Designing Customized Library Services: Book-A-Librarian and Bookmatch Toby Greenwalt An Webinar September 14 th, :00 – 1:00 PDT Infopeople webinars are supported by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.

Today’s Agenda Principles of Custom Library Services Designing 1-on-1/Book-a-Librarian Service Crowdsourced Service: Bookmatch The Long Haul: Promotion and Evaluation

Things Are Getting Busier Skokie PL, FY 09-10: Over 274,000 desk transactions (up 9%) Face-to-face, phone, , IM, Twitter, and Facebook Staff juggling basic and in-depth questions

Step Away From the Desk Create a more comfortable environment Eliminate “time pressure” Works toward a more participatory model (Lankes)Lankes

Personalize It: 2 Methods Book-A-Librarian 1-on-1 session Focused interview, typically 30 min. Based on Over-the- Shoulder LearningOver-the- Shoulder Learning BookMatch Distributed workflow Assembled piecemeal over days

Getting Started: Policy and Buy-in Start with the skills audit Choose a “minder” for all BaL sessions Allow staff to set their own availability

Brainstorming Time: Perform a Skills Audit 1.Which questions are best suited for a 1-on-1 consulting session? 2.What do you think you could cover with a little practice? 3.Which questions should be off-limits?

Put the Audit to Use Staff nameStrengthsAvoidAvailabilityLast Session Next Session DonBusinessComputersTues PM Fri AM 6/15/20109/17/2010 PeggyDatabasesWed AM8/22/2010 JoanComputers, Blogging Tues AM Wed PM 8/ PeteHealth, Computers Mon AM Thurs PM 7/8/20109/23/2010 BettyGenealogyMon PM Fri PM 7/30/2010 RogerJob-findingComputerThurs (All day) 9/1/2010

Making the Appointment Schedule at least a week in advance Secure private space for session Will you need a computer? Contact patron 1-2 days before to confirm

Showtime Treat like a standard reference interview Set realistic goals for the allotted time “Teach a man to fish…”

Know your limits Avoid liability-prone topics Provide referrals if necessary Determine follow-up protocol, and if subsequent sessions are necessary Provide evaluation

Bookmatch Based on Barry Trott’s Reader SurveyReader Survey Gives both patrons and staff time to approach reading interests Open to interested staff at all levels

Brainstorming Time: Readers’ Advisory Which RA questions garner the best patron responses?

Creating the Survey Follow the inverted pyramid SurveyMonkey allows for branching paths Use a mix of multiple choice and essay answers Not every question will be answered

Rotating Minders Staff RotationPatronCompleted?Month PeteKen CosgroveSentAugust BettyTrudy CampbellPicked up DonHarry CraneSent JoanLane PrycePicked up PeggyMona SterlingSentSeptember RogerJimmy BarrettSent Pete Betty (…)

Gettin’ Wiki With It Survey pasted directly into Wikispaces page

Gettin’ Wiki With It Discussion section used for book recommendations

The Home Stretch Minder has responsibility for compiling list Check for formatting issues, compatibility, and extras

Putting It Into Practice Hold test sessions with friends, family and staff. “Soft launch” for new services Build opportunities for word-of-mouth

Promotion Too much is a good start.

Evaluation Contact selected patrons for feedback What has worked? What hasn’t? What features should/shouldn’t you add?

Long-term effects: staff development Book-a-Librarian Identify training areas based on interest Train the trainers Bookmatch Self-identify strengths and weaknesses ID genres for further study Survey for 2 nd - timers

Thank You! Toby Greenwalt theanalogdivide.com Twitter: