Published by the State Library of
PART
FIVE: PEOPLE WHO CAN HELP
INTRODUCTION
Small
library directors are sometimes skeptical about investment in marketing because
they know that their time is already over-committed and their budget already
over-strained. They know that their library will never have a lavish budget for
marketing and public relations. As long as they continue to think in terms of
workload instead of partnering, this will remain an obstacle.
The
only way to compensate for limited time and money is to find people who can
help or, to use the jargon, to make effective use of human resources. In spite of the exponential growth of
technology, it is the human skills that are most likely to result in a
successful library administration.
A
good public library wants to serve as many people as possible as well as
possible. But it is also true that a good public library’s service area is full
of people who can help the library. The challenge is finding out who these
people are and enlisting their support.
STAFF
A
good staff is the most critical element to a public library’s success. A good
staff is one where the staff members are competent, committed, friendly and
willing to learn.
Staff
members in a small or mid-sized public library need to go outside their comfort
zones and learn new skills if they are going to be useful to the library. But
it is also true that staff members do their best work when they are doing work
that they enjoy.
Often
when a library director is struggling to find the time and money to make
marketing and public relations a higher priority, there is a staff member who
has skills that could help. These skills might include:
- public speaking
- storytelling
- a talent for oral or written book
reviews
- a flair for designing inexpensive
brochures, flyers and posters
- website design
- creative ways to thank people
- innovative ideas on displays or
programming
- a natural interest in studying the
community
- bookkeeping for special projects
- a special talent for memorial book
programs, adopt-a-book programs, adopt-a-video programs, reliable magazine
donations
- a special talent for outreach
programs.
A
director who knows the staff members and has their respect has a much better
chance of both meeting their needs and of finding out how they can best help
the library. Directors of small libraries have an advantage because they work
side by side with their staff in effective partnership. But they are also the
most likely to neglect such useful tools as staff meetings, weekly checks on
projects and quarterly evaluations.
The
more the staff knows about the library’s needs, the more likely they are to be
able to meet them.
VOLUNTEERS
Directors
of libraries of all sizes are finding that it is impossible to offer excellent
library service without using volunteers. There are not enough paid staff
members and the paid staff members simply do not have the time and skills for
everything that needs to be done.
A
library director who knows the community and gets involved in community
activities has a much better chance of finding the people who have skills that
can help the library.
Community
residents who understand the library’s needs are much more likely to offer
their services to the library. This is why presentations to community groups
and media coverage of library issues are so critically important.
Volunteers
often help with a variety of special projects, as trustees, Friends or
volunteer staff. In a very small library, a volunteer who can be trusted to
handle circulation with both competence and warm friendliness is a priceless asset.
Such a person can free the director to work with other projects or to partner
with other community agencies.
Volunteers
are not free. They require management, friendly communication and training. For
a small library, it is far better to have one or two good volunteers that the
library staff can partner with than half a dozen who cause more problems than
they solve.
TRUSTEES
The
more the trustees understand about the library’s current needs, the better they
are able to help. They often have skills, knowledge and abilities that can help
the library.
Trustees
know community leaders and can enlist their support for specific projects.
Often trustees are community leaders and they can become very effective
advocates for the library.
Trustees
are volunteers. They have an obligation to attend board meetings and be
knowledgeable about the library’s current issues. But if they take on extra
work for the library, this work should be something they believe in and enjoy.
It is part of the library administrator’s responsibilities to help the trustees
enjoy their tenure as library board members.
Library
board members in smaller communities often do very valuable work for the
library. But there is a danger that they will begin to micro-manage the
library’s affairs and this can be very destructive. Staff supervision and daily
library operation are the responsibilities of a competent director.
FRIENDS
A
good Friends of the Library group can help the library in a more structured way
than scattered volunteers. Friends groups have more freedom to handle the funds
gathered in community fundraising. They can handle some of their own
organizational dynamics and implement some of their own projects.
But
a Friends of the Library group can only be effective if they have really
important work to do. Many Friends groups have foundered because there was
nothing going on that really held citizen interest in the library.
