Ultra relevant library

 Libraries Are Struggling to Stay
Relevant Because of the Effects of the
Digitally Driven Technological World
 The Way Libraries Are Being Designed
and Used Is Changing

Relevance
Design Directions
Partnerships
Branding

Tefko Saracevic calls relevance "an elusive,
human notion [that ... i]n its most
fundamental sense, [...] has to do with
effectiveness of communication.“
That's with regard to information, and it‟s not
much of a definition.
Maybe we‟ll know it when we see it…

For a library, establishing relevance draws on a
number of complex factors, among them:
• Creating a unified vision for the community
• Reinvisioning individual roles as librarians, with the
help of leaders like you.
• Reinvisioning integrated services within a shared
space as well as in the digital realm
• Branding as way to communicate value, utility, and
a unique identity
• Integrating technology smartly, with an eye toward
being keeping it accessible and user-friendly.
(Re)Establishing Relevance

And we have a long history of delivering
service in an appropriate, relevant and
equitable manner. Plus, we are eager to
adapt to changing technologies.
WHAT‟S THE PROBLEM?

We know we have
it. Somehwere.
But, the game has
changed….
Recognizing (and manipulating) Value

To serve the user or to get them back into the library to
borrow more books we can count and keep track of so we
can get enough funding so as to not disappear off the face
of the earth?
http://www-i4.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/content/research/projects/sub/bionics/
What really motivates the library to change?
We lure with technology, but
(in a lot of cases) it's an ad
hoc adoption which lacks a
premeditated framework.
Plus, Google is free too.

 We need forge partnerships with content
providers and leverage our POWER to make
sure information is provided in a way that
suits the user.
 We need to be a hub. We need to meet the
information seekers in their domain, not at
our desk.
 We have knowledge and skills. Anyone can
now find information, we need to make it
accessible.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/imjustwalkin/6837625148/sizes/c/in/photostream/

 Libraries Continue To Be Built or
Remodeled, but Design Concepts are
Changing Because of External Technological
Changes

 First, Some Background
◦ Between 1995 and 2002, three hundred and fifty
academic library projects in the US
◦ For the years 2003 to 2008, Christopher Stewart
studied 85 new, stand-alone libraries in the US
◦ In this time period, new academic library size was
approximately 100,000 square feet on average
◦ Community libraries were also being built or
remodeled. These were smaller, about 10,000 to
40,000 square feet

 Libraries Are Still the Focal Point and Symbol
of Academic Life for Most University
Campuses
 Not Just Academic Libraries, but Public
Libraries Are Symbols of Value and Quality
for Towns and Schools

 Library Design and Function Strongly Affected by the Digital
Age
 The Library is No Longer Just a Repository of Books
 Architecture is Now Built Around the Learner
 Libraries Provide Combined Social and Learning Space
◦ Collective learning
◦ Flexible learning environment
◦ Reading rooms
◦ Information commons
◦ Exhibition space
◦ Meeting rooms and collaborative learning
◦ Coffee Bar
 Center for Teaching Information Literacy

The Challenges
Two different cultures, structures, labor groups, and pay scales...
mean different priorities!

• Library leaders
• Library staff
• Communities
• Corporate partners
• Government partners
• Other partner libraries
• Schools
• Required for a cultural shift

• Putting a unified front: integrated reference
and circulation desks

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
A collaboration between the City of San José
and San José State University
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library

• Phoenix Public Library + South Mountain
Community College = South Mountain
Community Library
• Virginia Beach Public Library + Tidewater
Community College Library = VBTCC joint
library
Murvosh, Marta. "Powerful Partnerships. (Cover story)." Library Journal (May 16, 2012)

Envision a space that:
• allows ease of access by community AND
campus
• creating spaces to gravitate to for
-leisure reading
-study
-group activities and noise
(for teens, children, & college
students)
-workshops and meetings
-around-the-clock access

Envision use of materials to:
• dampen acoustical noise
• encourage use of library materials
• encourage collaboration (giant screens)

• In the architectural firm (because this is
another partnership)
• In the ability to "figure it out as the
partnerships develops" (because there are
few models--in fact, inspire a new model)

Insert library services in:
• retail spaces
• parks and leisure areas
• senior centers
• cultural enclaves
• eateries and coffee houses

Self-service technologies -- library services
are possible where they are needed.
Enis, Matt. "HELPING USERS HELP THEMSELVES." Library Journal 137, no. 14
(September 2012)

 The Design Must Be Appropriate, for the
Capital Cost of a Library is Very High
 This is True for a Community Library or an
Academic Library

Capital Costs
 For an Academic Library the Cost Is About $250 to $300
per square foot (2006)
◦ Thus, a 100,000 square foot library would be about $30 million
• Public Libraries Have Similar Costs, Some Even More On a
$ per square foot basis
◦ Range $200/square foot to $726/square foot (Ballard Library in
Seattle)
◦ Therefore a 15,000 square foot branch library would be $4.5
million at $300 per square foot
• If We Look at Cost per Student for Academic Libraries, it is
an Average of $6,000 per Student (some as high as
$32,000 per student!)

 Operating Costs More Difficult to Determine
 2011 Survey by Publisher‟s Communication Group Provides
Relative Breakdown of Library Operating Expenses
◦ Salary is 46%, or about one-half, more or less what we would expect
◦ Operating expenses – 12%, not very high
◦ Materials 42%, of which serials or periodicals are the biggest portion,
27% of the overall operating expense (64% of materials cost).
◦ Books are only 9% of overall operating expenses (22% of material cost)
 Materials Could Be for Print or for Electronic Information
Resources
◦ Nearly 60% of material costs are for electronic media (2010)
◦ In comparison, about 30% for Electronic Information Resources in 2004
– a clear rapid shift
◦ Cost per serial is about $162 per year
◦ Nearly every library takes e-journals. More than half of the journals are
in electronic format only.

Doucett, Elisabeth. Creating Your Library Brand. Chicago: American Library Association, 2008.

LOGO
TAGLINE
SERVICE OR PRODUCT
MEANING
CONSUMER PERCEPTION

JSTOR: „The scholarly journal archive‟
Science Direct „Digital Library of the Future‟
Emerald „information ideas insight‟
For users:
“Emerald is here to make your life easier”
For faculty:
“Emerald‟s aim is simple-to make management
research effortless”

 Story
 Community
 Appeal
 Competition
1985 - 6 domain names registered
2007 - over 91 million domain names registered
(source: www.domaintools.com)

 Redefine
 Value in society
 Traditional role
“Perhaps we should turn our attention away from the electric
library that others have built and focus on the real books and
buildings that made us what we were to begin with…. Or
perhaps not. Perhaps we have new rules to play in the digital
world or old roles to play in a new way. Let‟s think about
that.” ~Steve Coffman (VP, Library Support Services)
 New directions

Participants
Ideal Brand
Brand Audit
Evaluate
Maintain
Web 2.0

 Other brands did it this way:
① Get Personal-Amazon
② Sell Happiness-Coca-Cola
③ Live up to your promise-FedEx
④ Keep it cool (and fun)-Apple
⑤ Design an experience-Target
⑥ Stay consistent-Ford
⑦ Can-do attitude-Nike
⑧ Forge connections-Starbucks
⑨ Serve up the quirky-Southwest
Airlines
⑩ Focus on the customer-Nordstrom

 The Wall Street Journal-2,118,315
(1,566,027 print and 552,288 digital)
 USA Today-1,817,446 (1,701,777 print and
115,669 digital)
 The New York Times-1,586,757 (779,731
print and 807,026 digital)
“As long as news providers give it to them
when they want it, where they want it and
how they want it, they not only will survive
but also thrive.” ~Al Neuharth
http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20120925/OPINION01/209250318/Al-Neuharth-Newspapers-can-stay-relevant

• The ultra-relevant library is NOT a
one-size-fits all library.
• "Technology is the future. So what?"
Technology is not something that a
library can simply 'adopt' and hope
to succeed.
• Design inviting spaces considering
the needs of the targeted users of
the library.
• Recognize and communicate value

Relevance of Hamilton Library
(as an academic & public library)

http://www.kaleo.org/news/hamilton-among-lowest-ranked-college-libraries/article_a3907c50-faee-11e1-b3a1-001a4bcf6878.

