May 08, 2012
Where is the Hospitality in Your Library?
Looking at the issue of Hospitality in one's library has been a recent subject of mine. I have given brief presentations on this topic at the Charleston Conference and the ABLD joint meeting last month (for business library directors).
On Friday, my colleague Tom Marini and I will be giving an expanded presentation on this subject. One of the important things that I wanted to look at was not just how to bring hospitality into the library, but how to do it when the budget is not working in your favor. When librarians at huge academic libraries like Michigan, Chicago, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Illinois, etc. talk about innovation and new services/programs, people can think that it is possible only because of large budgets and the good fortune of having a large operation. So what I wanted to do was to start to look at the hospitality services that we provide here at Kresge Business Administration Library that people can implement with modest or fundamentally no cost. This is a real takeaway that I think all librarians can use. It is not even a matter of people saying - "we can do this in our library" - but more along the lines that not all services have a price-tag. Additionally, sometimes its the little things that get people thinking differently about a service organization like the library. And lots of small things that are beneficial can really get people to appreciate and love (yep - LOVE) the library.
Here are the presentations (all in Deep Blue, the University of Michigan's institutional repository.
Title: Where is the Hospitality in Your Library? Developing and Improving Services with the Patron in Mind. (Michigan Library Association's Academic Libraries 2012)
Authors: Corey Seeman & Tom Marini (Kresge Library)
NOTE: This is the most recent version of the presentation. This is where I am starting to develop a notion of what we can do to bring hospitality into our library with little or no cost. That is a very significant issue when large libraries share what they are able to do. That is not always transferable to medium sized or smaller libraries. So I want to look more specifically at that notion as I build this thought out.
--older presentations on hospitality --
Title: Where is the Hospitality in Your Library? (Original presentation at Charleston Conference, November 2011)
Authors: Seeman, Corey
Abstract: In the library and information fields, we spend countless hours focusing on making our world a more self-service environment. While many students and faculty much prefer to work independently and easily find resources on their own, we have placed our emphasis on creating a self-service environment that removes the “middle man” from the information equation. And with the move that many have made away from conventional reference desks and reference service, we can (at times) look more like self-check express lanes at the grocery stores than like the libraries that we used to be. And while our patrons most certainly enjoy accessing resources in an unmediated fashion, there are many instances (especially with more difficult research projects) where they do need assistance with finding print and electronic resources. This presentation takes a brief look at how we have used the methods from the hospitality industry at the Kresge Business Administration Library (University of Michigan) to ensure that we are not only meeting the information needs of our patrons, but also being available to assist them when it is needed. In this presentation, we will discuss the role of public service in the library and how the lessons on the hospitality industry can improve our interaction with the patrons. We hope that attendees will be able to take away some tangible hospitality methods that have worked, as well as those that did not work. In focusing on hospitality, it allows us to think in a whole new fashion for the services that we provide.
Title: Where is the Hospitality in Your Library? (expanded presentation for a workshop with a group of librarians in Texas)
Same abstract as above.
I want to use this to get more discussion and works on this subject. This can be a real game changers for academic libraries!
This entry was posted in the following categories: LibrarianshipPosted by cseeman at 02:22 PM | Comments (0)
April 11, 2012
Library Service for watching personal belongings?
There was recently a great question asked of the ULS-L list about providing a library service for watching personal belongings.
This is part of the question posed by a librarian at the University of Texas:
"For the last year or so, we’ve been brainstorming potential ways to provide students with a safe and reliable service that would allow them to leave their personal belongings behind while they ran to the restroom or grabbed a coffee. We have a 6-floor main library and seats with access to power outlets are highly treasured, so students studying alone never want to deal with giving up their spot for a quick errand. The building is one of the easiest targets for thieves on campus and laptops left behind for just a moments are easily stolen. "
--end--
This is my response - thought it would be good to share via my blog as well.
