staff
  • Set up a small play area for kids in the computer room
    		•
     
  • Nice computer labs
  • Cords, cables, and wires are all contained by cable stays or within the furninture of the computer desk
  • Laptops which travel around the libraries turning meeting rooms into computer training labs
  • Digital microfilm reader/printer
    		•
     
     
    Wild Card
     
  • Toys for children in adult areas and books for adults in the childrens' areas
  • Friend's Book Sale kiosk/area/shelf
  • Lower parent permission for internet and DVD/video (maybe 16)
  • Openness of the libraries and the colors.  Libraries were clean and everything was in its place.
  • DEAR (Drop Everything And Read)
  • Rules for Innovation
    		•
     
  • AED's (Automated External Defibrulators)  in libraries - on both floors of Tuckahoe!
  • Lots of artwork
  • REALLY nice staff room
  • Lidded drinks allowed with slogan "Keep Your Top On!"
  • Open spaces (but we need a better combination of open spaces and room for books)
    		•
     
  • Artwork (22 mentions!!!)
  • Nicely designed and inviting outdoor areas
  • Young adult area had career and education information
    		•
     
     
     
     
     

     

     

    For the full list of research questions, click on the link below:

     

    Revised Draft Research Questions 22307.doc

     

    To see pictures from libraries not included in our "best practice" tours:

    Salt Lake Public Library--"The City Library"

    San Jose

    Scandinavian Libraries

     

    Makeover ideas:

    Technology ideas

    Makeover Ideas

    Chuck's Page (Chuck has a number of ideas he's pulled from the Best Practice tour to Charlotte, some which can be done immediatly and others to think about for the long term)

    Patricia's Page (Patricia's ideas from the Henrico tour for both the short term and long term.)

    Reflections on the VA Best Practices trip (Julie Humphrie's page on her Best Practive tour)


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    • Recent comments:
      Laurel Jones:I went on both the Henrico and Greensboro tours and enjoyed both of them. I hope many of the items we saw are transferable to Durham library! I should be able to add my own pictures from the tour soon.
      Skip Auld:Regarding Carolyn Robinson's comments above, see Daysia's and Kaleayah's comments on the Best Practices Tours page, under the April 12 trip: "Observations from Youths' Perspective."
      Bill Nesmith:Two ideas struck me: large private funding of construction and a cafe area. Henderson was able to build a beautiful facility without floating a bond but is, from what I gathered, not able to secure enough public funds to adequately staff it. The cafe is, I expect, popular, but probably will not make a profit. But then, neither do our books, and we still keep them around for the patrons.
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