TECHNOLOGY
Choose a technology
that will improve
access, appeal,
interactivity, service,
etc.
DESIGN
Add a space/feature
or improve on one
that already exists
(e.g. do we need
more study areas?
BRANDING
Do we need to
increase social
media presence?
More/better
programs &
events?
Write or draw an idea for improving Hamilton‟s
relevance, based on your own experiences and
preferences.
Choose to focus on:

 Walk around and find the rest of your puzzle
– this will be your group
 Hint: Each puzzle is color-coded, so find people with
pieces that match your colors
 Now that you‟ve got your group, share your
piece

 One Technology
 One Design
 One branding idea
 If there is a topic that no one in your group has
approached, discuss why? (e.g. if no one chose a
design element, discuss why this was so…is
Hamilton‟s design good as is? Are other aspects
more important than library design?)

 Reality Check Bibliography
Ninjas: Meagan Calogeras, Jessica Craft, Shavonn-haevyn
Matsuda, Jaclyn Parrott, Jordan Trader
 Andruss, Paula. "BRANDING'S big guns." Entrepreneur 40, no. 4
(April 2012), Small Business Reference Center, EBSCOhost
(accessed September 30 2012).
 This article talks about various brands that have successfully
built relationships with their users by appealing to them in
emotional ways. It talks about the tactics used by Amazon, Coca-
Cola, FedEx, Apple, Target, Ford, Nike, Starbucks, Southwest
Airlines, and Nordstrom. The reasons these brands have survived
is explored through a survey given to consumers conducted by
The Values Institute which identified five values that influence
trust in a brand. This article does a good job explaining what
keeps brands relevant to the users. (non-LIS source)

Bell, Steven J. “Design Thinking.” American Libraries 39, no. 1⁄2
(January/February 2008), JSTOR (accessed September 30 2012)
This article suggests a management and project planning approach based on “design
thinking.” In this context in means approaching a management issue through
understanding of a problem through careful observation before attempting to formulate
solutions. The author also emphasizes high value experiences rather than low value,
commodity-like experiences, as applied to a library context.
Bosanquet, Lyn. “Building relevance amidst the content revolution.” Library
Management 31, no. 3 (2010), Emerald (accessed September 20 2012).
This article aims to present a way for the library to become “a central player in the
digitized information landscape”. The core competencies of the library profession--skills,
knowledge, and serving user needs--have changed. In the present world, information-
seeking tools have become user-friendly, causing traditional reference services to fall
out of favor. Librarians are no longer the gatekeepers of knowledge. Libraries are eager
to regain that lost relevance in their community by eagerly adopting new technologies,
but Bosanquet argues they are doing so in an ad hoc way. Moreover, the brand of the
library continues to be books--books people no longer need or read. Bosanquet
identifies a niche market for libraries in managing the overabundance of information
through forging partnerships with content providers and meeting the user in their own
domain. Informing future change involves learning more about the information-seeking
behaviors of the millennial generation and developing a framework for a structured
digital environment. Bosanquet concludes by calling on libraries to recognize and define
their value and communicate it widely.

Doucett, Elisabeth. Creating Your Library Brand. Chicago: American Library Association,
2008.
This book comes from the perspective of a librarian with a background in marketing who took her
library through the branding process. She conveys how marketing and branding relate to each
other, and who should be involved in the process. Of importance is knowing who the target
audience is while developing brand that has a unique message and visual identity that defines
library and reaches community. Her approach was to evaluate the current brand and materials,
create a meaningful and memorable tagline, and design an appealing logo. Then select brand
advocates who can train staff on how to implement a business tool in a nonprofit environment,
and identify marketing tools and if outside help is needed. Is the brand working? It is important to
maintain the brand by building relationships with users through blogs, etc. One must clarify false
false assumptions about branding and look to learn from other libraries who have branded
themselves. This book does a good job communicating how a library should go about branding
themselves.
Enis, Matt. "HELPING USERS HELP THEMSELVES." Library Journal 137, no. 14
(September 2012), Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed September 13, 2012).
This article takes a look at self-service technologies--such as ebook download terminals and
tablet computer check-out kiosks, and how they a) raise the visibility of services and library
collections, drawing more foot traffic to new patrons; b) allow library staff more time for reference
assistance; c) allow for cost benefits; d) raise the profile of ebooks; e) allow access to people with
no web connectivity; and f) help to dispense knowledge. Since this is a newer technology, the
response and success is still be monitoring, but so far so good. There is an increase in benefits
all around, and such self-service stations look to be a fixture in our future. With examples galore
from actual libraries and existing terminals, this is a good reference for augmenting our resources
for relativizing library services..

