Strengths

 

 ****staff: friendly, resourceful, go the extra mile, collaborative/good referral system, work well with other ACPL staff, flexible, computer savvy, take time with patrons

? genealogy sources: obituaries, free service, refer to other genealogical experts

 legal resources, esp. forms

 community information center/referral center/knowledgeable about Laramie

 social service binder- clearinghouse

 visits to other Laramie resources (WyoTech, Law Library, etc.)

 leisure reading for Laramie

 20% of valuable collections (duplicate Consumer Reports) – what did we mean here?

 Responsive to local requests

 Presumption that the patron is right – treat with respect

 Remote reference: e-mail nationwide, larger Albany County

 Excellent magazine collection and comfortable browsing area

 No Internet restrictions: no signup, no filtering

 

 

 

Weaknesses

 

 ***Outdated computers, collections, furniture, library building

 too few hours for reference staff to do programming (children’s = 90; AS = 69) cramped reference office; no storage, hottest office



 shabby surroundings/bad lighting/ NO AIR CONDITIONING

 lack of full time IT support

 reference desk not warm and fuzzy (approachable or inviting), cluttered, too tall!

 Too many signs, still

 No dedicated display space (or space at all…)

 Desperately need shelf reading/inventory; too infrequent

 Weak signage – collections and services not obvious

 Lack of promotion of databases

 No training space (or equipment) for patrons

 No conference room for staff/need permanent seating & tables

 Need special sections for high interest topics like genealogy, car repair, gardening, etc.

 AV collection too small: movies and audiobooks

 Need better library car!

 

 

Opportunities

 

 p.r. to larger Laramie community – about collections and services. Esp. to Hispanic community and UW

 new foundation CEO position – Paul Heimer in position

 UW – intellectual community/speakers/collections expertise/possible classes (esp. on YA topics)

 McMurry grant funding – increase staff skills

 “friendraising” as outcome of our good public service

 book groups – informal, not just formally organized ones

 supportive patrons and volunteers (advocates)

 volunteers and alternative service persons (labor!)

 

 

 

Threats

 

 UW – esp. when Coe Library adds popular reading collection

 Capricious funding sources – ex: city funding reduced by 4/5 in 2005

 Public lack of understanding of what library is/does

 Sometimes lack of support from Board for improvements, staff communication

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kathy Marquis, Ruth Hitchcock, Heather Clayton

 

We began with these questions:

 

 Adult Services - the big picture: what's missing?

 

 -- If we could provide more services, what would they be?

 

 -- Kathy's hobbyhorse, the statewide databases: what could we do to

promote them more?

 

 what are the pros and cons of *one* main public service point for the library - combining reference and circulation? (Children's would stay separate)

 

 -- Older Adult Services and Young Adult Services - where would we go with these two aspects of Adult Services, if we could?*

 

 the "Adult" side of the library - how would we rearrange it if we could? (I'll have some rough maps we can draw on)

 

 

*these two areas really deserve their own retreat, but I didn't want to leave them out as they are part of the Adult Services department's mandate.

 

 

 

 

 

Results of the retreat:

 

 

 

Pros and cons of one service point (combining reference and circulation as one public service point)

 

• Pro – encourage people to get help; they more often to talk to the circ staff; they would feel comfortable just asking questions while they were there

• Follows natural inclination to ask questions from first big desk with staff

• Helps eliminate forbidding librarian stereotype

• Model would be three points of service – 2 checkout and one information (“reference” staffer would handle quick checkouts as needed but not have a line – have to think about how to manage this – so always available for information queries to be referred to them).

• Locate all this at current Circ desk (reference collection might even be more visible if the reference desk weren’t “guarding” it (and hiding it).

• Formalize relationship between circ and reference so that circ feels comfortable answering basic questions, but also when to refer. Need to have better cross training if this were implemented.

• We discussed the issue of combining staffs: we didn’t favor it, at least at present; reference staff still needs more extensive training; Maybe future split would be public service and programming/collection development

• Might allow us to implement roving reference at some times during the day; we could make this part of our computer assistance or monitoring (other libraries have a dedicated staff person who monitors and assists computer use).

• We discussed the concept of greeters – however not all patrons like this, larger libraries need them to guide patrons to right part of library, but we are small enough not to need this

 

• Con – melding staff and long lines?

 

• YA and OA implications: maybe more use of reference service by teens if it was at Circ desk?

• We are concerned that the Circ desk is often unstaffed leaving patrons confused. It practically advertises that it’s easy to steal our materials. **we need to set off alarm on a regular basis. This is just not happening at all. How can we make this happen?

 

Other services:

 

Adult programming – more at the noon hour

• Book talks? New books with sack lunch?

