Switching to retail principles

Frances O'Reilly, children and youth services librarian, Darwin City Council Libraries

Darwin City Council libraries staff were involved in the PLNT co-ordinated John Stanley workshops in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Future developments planned within the Darwin City Council libraries were influenced by staff discussions after the workshops. These discussions took place at a library team level, senior team and were often part of action plan team meetings. Everyone recognised the 'c' word was involved, perhaps if we had talked about switching tracks back then we may have elicited a different response but it was interesting to see the variety of ways the ideas were embraced.

Communication is a vital part of our move towards strategies to maximise loans and library visits, to streamline our libraries' environment whilst improving their ambience and atmosphere. E-mail has been and still is the backbone of communicating information about the changes we are undertaking. E-mail broadcasts the outcomes of face to face meetings; it canvasses opinions before meetings, consolidates decisions and provides a constant forum for feedback.

Each year Darwin City Council libraries hold a staff development morning in February. All the libraries close for the morning, staff leave is scheduled around this date and casual staff are invited to attend. The casuals' invitation is verbal as well as being written in the casuals' communication book at each library.

A team of library staff volunteers plan the staff development morning. They meet regularly during work hours over three to four months leading up to the chosen date. The CEO of council or the director of community services are invited to open proceedings.

For the 2004 session the planning team designed a proforma for each group. They looked at a synopsis of retail elements John Stanley had focused on and staff members had mentioned during team meetings in the months following his workshops.

An outline of the morning plus a copy of their team's decision was distributed to team members a couple of weeks before the staff development morning. It included basic information for staff to make sure they realised the decisions were being trailed for six months. This enabled people to think about the issues under discussion as well as giving them time to plan their costumes.

Team configurations were decided by the planning team to ensure each team had members from different Darwin City Council libraries and at different classification levels; so teams were representative of the Darwin City Council Libraries team.

The proforma

• Stated the point to be discussed.
• Named the team and its members.
• Included room to record the decision reached by the team.
• Included suggested questions to facilitate decision making.
• Detailed resources needed to implement the decision.
• The time line for the implementation.

Team leaders were responsible for feeding the recorded information back to the library secretary electronically or hard copy within the designated timeframe.

The planning committee prepared a time line for documentation, implementation and evaluation of the decisions.

The time line

• Allowed for teams to meet after the staff development morning to finalise resources and planning ready for implementation, if it was required.
• The planning team to meet and go through the evaluation sheets.
• To make, record and file recommendations based on the evaluation sheets.

On Friday 13 February black lollies, yukky sticky things and hairy chins were the fun part of the proceedings, which energised the discussions and facilitated the passing of time.

Team leaders were aware of the importance of having a timekeeper so the team had sufficient time to discuss each issue, to assimilate and accept the concept their team was promoting. Reporting back before lunch was just that reporting back with each team having less than five minutes. Points of clarification could be asked but discussion of decisions was not sought or encouraged. Teams had to trust each other to make decisions, which would benefit the whole library team. The whole team includes the patrons, suppliers, staff and Darwin City Council.

Anecdotal and quantitative data is being collected for a formal evaluation of the decisions and their effect on the library service we are offering. Library teams are documenting the anecdotal information at team meetings in September. This will be discussed at the designated senior team meeting in October where decisions will be made to continue, revise or abandon individual decisions.

As we look at the individual decisions to be discussed on the 13 February you will get a clearer picture of the changes and the process undertaken.

Presentation checklist

• Provide current list.
• Is the list comprehensive, additions/deletions?
• How to implement?
• Who is responsible for tasks on this list?
• How do we manage outside areas?
  
  • Specifically Casuarina - overflowing bins, entrance/foyer, trolleys, litter.
• Are staff willing to don rubber gloves and participate is cleaning up surrounds of rubbish?
  Nightcliff - leaves and rubbish.
  Karama/Darwin - not really an issue. Cannot expect Karama staff to take responsibility for entire carpark.
  Darwin - managed as part of civic centre.

Circulation desks

• How do we want these to look?
  
  • Sleek and well presented, cluttered/uncluttered, ordinary, unprofessional?
• What should be located on the circulation desks?
  
  • promotional material
  • information brochures
  • etc
• How should these be presented?
• Who takes responsibility for all aspects of the desks?
• Do all staff know how the desks are organised, what tasks happen, where, layout and storage?
• Is there place for a floral arrangement? Do we want this? If so, how could we provide this?
• Counter displays, are they a possibility?
• Signs, sticky tape - is this acceptable?
• What type of signs, if any?

Display toolkits

• Do we use artefacts and other materials/aids to enhance our displays?
• If so, how do we obtain these?
• Where and how would we store them? How do we make them accessible?
• Consider how we make better use of existing resources, eg centralised poster collection.

Use of sticky tape/blutak

• Should we use sticky tape and blutak at all?
• If so, in what circumstances and areas? Staff responsibility? Who should monitor use?
• Others where these should never be used?
• Are there alternatives?

To coffee or not?

• Should coffee be made available in our libraries?
• If so, which libraries, in what areas?
• Would there be a cost?
• What would this mean for staff?
• OH and S issues.
• Consider current by-laws.
• Could this attract individuals that may exhibit unhealthy ownership over these areas? How would we manage this situation?

