PVLD Director's Blog

PVLD recommends?

Last week I had the privilege of spending some time with Joan Frye Williams and George Needham.  One of the things we talked about was whether librarians' strongly-held professional values of patron privacy and confidentiality are causing us to miss an opportunity to use the data we have collected in our computer systems to deliver better and more focused services.

The very next day the Travelin' Librarian psoted this picture on his blog:

 

Since I work in a library and have access to the fabulous book sales organized by our Friends of the Library I haven't been inside a Barnes and Noble in years, so maybe this is old news, but my first thought was "Wouldn't it be cool ifthe library could deliver this kind of personalized recommendation to our patrons?"

Right now we simply don't have access to the kind of algorithms that would make this possible, but even if we did I suspect many librarians would shy away from this kind of personalized recommendation as compromising patron confidentiality.

Personally I love getting these kinds of recommendations from businesses that I frequent.  Sometimes the algorithm is a bit off and the suggestions aren't really a propos for me, but even then often they lead me down a new path of discovery.   

I'd love to know what the readers of this blog think.  What if the library could offer you personalized reading suggestions based on your checkout history?  Would that be of interest?  Would you worry about your privacy?  If privacy is a concern would being able to "opt out" address it?  Comments, please!

The best laid plans, or this is your elevator calling

About 3 weeks ago PVLD launched a new customer service effort to try to ensure that people who call the library during our open hours with a question about library services or their library account get to talk to a real person rather than, as was happening all too often, being sent to voicemail.  

The basic goal is to heed this advice from Nicholas Bate - "be easy to speak to, all the time, every time". 

The challenge was that, after exploring many different options, we found it impossible to provide the desired level of telephone service within the constraint of our current staffing levels without adversely affecting the face-to-face service we provide to customers within the library.

The solution we have implemented on a pilot basis is to have most incoming calls directed to a call center operated by our long-time business partner, Unique Management Services, whose trained staff can deal with many basic questions or redirect the call back to PVLD employees as appropriate.  It is a brand new service for Unique, and we are their very first customers, so there are a few kinks still to be worked out, but so far it seems to be delivering the desired outcomes in terms of enhanced customer service. 

At least, as we discovered today, it is delivering the desired outcomes for those customers who call the library's actual telephone number.  What we learned today is that, depending on how someone looks up our number they may not get an answser at all.

The back story is that nearly a year ago the newly hired Development Director for the Peninsula Friends of the Library reported that when she got into the elevator that services our back-office staff areas someone was talking through the elevators speakers as if they were calling the library, saying "hello? hello? is anyone there?"  A library volunteer then chimed in that she had had the same experience in the public elevator.  Our maintenance staff checked all of the wiring and tested the elevators' communication systems but could not identify what caused this mysterious problem.

Months have passed, and no more was heard of this issue until today when James Davis of our maintenance staff got into the elevator only to hear "hello?  hello? is anyone there?"  James knows how to operate the elevator communication system, so he was able to talk back to the person whose voice he heard.  What he learned?  This customer had looked up the library number using the "Yellow Book" yellow pages.

James went online to yellowbook.com, searched for PVLD, and discovered nearly two pages of phone numbers almost none of which go to phones that people actually answer!  When he called the first number listed it indeed went to the telephone line dedicated to emergency communication with people who might be trapped in the elevator.  The next couple of numbers were for fax machines, and then there was one that is used to generate telephone notices to tell customers about overdue items or holds that are ready for pick up.  The only one on the list that might occasionally be answered was for the book sale room, which is staffed by volunteers who aren't always there and don't necessarily answer the phone if they are.  The main library number wasn't even on the list!

Now we are wondering how many people have tried to call us using one of the listed numbers and gotten no response.

Our IT Manager is contacting yellowpages.com to correct their information, but yellowpages.com obviously just data mines the telephone company's account information and lists whatever numbers it finds without any analysis and we we have to wonder how many other directory services do the same.  The good news is that a Google search for "Palos Verdes Library District" or "PVLD" gives the correct library information as the first hit, so hopefully the problem isn't too widespread.