• Recruit new Friends group to do adult programming

• Or – we could be a programming clearinghouse instead – no one is doing this for Laramie

• Training: one on one works best for the clueless; Eppson Center has four computers available – could we offer classes there?

 

Hire Nancy to teach =- for what fee? How much to charge patrons to help defray cost? Could we get grant to improve computer literacy in our community? (KM will talk with Paul)

We are the digital divide – every day help those who must go online to apply for jobs, fill out applications, get their credit scores but have no idea how to do this

Teton County has a good training program we have info on. LCCC has classes.

 

Info stands (racks currently by Circ Desk, not very obvious to patrons) – one back by computers and one in browsing area – and reference would manage them.

 

Entryway: very dark – take control of community bulletin board – on back of library bulletin board? Need sign saying that flyers and signs need our approval before they can be posted.

 

Brochure/informational flyers – have Tara design – and work on?

• Ones to expand with: how to get your credit report / how to create a free e-mail account

• We already have: how to access online databases at home, get started using a computer, working on how to manage your WYLD account

 

Shelf end display units – get them now! (KM will look into this)

 

Bookshelves – need slanted shelves for paperbacks that aren’t on spinney racks, and for all bottom shelves.

 

Staff expertise – an untapped resource

• Feature staff people and their specialties – where? In the newsletter?

• Back of the bulletin board – Specialists in the library? Or on the brick wall near the entrance? -or one at a time in display holders?

• Or – on display rack with “staff picks”

 

Rearrangement of Adult Services areas (map forthcoming)

 

Switch YA and Older Adult (LP) areas. We have been mulling this for some time. It would allow Older Adults to sit in a better lit area, near where many gather to read magazines and chat. It would also recognize that teens would prefer not to be under constant observation, and have naturally congregated in the Adult non-fiction areas, particularly at the table and couches there.

 

What would need to be done:

 

New YA area: Move the shelves with last section of adult biographies (R-Z?) to the other side of the seating area. This would more clearly define the YA area. The rug, bean bags, couches, and two computer tables would move to the center of the area. The YA collection could be accommodated with only the remaining bookshelves along the east and north walls of that area.

 

New LP area: The remaining (former) Oversize shelf would be moved to the new LP area. It would partially divide the LP from the browsing area (see map). The long rectangular table used by tutoring groups from the Adult NF area would move here. It would probably also be used by happy older newspaper readers who have asked for more table space for this.

 

Rearrangement of adult materials: currently, valuable shelving “real estate,” most accessible to patrons and directly on the way to the one-hour computer hotspot, is being used for less essential materials: older magazines, reshelving and discards. We propose the following:

• Switch mysteries and older magazines, moving the ever-popular mysteries out of their “back of the library” area.

• Switch westerns and science fiction (bringing sci fi closer to those who use the Internet, a logical pairing).

• Move reshelving and discards in between older magazines and westerns on north wall (or move westerns to middle and reshelving and discards to far right – either is OK.)

 

 

Database promotion

 

• Start in schools – so students will get used to using them (start with in-service for teachers?)

• Consumer Reports is a quick way in: show patrons how to use EBSCO to search these and they’re hooked!

• Showboat resources in our databases via Ask a Librarian – make an effort to do this

• Create a flyer on what databases can do for you

• Big poster showing what databases can answer for you – focus on solutions it finds, not questions to ask and definitely not “this is what is in this database or how it’s structured.”

• PR catchphrases to try: “Information Vault” “Information Treasure Chest” “Novelist Has Your Answers”

• On a poster and/or the website: Treasure Chest with links to questions that can be answered with each database

Your tax dollars are bringing you…

I found it @ the library…

• If automotive database becomes part of our statewide database suite, use that as a foundation for campaign

• Work with Corneil on this campaign

 

 

 

YA ideas

 

• Problem still with keeping area for teens only

• Biggest problem is with mom tutoring kids there. Arrange desks and tables in ANF area more attractively for talking/tutoring groups (ask Children’s about their table) – too noisy for tutoring?

- need patron conference room(s) in new building for conference/tutoring areas

- one for teens, too, with computers

• staffing ideas – take hours from adult service reference? If we did that, we would dedicate those hours to YA reference, though Ruth says it’s best when she’s roving, not in a fixed place (“watching them”)

• need more materials money – esp. for things that run in series and you need them all

• outreach in the schools and other organizations (churches, FFA, 4-H, etc.) would be wonderful, if we could do more

 

 

 

Older Adult ideas

 

• Increased role in assisting activity directors in planning programs. Eppson is a strong part of the community but other senior housing activities directors could use help. We could have more planning materials at the library, like Bi-Folkal kits, etc. (like Children’s Professional Shelf with activities, also advising them, showcasing our materials).

 

• Making library more physically accessible, especially front doors – where are we on this?