To aromatherapy and music or not?

• Should we implement both, either?
• When, where would they work, all day, everyday?
• What is required to implement both, either?
• Selection of music - whose responsibility?
• Selection of aromatherapy - whose responsibility?
• Any additional equipment necessary?
• How to measure patron reactions/satisfaction?

Facing out policy

• Facing out resources exposes the collection more readily.
• A policy is required and necessary.
• How to implement?
• Factors to consider?
• Which libraries, which collections?
• Future requirements for additional/alternate furniture.
• When and where to commence, measure success.

New book policy

• How do we manage our new titles?
• Separate display - is this really effective when most are out on loan and high demand items have requests?
• Lists - do we/should we include all new titles?
• Fiction, non-fiction, non-book, CY and S, reference.
• Increased use of website.
• How long is an item new? - six or twelve months? Less? Define.
• Alternatives?
• When browsing the shelves, how do patrons know if a title is new?

Displays 1

• Disregard new materials.
• Consider power displays, dumpbins, endcaps - define, examples.
• Should we use these types of displays?
• Where should they be located?
• What is their purpose?
• Do items need to have anything in common? If so, examples.
• If any, what type of signage is necessary?
• How can we/should we measure the use? Collect statistics on a display card? Staff have spent time and used resources to prepare, organise, maintain relevance.

Displays 2

• Disregard new materials.
• Consider themed and linked displays - define, examples Should we use these types of displays?
• Where should they be located?
• What is their purpose?
• If any, what type of signage is necessary?
• How can we/should we measure the use? Collect statistics on a display card? Staff have spent time and used resources to prepare, organise, maintain relevance.

We will go through one decision in detail; the same procedure was followed for each decision.

New books policy group decided:

• The new book list would be given to each patron with the due date slip.
• The patron detail box would be included on the C and YS new book list.
• The new book list would be on the website each month and e-mailed to everyone at council.
• Specific displays for new book or new and interesting books.
• Fluoro dots at top of spine of new books, a new colour for each year.
• A new book is a new acquisition, which has been published, in the last twelve months.
• Dots for 2003 / 2004 to be removed from the books at the end of 2005.

Implementation:

• Staff education via team meetings.
• Library managers to ensure sufficient copies of book list are available and suitable display stands.
• Lois [C and YS tech] to alter C and YS list to include patron details.
• Collection development team to be responsible for electronic circulation of book list.
• Fluoro dots centrally purchased and distributed by collection development for libraries to add retrospectively where necessary.
• New book team members educate library teams about displays.
• Guin to circulate posters and bookmark for the reverse of the due date slips as soon as possible.

Resources required:

• Dots.
• Posters / bookmarks.
• Photocopy paper for the additional booklists.

It sounds simple and smooth sailing, which it was in most cases. The decision to manage without blutack and sticky tape in the 'shop front' probably generated the most discussion, the most resistance, the most reminders and the least amount of comments as we move into the evaluation stage.

The first part of the evaluation has happened and stage two is coming up shortly. But things have been modified along the way which of course is the most definite feedback.

In some instances facing out in the large print collections was poorly received by patrons and staff. Patrons regularly re-shelved the books correctly and staff didn't replace the books that had been borrowed. Whereas facing out using specifically designed shelves has increased borrowing in that area. Facing out on the end caps has also seen books move regularly. The decision reached following the formal evaluation meetings will take into account these changes.

The presentation checklist generated thoughtful comments around the fact it mirrored the existing opening up procedures with a couple of additions; so far feedback is about ways of combining the two.

Blutack and sticky tape have been replaced, out of necessity, during the trial period. Initial feedback indicates a feeling of satisfaction with the changes in this area. It will be interesting to see what other alternatives a forth coming during the evaluation. We have ordered covers for the new magazines to replace the label blutacked to the magazine previously. Vinyl bands are being looked at for ILL, two week loan and other special status books to replace a range of labels that were taped to covers in years gone by.

Coffee in the library has been interesting. It was a decision taken in accordance with a lot of other policies, by laws and regulations. It has been trialled in three Darwin City Council Libraries since February and the obvious feedback is that it is currently only available at one library. The discussion during the evaluation sessions will be interesting.

The aromatherapy feedback indicates it is so subtle there is more debate about whether it is working than the effect of it. The music trail has been hampered by the placement of the speakers. The feedback should indicate this, so future directions in this area will take this into account.

Our borrowing statistics have continued to increase each month as have library visits, the ambience of the libraries has changed for the better through the increasingly uncluttered look of all our libraries. Little decisions have grown and surreptitiously been adopted during the trial period giving our libraries a lean, clean uncluttered look coupled with customer focused service.

Biography

In the late1980s Frances decided to pursue librarianship, which she started in 1973 along with her family. The family absorbed her energies for a while then it was back to the old dream. She is in her twelth year as a librarian. The first ten of those years were spent running the School Community Library at Coober Pedy.

The past two years have been spent in beautiful Darwin, which she likens to being on a continual tropical holiday. She saw automation of libraries as a big step in the empowering of patrons. It is part of the process of improving access to the wealth of information available. Her goal is to see libraries as information supermarkets before she retires.