Library Fail

Over the summer I started visiting my local public library, the Brandon Regional Library.  After all, I'm in library school, it seemed only natural to get a library card (especially since I can't really afford to buy books right now).  The first book I checked out was Lev Grossman's The Magicians.  I loved it and read it in two or three days.  In fact, I had to force myself to stop reading it the first day.

Naturally, I was dying to read the sequel, The Magician King.  Unfortunately, it was brand new and there was a waiting list to check it out.  But that wasn't really a problem since I could place a hold on it from the  Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative's website and add myself to the waiting list.  Isn't it wonderful to be living in the future?

So I placed my hold in the summer (I think it was August, but I don't remember exactly) and waited to be contacted when it was available.  And waited.  And waited.  Eventually I just forgot about it.  Once in a while it would pop into my head, but I just assumed that the people in front of me were slow readers and forgot again.

This morning it popped into my head again and I decided to check on the status of my hold.  Well, it turns out that the people in front of me were not slow readers because the hold expired on 9/23/11.  I assume that means that it became available to me a week or so before that date.  I just checked my cellphone and there are no missed calls in the entire month of September.  Nor do I have any unread emails dated September.  This means that no one contacted me to let me know that the book I was dying to read was available to me.  Good job, Brandon Library and HCPLC, you've given me every reason to distrust your ability to provide me with books I can't take from the stacks myself.

Now, to play devil's advocate, it is possible that it was my responsibility to monitor the status of my hold.  But I checked and, nope, the Hillsborough County procedure for requests and holds states that customers are notified by phone or email.

Personally, this isn't a big deal.  As a matter of fact, I walked into the Brandon Library this afternoon and walked out less than five minutes later with a copy of The Magician King.  But as an aspiring librarian, it bugs me.  For one thing, this is a process that should clearly be automated.  But the much bigger issue is that this is not a good way to encourage customer loyalty.  I have no idea if other people have ever experienced this issue (and I dearly hope not).  I want to be a librarian.  I have a vested interest in the survival of libraries of all types.  But even I have no intention of ever requesting or reserving a book through the HCPLC again.  I can't imagine how someone who doesn't really care one way or another about libraries would react to this.

All of that being said, I will continue to frequent the Brandon Library.  Provided that I know ahead of time that the book I am interested in is in the stacks.

Interacting with Senior Management (article)

I found Cindy Sullivan's article, "Interacting with Senior Management," very interesting.  In it, Sullivan discussed how and why she developed "a series of workshops that would focus on interacting with the senior management in an organization" (2011, para. 3).

Some of the things I found most interesting were her reasons for focusing on interacting with senior management.  For example, she believed that "it was necessary [for the library] to be perceived as a partner in order to contribute to the strategic direction of the organization and demonstrate the leadership qualities that are valued by management" (Sullivan, 2011, para. 4).  Furthermore, she felt "it was extremely important for library managers to be perceived as being on the same plane as their senior team in terms of management techniques, thought leadership, and implementing the overall organization's strategic plan" (Sullivan, 2011, para. 5).

The techniques Sullivan espoused in her workshops are all about face time and "[providing] regular, personal interactions with the members of the senior team" (2011, para. 8).  Such interactions are essential to "1. demonstrate business acumen; 2. exhibit expert knowledge; and 3. build a relationship" (Sullivan, 2011, para. 8).

Elsewhere in the article, she gave examples of how other SLA members were "providing library services to [the executive] segment of their client base" (Sullivan, 2011, para. 8).  The one I found most interesting was a public library that provided "proactive research and reference services to prominent individual in different types of organizations and fields (e.g., lawyers, medical professionals and business professionals)" (Sullivan, 2011, table 1).

Sullivan's basic premise, that it is more important than ever to make sure that the powers that be in an organization understand the value they receive from an in-house library, is nothing new.  It is, in fact, an idea that has been beaten into my brain in my 2+ semesters of library school.  However, rather than simply state that fact and move on, Sullivan took the initiative to create a way to help her fellow librarians show their value to senior management.  For that, I applaud her.  I also applaud the unnamed public library she mentioned that adapted an approach that feels very "corporate library" and applied it to its public setting.


Sullivan, C. (2011, September). Interacting with senior management. Information Outlook, 15(6). Retrieved from http://www.sla.org/io/2011/09/1050.cfm

The Information Partnership: Recognizing a V.I.P. (video)

I found this video interesting, though I admit I had to force myself to pay attention to what people were saying.  I kept getting distracted by the terrible fashion (especially the glasses).

Each of the four companies profiled seemed to really prize information as a resource and that led to an appreciation for the library.  I believe it was Dave Printz, the VP of MacNeal Hospital, who said that "we don't use the term library because it really is a resource for us."

For their part, the libraries all considered themselves an integral part of the company.  Timeliness of service and quality of information provided were of the essence at each library.  One librarian even said that timeliness was most important because if information was too late it was too late.  Each of the librarians acknowledged that it was important to position the library as a value-added service.

This video made me wonder about my previous employers and whether or not they had libraries.  I imagine at least two of them did since they were giant multi-nationals, but I never heard a word about a library (or information center).  Of course, you could make the argument that accounting shops are a form of information center, albeit one that only contains information about the parent company.  But if I had ever wanted to know something about the budget, I knew the people who put it together.

I'm also curious about what happened to the companies profiled in the past 20 years.  Do they still exist?  If so, do they still pride themselves on their libraries?  I think it would be fascinating to find out.