There is a really good discussion about this on the list and I think it is an important consideration for libraries. Shortly after this was posted to the list, we received a message from University security that addressed this issue:
--snip--
Thefts of unattended belongings on the University of Michigan campus significantly have increased in the first three months of 2012 compared with 2011. U-M Police remind students, faculty and staff to secure their valuables at all times.
From January 1 to March 31, 2012, the U-M Department of Public Safety received 190 reports of larcenies, a 32% increase from 144 reported in the same time period in 2011. Most larcenies are thefts of unattended belongings. Of the 190 larcenies this year, 38 laptops and 27 cell phones were reported stolen.
Be sure to reduce the opportunities for thefts by not leaving laptops, wallets, cell phones, purses, backbacks and bookbags unattended even for a couple of minutes. It takes less than a minute for a thief to take your belongings.
--end—
The issue is that many students are both very comfortable in a library and very distracted – which leads to leaving material around. This leads to thefts.
At Kresge Library (an independent library at the University of Michigan) we rolled out a similar coat/bag check program in the Winter of 2011. The funny thing is that we expected (like with many services that we rolled out) that it would take a while for people to learn about it and that we could handle the added work load. Much to our surprise, there was immediate interest in the service and we found that we did not have the capacity to handle all the demand. The problem that was happening (from my POV) is that students were handing material to the Reference Librarians (we share a large desk with the circulation operations). It became a real problem when we were working with students to have others drop their bags off and interrupt our reference meeting. At the end, we decided that while this was a good service, we just did not have the staff to manage the operations. As I tend to roll out programs, we see everything as a pilot, moving flexibly to make sure that it is indeed something that is needed and we could support it. Here is a case where we did not feel we could support it properly and pulled the plug.
In regards to the liability issue (what if something is lost or stolen while under our care), we did not have an issue, though we realized the possibility of this happening. We did not run the service long enough to run into any problems. It is possible that we were lucky or maybe this issues might not have come to pass. But the reality is out there and certainly one that we needed to be aware about.
This is what I wrote about it in the 2011 Kresge Library Annual Report:
--snip--
Another program proved to be too great an imposition on Kresge staff and was not continued. Kresge Staff had noticed that during interview season, many students left their backpacks and jackets unattended while interviewing in the suites at Kresge
Library. The result is that some students have had items stolen when they left them unattended. In an effort to come up with a way to help prevent theft, we proposed a coat check behind the circulation desk for students during their interview. While many
programs take months or years to develop a following, this took off right from the start. The problem was that it became a major distraction at the circulation and reference desks that led to interruptions to our key library services. For example, it was very
difficult to manage a reference interview at the desk when someone is dropping off boots prior to an interview. So with this service, we determined that despite a successful pilot program, we did not have the space or the staff to adequately support this role. The
program has not been brought back for the 2011-2012 academic year.
--end—
In closing, I believe a great deal in providing patron-driven services (something I am working on) in a welcoming, hospitable and safe environment. If there is something that we can do to ensure that students are safe and their belongings are as well, then it is something to consider. With this particular service, we discovered the need greater than our abilities.
Posted by cseeman at 12:46 PM | Comments (0)
April 10, 2012
Groupon Math (or why I am sick of it)
Just updated this with something I forgot....
Wow...I just had a completely crappy experience with a Groupon purchased for a local Domino's Pizza. Kinda turning me off on this whole industry (especially with being bombarded by Living Social and Google Offers.
So for $10, I purchased $20 worth of Domino's Pizza. Seems like a good deal. But the math works against you. If you spend exactly $20, then your meal is 50% off. But every penny that you spend over that, the discount is diminished.
But when I got there - they said that no coupons applied on this particular offer. WTF? I was ordering the following menu items:
Quantity Description Amount
Large (14") Brooklyn Pizza
Whole: No Robust Inspired Tomato Sauce, Cheese, Hearty Marinara Sauce, Black Olives, Green Peppers, Mushrooms
$7.99
Tuscan Salami & Roasted Veggie
Options: White Sauce, Cheese, Onions, Banana Peppers, Roasted Red Peppers, Spinach, Salami
$7.99
32-Piece Parmesan Bread Bites
$5.00
Side Marinara Sauce Dipping Cup (Thanks for not including this with the bread bites)
$0.50
Coupon Used: Large 3-Topping Pizza. Carryout Only. Available Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday Only.
