Potpourri

There's lots of cool stuff out there related to libraries which we can use to make DCL the best library in town.  I can't seem to fit all the stuff in to a nice, neat subject heading (we need a cataloger!).  Subject heading or not, you should check these links out:

We in the library profession like to make a lot of assumptions about who uses the library--little kids and older adults (along with the homeless and those who can't afford their own computers).  Check out this Pew report on library usage.  It turns out Generation Y is the biggest user--those are folks between 18 and 30.  Or, you can read a summary of the report here.

This is the PowerPoint presentation that Skip Auld shared with the Steering Committee and the Library Board on February 13: 

 Building a Customer-Centered Library System - Durham County Library - 2-2007.ppt

My experience in Irving, TX

The Public Library as an Asylum for the Homeless (article from April 2007), the NPR interview with Chip Ward, former asst. director of Salt Lake City Public Library, and a blog about the article

Related to this, here is an article from Hyannis, MA about their homeless population.  Do they go too far?

Best Practice wiki from ALA

Here is a great blog entry on some ideas for getting the library into the community--in this case an environmental festival in Chicago.

What makes this academic librarian love her local library and what would she change?  Click here to find out.

Here is an interesting article on marketing for the new economy and new technologies.

How much of a problem are unattended kids in the library (not the teens--I mean ten year-olds)?  Here is a link to a New York Post article about the New York public system.

The New Yorker ran an illustration depicting the library of the future on April 9, 2007 (pg 79). Then Library Journal ran an editorial about the cartoon and the library of the future in the May 1 issue. Is the "library of the future", full of DVD's and plasma screens, visionary or alarming?

A fun fundraising idea from across the Pond reported here on CNN.--perhaps this is a little racy, but what about a fund raiser with old ghost stories?

What is a question?  Changedminds.org has an interested bit about  the different types of questions out there with examples.  While we are in the business of providing answers to people--without questions, there are no answers!

The blog "Library Marketing: Thinking Outside the Book" has an interesting article on the difference between marketing on features and marketing on benefits.  She also has an interesting article on the importance of transparency in the library here.

Anyone remember SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats)?  Check out this SWOT analysis of libraries brought to us by the Shifted Librarian.

Jodi found a great article about involving teens in library committees and programming.  You can see the article here.

Steal a great idea from Starbucks!  The best part about the service described in this blog post--I love the idea of having a form where folks can send people a customized email asking their friends to "meet them at Starbucks."

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