Wouldn’t it be great if Libraries became one of the next big pop-culture darlings? Librarians get ready…according to this article, you may be standing on the edge of your pop-culture moment.
Check it out in this humourous (but strangely compelling) article at the blog “Monkey See”.
(Thanks to Frances Stocker, of Kestral Info Services, for drawing our attention to this blog post via her post on Linkedin.)
Is this an indication of future roving service to come? In a great article in her blog Library Webhead *, Sharon Clapp describes her positive reactions to the pro-active, roving customer service provided at Apple stores – including instant check-out on the spot with the roving Apple staff member. Sharon speculates on the use of a similar service in Libraries and concludes, “So imagine what this means for libraries. The next big thing won’t just be roving reference, but roving circulation! We’d better limber up & get used to being proactive in our customer service skills, introducing ourselves and offering to help.”
We couldn’t agree more. For those Libraries who have already embraced and implemented Roving and Roving reference successfully we’d like to say, “Congratulations! Well done! Roving Circulation/check out may be a wonderful future enhancement to what you are already doing!” To those Libraries who are considering roving, or have not quite yet made it a fundamental part of their service – “You’re on the right track…but the bar for pro-active service and roving is continually being raised. You may want to consider picking up the pace a little.”
See the whole article at http://librarywebhead.blogspot.com/2010/08/not-just-roving-reference-roving.html
*Library Webhead is the blog of “a Librarian who focuses on web technologies…She also highlights some of the latest trends in Web development and Libraries.”
“Through August. Staff will roam around the library to help you look up books, DVDs, CDs or other items and point you in the right direction, or reserve an item immediately on their new Apple iPad or a nearby desktop computer.”
I will be hitting the road (well…actually – the air!) bringing 2-3 weeks of our workshops to New Zealand – and I couldn’t be more excited. Thanks to the Management at Palmerston N. City Library and the Auckland City Libraries, I will be providing our “Pro-active Service and Roving” concepts and skills to many Library Managers and Staff in New Zealand in August and September. Both Library Systems have many progressive services and an admirable approach to service excellence. I’ll post some of their best ideas on this website in late September. And – of course – I’ll be sure to find time to tour a bit of this wonderful and scenic country while I am there.
I had an email from someone attempting to access the SirsiDynix Institute Audio seminar archives, which no longer appear on their website. This is a concern to me, because I have a link on this website to an audio seminar I provided for them waaaaay back on Dec. 11, 2007. You can access my audio seminar “Guide to Roving, an Essential Service for Library 2.0″ on Apple iTunes at no charge.
You can also access more of the FREE SirsiDynix Institute Archived seminars at Apple iTunes at
You may have to download iTunes (its free). Once you are on the main iTunes page click on “podcasts”, then “audio podcasts” then use the search window at the top right to enter “Sirsidynix Institute”….and – Voila! There are the archives. You can sort the list by date, name, duration. They are all free. Enjoy!!!!
If you are interested in learning more about “roving” outside of the building check out this upcoming audio conference related to community outreach.
Conversations with Leaders Series: Making a Difference in the Community: In Conversation with Linda Cook (CEO, Edmonton Public Library, Chair of The Alberta Library and a founder of the Library Advocacy Now! program). The Edmonton Public Library has 17 community librarians whose job it is to stay out of the library and work with community organizations. In this interview, Cook shares tips and techniques from the library’s Community-Led Toolkit.
DATE: Tuesday, June 22, 2010. TIME: 2:00 pm ET. More info and registration at
By now, most librarians agree that the role of the library is changing, and that e-journals and e-books are poised to turn the library building into study space and librarians into e-sherpas, and many academic libraries have begun moving in that direction. This interesting article appearing in USA Today 06/09/2010, describes how the Welch Library at Johns Hopkins University is pioneering what I would call a “a radical roving” approach. Two years from now, the medical library at Johns Hopkins, a world leader in medical research, will have realized a “distributed” library model, which the article calls “A library located everywhere, and nowhere.” Not only in the sense that every researcher’s computer can access the library’s website and its vaults of electronic journal articles and e-books, but in that library personnel are embedded in various departments to work with researchers on their own turf. Many Academic Libraries have adopted some forms of this model in the past, however, what’s different is that the Welch Library ”will be “recycling” much of its print collection, and storing other books offsite; faculty and students will be able to send away for the hard copies via snail mail — like ordering a DVD from Netflix.”
Read more at http://tiny.cc/embedded_Librarians
Recently I was looking into “non-Dewey” systems of Library material classification, and there are many laudable efforts being tried at various Library Systems. Word based or category based classification systems encourage and support browsing and self service for Library patrons, and represent a truly pro-active approach to guided self-service.
The following description of WordThinkTM , as designed and implemented at the Rangeview Library District comes from Wikipedia, and describes it as a word-based materials classification system developed by Rangeview Library District’s collection development department to replace the Dewey Decimal Classification. Patterned after BISAC (Book Industry Standards and Communications) and the word-based system used by Maricopa County Library District, WordThink organizes materials according to 45 different categories with additional subcategories. Materials are then arranged alphabetically by title.
Note: In September 2009, Rangeview Library District launched its new brand, AnythinkTM . The district changed the names of its community libraries to Anythink libraries as part of the district’s branding efforts. The Bennett and Perl Mack branch libraries were the first in the district to use WordThink. By the end of 2009, all Anythink libraries will use the new word-based system
A bit different than the Roving skills I teach in my workshops. I wonder – How can we support or help this effort? Are there any Libraries “adopting” this project or others like it?
Click here to watch “Library On A Donkey” on YouTube, or copy and paste url: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQMh8_TD2dI )
As so many U.S. Libraries struggle to prove their value to their communities, rallying against disastrous budget cuts, statistics like these can be immensely valuable.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Nearly one-third of Americans age 14 or older–roughly 77 million people–used a public library computer or wireless network to access the Internet in the past year, according to a national report released today. In 2009, as the nation struggled through a recession, people relied on library technology to find work, apply for college, secure government benefits, learn about critical medical treatments, and connect with their communities.
The report, Opportunity for All: How the American Public Benefits from Internet Access at U.S. Libraries, is based on the first, large-scale study of who uses public computers and Internet access in public libraries, the ways library patrons use this free technology service, why they use it, and how it affects their lives. It was conducted by the University of Washington Information School and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
For the article and link to the full report, go to http://www.gatesfoundation.org/press-releases/Pages/opportunity-for-all-library-compuer-use-study-100325.aspx
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