Happy new year!
Just a little post today to celebrate the Auckland libraries that we know and love, and to share some thoughts from library users.
Wendy visited all 55 Auckland libraries in 2011 and blogged about it, and she provided a link to a paper about the development of Tupu Youth Library .
Wendy’s blog provides an insight into how users view what we do in readers advisory
In one section, I came across a pamphlet with recommendations for biographies, autobiographies and memoirs. In another, there was a pamphlet for romance novels. These kinds of reviews and suggestions are a great tool for library users. And if you find the book you want is already out, ask a librarian and they’ll be able to help you request the book – with the resources of 55 libraries at the click of a button, I’m sure it doesn’t take long for the book to reach your local branch.
This led me to another blogger, Claire, touring Auckland libraries – need to see about starting an official tour program perhaps 🙂
And here’s the image that I never managed to get while I was over there – Claire’s photo of Robert Sullivan’s poem Kawe Reo used to great effect at Central.
In our survey we looked at evaluation of readers advisory programs. Do we capture what our community thinks and how they are served? It would be good business sense to get this right. How do you engage with your community to ensure your RA programs are making a positive impact? How do you measure impact?
One thing would be to capture the online posts about your library from twitter, blogs, FB, and use them in reports. There are people in your community discussing the library online – that’s a good thing.
A Queensland blogger is touring libraries – if she has visited yours have you included her posts in your library’s reports? That’s something I can start doing (our library gets some good comments on FB and twitter).
project READ with Jo and Alison 