Hill, Chrystie. Inside, Outside, and Online: Building Your Library
Community. Chicago, IL: ALA Editions, 2009.
This book provides guidance for library professionals interested in community
building. Hill, who was recently hired as the Community Relations Director at the
OCLC, emphasizes the importance of identifying your community‟s needs and
working with your community to address those needs. In a time when people are
questioning the relevance of libraries, engaging with and building community are
essential to our success.
James, Roger. “Out of the box - Freescale: How free models scale in the
world of information.” Business Information Review 29, no. 2 (2012).
This article posits certain factors that libraries should consider when drawing up a
strategy for future change. While libraries were early innovators in the field of
information technology, that innovation led to a sort of institutional path
dependence. Moreover, the very environment the library created is threatened by
“professionally naive entrepreneurs [who] can set pace and revolutionize our
profession.” James believes the answer to regaining control over the domain of
information lies in learning to manipulate the market economy of the digital realm,
where scarcity and surplus are managed not by the traditional model of supply
and demand, but by arbitrary creations thereof. Thus, while the library offers a
traditionally free service, by mastering the economics of the social internet in
offering digital content to public, they can potentially compete in an industry driven
by competition and offering various routes to „free‟.

Murvosh, Marta. "Powerful Partnerships." Library Journal (May 16, 2012),
Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed September 13, 2012).
This article looks at library partnerships with realized examples of: shared buildings,
shared building sites, integrated public and academic library services, and mixed -
use developments (library and condominium). Each scenario breaks down the
information of the project to: the architect and entities involved; associated project,
construction, and site costs; population served; square footage; and so on. Of
particular interest are the profiles of integrated libraries, and how both the community,
served by the public library, and college, served by their academic library, stand to
benefit with the merger. The library staff as well as patrons appear to learn, grow,
and thrive in these newly created spaces, though there can be challenges as well in
the blending of the two library cultures, especially for the staff. Since each case is
uniquely different, it is useful to examine them for the opportunities as well as the
possible threats to successful services integration in regards to our situation.
Stewart, C. “The academic library building in the digital age: A study of new
library construction and planning, design, and use of new library space.”
University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses
(accessed September 21 2012).
Dissertation. Provides analysis of recent academic library building in many different
campuses in US. Gives building sizes, cost per square foot, total cost, and cost per
student. Addresses changes of number of books in comparison with electronic
resources.

Templeton, Thomas Clay. “Placing the Library: An Argument for the
Phenomenological and Constructivist Approach to the Human Geography
of the Library.” The Library Quarterly 78, no. 2 (April 2008), JSTOR
(accessed September 25 2012).Provides a theoretical framework for discussing
“library as place” in contrast to “library without walls” and how to think about this
conceptual issue. Introduces several thinkers on the subject with a view to
understanding a library‟s underlying purpose.
Walton, Graham. “Theory, research, and practice in library management 5:
branding.” Library Management 29 (2008) Library, Information Science &
Technology Abstracts, EBSCOhost (accessed September 20, 2012).
This article talks about how libraries can benefit from having an effective brand
so library users can be informed of the services rendered. Looking to other
popular brands and libraries that have created their own unique identity can
serve as examples of how to formulate a brand strategy. He talks about why
brands are needed and how libraries have been focused on this idea for over 30
years. People are not aware of what the library can actually do for them so
branding gives libraries a chance to redefine themselves. Finding the library‟s
niche is what will distinguish it from the competition. In essence, all libraries have
their own brands, and should they re-brand?

Ultra relevant library

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