Food & Bev Total: $21.48
Tax: $1.29
Total: $22.77
So this seemed pretty good - $22.77 worth of food for $12.77 - that is a discount of 44% - not bad.
BUT WAIT....I was told that if I am using a Groupon - it is MENU PRICES. So the Coupon that they are advertising all over creation went away and the cost went to around $27. Hmm...So I am get $27 is food for around $17 - and my discount dropped to 37%. But in reality, I am still getting around $23 worth of food - because I would have been able to use a coupon.... so when I factor that in, the real discount is only around 26%. As my beagle Flapjack would say....whoop-di-doo!
To add insult to injury, the Groupon Fine Print did not mention this at all:
The Fine Print
Expires Oct 3, 2012
Limit 2 per person. Limit 1 per table. Not valid for the purchase of alcohol. Not valid for online ordering. Carryout and delivery only. Delivery fee not included. Must purchase 1 food item. Must use promotional value in 1 visit. See the rules that apply to all deals.
So long story short - Super-disappointed - not going to jump on one of these again for a while.
Should have cooked dinner at home.
This entry was posted in the following categories: Completely Off Topic!Posted by cseeman at 06:38 PM | Comments (0)
March 19, 2012
Early Spring in Ann Arbor - Or About Those Wildflowers by Martha Cook Hall
On my daily walks across campus, I am never without my camera. And if you are into squirrels and think they are cute - then you might appreciate my ridiculously large number of photos that I have to share via flickr on this matter (All my Michigan Squirrel photos here).
But on my walk today - I noticed that the blue wildflowers that grow on the eastern side of the Cook Hall yard (think that is what it is called) are already up.
Here are all the wildflower photos from today (Monday March 19, 2012).
It got me thinking about previous years and when these came up. They are up just a short while and are so beautiful, especially when looking at the old iron gate that serves as a boundary marker.
In looking through my old photos - I found that the same flowers bloomed much much later (well, around 3 weeks) in recent years.
Here is April 9, 2009:
Here is April 12, 2011:
So it looks like these flowers are about three weeks ahead of themselves. Please keep in mind that the sample set is tiny and probably does not mean much. But one of the benefits of participating in flickr's Project365 (here are my photos) is that I have a really clear track to know when these things really happen. Otherwise, I might just muse...hey - these are coming up early.
Not sure what this means for the rest of the growing season in Michigan, but this is going to be a strange summer indeed.
Even this Chipmunk cannot believe what he is seeing:
Posted by cseeman at 12:50 PM | Comments (0)
February 14, 2012
Romance of the Ranchos (A Valentine's Day Treat from Old Time Radio programs)
There are so many ways to celebrate Valentine's Day this yearm, but this is probably not the one that comes to mind. I have wanted to share some links to the historical drama, Romance of the Ranchos for some time. This seems to be a favorite of Greg Bell and I have heard it a great deal on Greg Bell's Old time radio channel (#82) on Sirius/XM or via the Internet Archive.
Romance of the Ranchos is not about romance (per se), but about the early settlers of California. The programs (recorded in 1941 and 1942) bring to life the true life records of the Title Insurance and Trust Company of Los Angeles and featured Frank Graham, the "wandering vaquero of "Romance of Ranchos." These accounts of the early settlers in California are pretty good, and are one of my favorite historical series that I can listen to via Old Time Radio. For more information, see this great article from the Digital Deli.
So maybe not the romance that you are looking for on Valentine's Day, but some pretty cool historical depictions of life in early California.
This entry was posted in the following categories: Old Time RadioPosted by cseeman at 11:15 AM | Comments (0)