Just goes to show that no matter how hard you try to do something, you don't always know where the weak link is going to be. 

Thank you James for solving this mystery, and apologies to anyone who thought they were calling the library when they were actually calling our elevator!

 

 

This made my day!

Just came across this review of our Peninsula Center Library on Yelp.  Great work staff!

Netflix Customer Service - what our competition is up to

I've written before about Netflix and whether a Netflix-style service and/or fee structure could be implemented by libraries, but my husband and I only became Netflix customers ourselves about a month ago. 

We both work in public libraries, so it is not as if we don't have access to free/low-cost (PVLD charges a modest rental fee for movies and my husband's library supplements its movie collection with a rental collection purchased by the Friends of the Library) but even library insiders like us found many shortcomings with using the library as our source of movie entertainment.  If we just browsed the shelves often we found that recent titles we wanted to see were checked out, and if we placed items on hold they invariably became available at a time when we could not watch them.  Add to that the difficulty of finding TV series discs in the order in which they should be viewed and we decided to take the plunge and try Netflix.

We signed up for the "one movie at a time" plan (we can have one movie at a time, but unlimited movies in a month) and despite initial concerns about how to manage our "queue" of requested movies so that got titles when we were in the mood to see that particular move so far our expectations have been exceeded.

Netflix' back-end systems and arrangements with the post office mean that it is usually only 2 to 3 days from the time we drop one disc into the mail until we receive the next.  We can drop a movie into a neighborhood mailbox on Saturday, get an email time-stamped on Sunday that it has been received, and have the next movie arrive on Monday!  One time we got an email survey asking us to tell them when a movie had arrived, and it had arrived the day BEFORE the earliest date indicated on the survey!

We also have always been able to get the item at the top of our queue when we wanted it.  I can only assume that Netflix' inventory is both broad and deep.

Finally, we had an experience this week that made me realize that Netflix has paid as much attention to its customer service systems as it has to its inventory and delivery systems.  On Saturday morning I dropped a Netflix envelope containing the last DVD we had watched into our usual neighborhood mailbox.  On Monday morning we received an email from Netflix saying that they had received the envelope and DVD sleeve, but no DVD.  The email gave an online option for reporting a lost DVD, aND also a six-digit code to be used when calling customer service.  I was certain that the DVD had been in the envelope when I dropped it in the mailbox, so I called their customer service number.  The recorded message said the wait time would be up to five minutes, but that if I entered the six digit code it would be shorter.  I entered the code, and a live US-based operator came on the line within a minute.  I told him that I was sure I had mailed the DVD, he responded that it was "no problem, sometimes things go missing in transit" and told me he would report the DVD as missing and then go ahead and send the next item in our queue.

Almost immediately I got an email saying

We're sorry to hear that Herb and Dorothy was lost in the mail. Unfortunately discs do go missing during shipment from time to time, so it is our policy to accommodate for the occasional disc lost during shipment. According to our records, you have reported the following disc(s) as lost in the mail:

Date Reported  Title

03/01/10   Herb and Dorothy

If we receive any of these movie(s) from the post office, we'll let you know as soon as they arrive.

If you've requested a replacement copy, it will be shipped to you as soon as possible, otherwise, your next movie should be on its way soon. We apologize for the inconvenience.

-The Netflix Team

Within five minutes the issue was handled.  No need for lengthy explanations, no delaying our next movie until this issue was resolved, no "lost item" charge, no making me feel like I was the one who had done wrong. 

I think it will be some time before we have library systems that are capable of handling the logistics of a true Netflix-style service, and I question whether the needed investment in technology, inventory and delivery mechanisms will ever make it financially feasible in the public-library environment....BUT I do think we could learn a thing or two about customer service from how Netflix handled my issue.