Building
and renovation programs have traditionally been the most successful project for
Friends of the Library groups. Proposed buildings, at least when the dream is
properly marketed, are visible, beautiful, exciting and badly needed.
But
there are many other things that Friends groups can be excited about when the need
is a real one for the library. A Friends group can work for a really first
class children’s department that has new books, videos, toys, play furniture,
imaginative reading areas and colorful artwork. Children’s services are often
something the public does understand and support.
A
Friends group can work to fund extra copies of bestsellers so that the
library’s reserve list is not so over-burdened. Nothing discourages an avid
reader more than a long wait for a popular new book.
A
Friends group can work to build a really good video collection that includes
both nonfiction and popular videos. While many smaller libraries have video
collections, it is hard to fund a really good collection. Yet this is a hugely
popular library service. A good video collection can raise the library’s total
circulation and bring people who do not enjoy recreational reading into the
library. Such a project needs to be marketed to the public from the time it is
an exciting idea clear through the time it is an established and popular
service.
A
Friends group can work to build a really good audiobook collection. This could
be selected as a priority in a community that has a high population of
commuters who have large amounts of windshield time and also a large population
of older people who find it tiring to read normal print. But audiobooks are a
weapon against any dull, routine work and can be marketed that way. It is hard
to justify a large audiobook collection in a small library budget. Yet if it
can be funded, it can be a very popular and successful service.
Friends
are often involved in the success of a single library program that has become a
cherished community tradition that people look forward to every year. This can
be anything from a garden tour, to a Christmas music program, to a lavish book
sale/party. Such programs are priceless image builders that give library
greater visibility and a highly attractive identity in the town.
Friends
are sometimes involved in helping the library expand electronic information
access. This usually happens because significant Friends have computer
technology as a major interest. In other communities, library directors have
found that library technology is a more private endeavor of the staff and the
board and public support is given to other projects. It is, like so many other
things, a judgment call based on knowledge of the community.
Note: Libraries that are interested in starting a
Friends of the Library should contact their local system or the Friends of
ACTIVE
LIBRARY USERS
Active
library users, regardless of which library materials they are using, are a resource
that should not be neglected. Library users are usually good library supporters
and often willing to help if they are asked. But it is hard to know what to ask
for without getting to know the person.
Often
the library user’s profession can give a clue as to what they might be
qualified to do for the library. Or their patterns of library use might
indicate work that they would enjoy:
- An
avid gardener who consumes every garden and landscape book the library owns
might enjoy helping with the library grounds or contributing lovely floral
arrangements.
- An
avid mystery reader who is also a lively and articulate extrovert might enjoy
coordinating a mystery readers’ group or posting reviews of current mysteries.
-
Mystery or western buffs are often willing to contribute to building their
favorite collections.
- A
young adult with a bottomless appetite for fantasy might be delighted to be
asked for reviews or a program. Or they may have a collection of paperbacks
they would donate to the library.
- A
person famous for their love of dogs, cats or horses might be able to present a
fascinating animal program for either children or adults. Or they might help
organize a pet show event or a blessing of the animals.
Oddly
enough, active library users are a frequently neglected resource. They are so
absolutely central to the library’s success that they are taken for granted.
Many of them have not contributed to the library, mainly because they have
never been asked. But the library staff in a small library often has the chance
to get to know these people. The library director may know at least part of
them through other community activities. Essential as consumers of library
services, they can also be cultivated as contributors.
COMPUTER
BUFFS
In
every
But
how much the library staff members actively enjoy computers and technology is
partly a matter of chance. If part of them do, the library will benefit
immensely from their involvement. If they don’t, they still have to learn.
However,
every community has individuals who love computer technology. They love searching
the Internet, or they love website design, or they love desktop publishing, or
they love email. They come in all ages. When they can be found and recruited,
these people are worth their weight in gold. There are a number of different
ways that they might choose to help the library.
- They can do extra searching on
difficult reference questions.
- They can serve as tutors for
library staff or volunteers trying to learn new skills.
- They can help the library staff
solve minor computer problems.
- They can help new Internet users
set up e-mail.
- They can participate in classes to
help members of the community learn computer skills.
- They can help maintain the
library’s website.
