To: Winnefox Library System Board of Trustees
From: Mark W. Arend, Interim Assistant Director
Re: Public Library Association Conference
Date: 5 May 2006
In March I attended the biennial Public Library Association
Conference in
If this year’s programming is any guide the hot buzzword in public librarianship is “Customer Service”. Six program sessions specifically addressed providing better customer service, and that doesn’t count the dozen or more that focused on providing service to specific population segments. I attended two sessions on this topic: one on how to be more responsive to needs of library users in planning and carrying out our services and another on creating a ‘customer-centered’ library. The information gathered at these sessions has already proven useful as I meet and consult with member directors on public service issues. Even before attending this conference I had scheduled a workshop on this topic, scheduled for September.
One session I attended covered an issue that’s concerned me for some time—that of safety in libraries and emergency planning. If we’ve learned anything in the past few years it’s that small towns are not necessarily a ‘safe haven’ and that either natural or man-made disasters can strike anyplace and anytime. I am especially concerned about staff at many of our smaller libraries which often can’t afford to have more than one person working at a time. It’s been several years since we’ve done any training in this area and I’ll be considering planning something for next year’s workshop schedule.
We all know that public agencies at all levels are facing tight budget times and that libraries rarely get the level of funding they need to provide the level of service that people are asking for. Two of the sessions I attended discussed library advocacy: how to most effectively share information on the library’s value and needs with decision-makers in the community. This information will be useful as I help directors prepare for discussions with municipal and county boards.
A session on working with Friends groups and library foundations gave me some useful information on fundraising and advocacy which I’ve already shared with some of our directors.
I was also able to pick up a good selection of free books and other items which were distributed to attendees at two of our system workshops.