What if our default position was NOT to charge for a lost item?  What if every time a customer reported a lost item they got a nice email like the one above?  What if instead calling a missing item a "Claims returned" implying the customer is claiming one thing but we don't really believe it we called it "gone missing" or some other term that reflects the likelihood that the problem is ours not the customers?

Food for thought....

Innovation on a Shoestring

Last fall I had the privilege of serving as a mentor for the Eureka Leadership Program for emerging California library leaders.  During the residential leadership institute that kicks off the program participants work in small teams to build leadership skills through action learning, exercises, and case studies.  During one of the exercises the team that I was working with came up with an idea for a mobile library cart to enable library services to be delivered and promoted at locations throughout a community.

Today our Eureka team got an email from team member Thomas Vose, the Manager of the Lake Elsinore Public Library in the Riverside County Library System.  Thomas had taken that idea of a mobile library cart and turned it into a reality -

This picture shows the cart at its debut at a local outlet mall.  Thomas reported that people were able to sign up for library cards and check out materials, and that he plans to take the cart to the local Senior Center and park, and to an upcoming Children's Fair in the community.

Apart from being proud of Thomas for grabbing onto a good idea and making it a reality, I love that he was able to implement it at virtually no cost using equipment that the library already owned....a standard book cart and book bins, a laptop computer, and a simple signage stand. You can see how it could be expanded for a larger event just by adding more carts of library materials.

What a great way to expand the reach of the library and build community support - and all it took was some iniative and ingenuity.  Now you know why Thomas is an emerging library leader!

Text messaging the library

I'm at the Internet Librarian conference for the first time.  It's an annual gathering of librarians and others interested in technology and its application in libraries and despite my initial hesitation that it might be too "techie" for me, I'm getting some great ideas.

The last session by Nancy Dowd, Director of Marketing for the New Jersey State Library was about how New Jersey libraries are using text messaging to reach out to different segments of the community.

At PVLD we've talked about using text messaging as another communications tool for hold notifications and other circulation/catalog driven messages, but we haven't really talked about it as a marketing tool.

The New Jersey libraries are using what Nancy called a "boutique" text messaging service called Gold Mobile  to enable them to send, receive, and manage very targeted text messages at a cost of about $50/month/library.  The service itself looked very simple to use, with a web-based tool that library staff can use to compose and send messages and build /manage databases of subscribers to different types of messages.

Some of the ways the New Jersey libraries are using the service include -

• Sending Spanish-language information about library services to Latino community members who were hesitant to approach "Anglo" staff members. 
• Providing program information and reminders to teens, who are notoriously high users of text messaging, and also were prone to forget about upcoming teen activities
• Acknowleding how difficult it is for parents to participate in normal-length adult programs by conducting 10-15 minute long mini-programs on topics of interest to parents and then asking them to sign up to receive more information about that topic (e.g. information snippets, links to websites or books in the catalog) by text message.
• Sending text reminders of upcoming programs to  anyone who signs up to receive them.  This  one particularly struck me because one of the strongest requests from the focus groups we recently conducted was for reminders of upcoming programs a day or two before they take place  and it seems that text messaging might help us achieve that.
• Sending text-message mini-surveys with just one simple question.
• Asking people to send a text message to the library's text message code for a chance to win a prize as a way of building the library's text message contact database.

Nancy also gave examples of some interesting ways that businesses are using text-messaging as a marketing tool.  For example, Pottery Barn partnered with Barnes and Noble to reach out to college students.  They placed posters with an image of a comfortable Pottery Barn chair suitable for dorm rooms or apartments in Barnes and Noble stores near large colleges and universities with the message "Text 78709 for a chance to win this chair".  What a great way to build a list of people who might be interested in your product.

Nancy made it clear that text-messaging is not a panacea.  You need to make people aware that if they don't have unlimited messaging on their cell phone plan the messages could cost them.  You also need to have a targeted and compelling reason for people to sign up, based on their real needs and wants.  She also noted that success does not come overnight.  The New Jersey libraries have used pilot projects and trial and error to find what works.  They also have learned that it takes time for people to "catch on" so you need to be patient.