- They can produce polished,
attractive marketing materials.
Computer
buffs can help the library staff become as technically proficient as they must
be for effective library service. But they can also extend the resources of the
library staff beyond what they would have the time and talents to accomplish by
themselves.
LOCAL ARTISTS
Local
artists, photographers, master gardeners, quilters and other craftsmen are
often delighted to have displays or programs in the library.
While
they should not be repeatedly asked to donate services that they depend on for
their livelihood, they are often willing to give advice in their field and they
are often willing to help with a specific library project in exchange for some
free publicity for their business. Or they may give the library a competitive
price for their services.
SPEAKERS
Excellent
speakers can be recruited by the library. This is easiest to do if they are
members of the library board or members of the Friends of the Library. And they
certainly deserve to be courted for both groups. But they can also be recruited
as a volunteer just for their speaking abilities.
Most
people who are really dynamic speakers are well aware of the fact and proud of
it. If they are not overscheduled, they may be willing to learn about the
public library and the library issues and use their special talent to help the
library with a specific project, such as a building program.
It
is often easier for a good speaker to learn the facts and communicate them than
it is for a poor or nervous speaker to communicate what they know very well. A
two-step process can actually be more effective if time and care are invested
in it.
Clubs
and organizations are often in need of programs. The library is always in need
of more visibility. If the library director or a board member enjoys public
speaking and does it well, the word can be spread, to the benefit of both the
library and the community. Once a track record is established, the individual
may find himself with more speaking engagements than he really wants. But
effective speakers on current library issues are a vital resource to library
marketing campaigns.
FUNDRAISERS
Some
communities have professional fundraisers who may be willing to share their
expertise with the library, although they seldom have a lot of time to spare for
actual projects.
Other
communities have people who have demonstrated skills that are essential to
community fundraising. These include persuasive speaking, effective publicity,
the ability to organize and motivate people, bookkeeping and reporting skills
and a talent for sincere and creative thank-yous. These people can help raise
money or they can help win a bond issue.
Community
fundraising is an excellent marketing tool. Asking people for money is a fine
opportunity to make them aware of the library’s needs and the library’s
problems AND what the library has to offer.
Many
educated community leaders still have no real knowledge of the costs of books,
magazines, videos, audiobooks, CD-Roms or computer software. Small towns don’t
usually have the lavish bookstores that attract active readers and make them
all too sadly aware of the cost of books. People who feel the library’s
financial pain are much more likely to turn into library supporters even if
they aren’t in a position to contribute large sums of money.
MEMBERS OF
THE TARGET AUDIENCE
If
you want to do something for a target audience, it makes sense to talk to
people who are members of that audience. It makes sense but it is inexplicably
neglected over and over again. Librarians who want to serve elders don’t talk
to senior citizens. Librarians flounder helplessly trying to serve young adults
because they don’t know any real teenagers. Librarians trying to plan for
Librarians
who don’t like mysteries or westerns are buying mysteries and westerns for
people who love them. A few avid genre readers can communicate a great deal of
information, as well as their lively enjoyment.
If
the library staff and board want to serve people well, those people have to be
understood, as people rather than statistics. The staff can meet with
individuals or groups, formally or informally, at the library or elsewhere in
the community. It is easiest to consult with people the library staff has come
to know, either because they are in the library or because of other community
groups and activities.
It
is much harder to talk to people who are not active public library users. If
the library staff has no natural contacts within a group the library wants to
serve, it may be necessary to search for people who can act as liaisons. These
might include respected ministers, teachers, physicians, employers, social
service people or local celebrities.
CONCLUSION
The
public library is there to serve the entire community. The people of the
community are of supreme importance to the public library. But many public
library directors have thought only in terms of how they can offer the best
possible service TO the community. They have not given enough thought or
planning to the incredible richness that can come to the library FROM the
community.
When
the library staff and board look at the community residents as both consumers
and contributors, the library’s ability to offer excellent service is greatly
extended.
The public
library is a user-friendly public agency. It belongs to the people who choose
to use it in a very personal way. They know that an excellent public library
makes the community a better place to live. And many of them will be genuinely
pleased if they can help.