Caveats notwithstanding I can see how this might be a useful tool for PVLD as we work to improve how we market our services.  What do you think?  Would you sign up?

Feedback to Warm a Library Director's heart

We have a terrific staff here at PVLD, and they work very hard to provide outstanding service to our customers.  Despite our best efforts we occasionally slip up, and when we do it's usually pointed out pretty quickly. The same isn't always true when it comes to incidents of great service.  That's why three messages I received today were so appreciated.

The first was an email from a customer who had been helped by Young Readers Librarian Linda Flint which said -

Thanks very much for the detailed feedback. I appreciate your department's thorough consideration of my request.

 

I am grateful to know of the support for Early Literacy Skills through programs offered by the library and look forward to taking part in some of them.

 

I thank you also for the compilation of the existing library DVDs that support early reading skills.

 

I appreciate your time and efforts on my behalf and the openness of your Department in treating the inquiries of a patron. Not only that, but your second effort to provide me with some helpful alternatives is much appreciated.

 

I am sharing this e-mail with the director of the library so that she will be aware that you, Ms. Flint, and your Department headed by Ms. Henry are functioning at a high level and serving the interests of the patrons of the library.

 

That was followed by an email from a library "regular" with glowing praise for a classical music concert organized by our newest librarian, Ashley Burdick.

 

And if that weren't enough, late this afternoon I received a voicemail from a very appreciative customer who had through a series of unfortunate circumstances racked up a substantial bill for a lost book, which she subsequently found.  Unemployed, desparately seeking a job, and in difficult financial circumstances she called to see if she could get any relief from having to pay the full amount owed the library.  Assistant Circulation Manager Melissa Little was able (within our policy framework) to assist her, and you could tell from the emotion in her voice how meaningful this was as she told me that she thinks the Palos Verdes Library District is "the best ever".

 

Of course Linda, Ashley, and Melissa are only three of 80 outstanding employees, every one of whom contributes to providing great service to our customers but few of whom get recognized....but I am very grateful for them all. 

 

The saying "people are our most important resource" has become a cliche, but it really is true.  That's why as we face our budget challenges I will be doing everything in my power to make sure that we don't take actions that cause damage to what I think is our most valuable asset - the employees who work so hard to provide outstanding library services to our community.

 

 

Libraries as "Homes For Ingenuity"

It's Friday afternoon. At PVLD that means casual dress and fewer meetings than most other days.  Don't know whether its the jeans or the "free" time, but I also find that Fridays are a good day to let my mind wander a bit from the day-to-day demands of running the library. 

I'd saved this article from PC World a few weeks ago, and when I read it again it really caught my fancy.  Don't you just love the idea of public libraries as "homes for the human imagination" with the library staff (and volunteers and or even customers) sharing their special knowledge and talents? Of the library as a hive of creative energy and activity? 

Read the article and see if it doesn't get your creative juices flowing...Happy Friday!

The library website as virtual branch....really?

We've invested a lot of time and effort (and a not insignificant amount of money), developing the PVLD website as a "virtual branch" of the library with library services available 24/7 from home or office.  I'm really proud of what our Digital Services team have accomplished in terms of the look and feel of the site, the shift from traditional "databases" to online services such as Value Line, Mango Languages, and Brainfuse, the use of tools like Wordpress blogs and Flickr to both deliver content and make it available via the wider web and not just the library website, and the inclusion of social networking concepts like user reviews and ratings and instant messaging.

And then today I read two blog posts by David Lee King that made me realize how far we still have to go!  The first post asks whether our online question-answering services discriminate against "a growing, younger, web-savvy customer base. Customers who *almost* have all the tools in place to simply ignore you and your grad-degreed, professional information-retrieval services. Especially if they are treated like second class customers when they ask a question using their preferred, and handy, means of communication." when we don't have easy fast ways for them to communicate with us and get timely responses via the web.

David lays out some terrific, but painful (because they hit close to home!) examples of how libraries do this - e.g. by allowing people to email in reference questions, but only committing to answer within 48 hours; by only providing online reference during "normal business hours", etc.  Ouch!  PVLD is guilty as charged -

We don't offer any email reference/question answering service other than via a generic "contact us" web form on our "Contact Us" page that goes to our webmaster regardless of the type of question...and we don't give any indication of how quickly questions submitted via that form will be answered.  My guess is it could be days given that the staff who check the page work mostly Monday to Friday!

In addition to the generic web form the "Contact Us" page gives people the option of emailing the Library Director, or emailing the "website".  Otherwise people can contact various library departments by telephone - definitely not the best option for a generation used to email and text-messaging.  Reviewing this page also made me realize why I get so many questions about overdue books emailed directly to me....I'm pretty much the only option for someone who wants to email a question!

We do offer a "Chat Service" on our home page, but its only available Monday-Thursday from  1-4PM (exactly the hours when our tech-savvy younger customers are in school), and when it's offline there is no obvious alternative way to contact the library.  No wonder it isn't used very much!


That bit of reflection was painful enough, and then I read this companion post on "Doin Stuff At the Library's Website" in which David lists some of the things you can do at the physical library and asks if you can also do them at the library website.  PVLD's website capabilities are noted in italics.

• check out a book  - yes, a limited selection of audio and e-books are available for online checkout, but the process is cumbersome and requires installation of special software
  
• read a book or magazine - books no, magazine articles yes via databases that aren't very easy to use
   
• take notes and do research - no notetaking capability via the website, you can do research using the library databases but it isn't intuitive or easy
  
• put a public PC on reserve for later - no - our software is capable but we only allow reservations to be made from kiosks within the library. Something to revisit.
  
• pester the reference librarian with questions  - see my comments above
  
• check stuff out when I’m done - apart from the downloadable audio and e-books, not really.  You can put things on hold, but you need to come to the library to get them.
   
• attend a training session or a fun program - again, not really.  You can learn a language using Mango Languages or get live homework help from Brainfuse but these aren't really "programs" in the sense David is talking about...we've talked about online video tutorials, webcasting story times, etc. but these remain future dreams

Again, Ouch!  Is our website a great resource - absolutely.  And we actually do offer some of the things David mentions further in his blog post -  you can browse large parts of our collection online, and we do offer RSS feeds - but to call the website a true "virtual branch" is an overstatement.

As I thought about this I realized that the problem is not with our Digital Services team - two guys who have way more on their plate than is reasonable, and who really get what it means to compete in the web 2.0 world.  The real issue is an entire library organization that (understandably given the roots of our profession) is built around delivering services within our buildings.  Interacting with customers online is treated as an "extra" ...something to do after we've made sure the reference desk is staffed, the physical collection is maintained, and the in-library programs are developed. 

While I absolutely believe that the physical library is both important and in no danger of becoming irrelevent any time soon, like David Lee King I also worry that if we don't find a way to stretch our resources to serve people as effectively using the Internet as we do in the library itself we run the risk of becoming irrelevant to new generations of potential customers.  I'd hate for the library to be having trouble like Borders is having at the same time its online competitor Amazon.com had its best holiday season ever.

This year PVLD will be creating a new 3-year strategic plan, and I can see that figuring out how to truly make our website a virtual branch without diminishing our physical library services is not only going to be essential, it's going to force us to rethink how we do almost everything we do.  Now there's a challenge for 2009!

Empathetic Signage

Two of our Young Readers Librarians also heard Daniel Pink speak at the recent California Library Association and were as taken as I was with the idea of "empathetic signage".  The Young Readers Department happens to be changing its operations to close their reference desk a few minutes before the library closes so they can assist with clearing the library, and CLA attendee Linda Flint saw an opportunity to create an empathetic sign to alert customers, based on the classic children's book Goodnight Moon :

Click here to see the sign - Download Goodnight Library_Rev(3)Flint 

Nice!