LOGO Designing a Customer Service Plan for Hard Times Loretta Micheals City of Mountain View Public Library Loretta Micheals City of Mountain View Public Library

LOGO City of Mountain View 74,000 Residents 50,000+ Card Holders 1.6 Million Circulation 4.25 FTE in Adult Services

LOGO Recession? Depression? United States Unemployment Rate 9.5 % for June 2009

LOGO California Unemployment Rate 11.6 % for June 2009 Recession? Depression?

LOGO Recession? Depression? City of Mountain View Unemployment Rate 8.8 % for June 2009

LOGO Library Statistics for Mountain View Fiscal Year % Increase in Circulation 22% Increase in Visitors Economy goes down, our business goes up!

LOGO Economy goes down, our budgets go down too! 10% Budget Cut= 5% Reduction in Materials Adult Librarian Position Held What about next year???

LOGO What More Can We Do? Less Staff No Money Isn’t Reference Dead Anyway? Prove how valuable the Library is to the Community! A Call from our Director

LOGO Brainstorm Session at an Adult Services Meeting What is in high demand? What kinds of questions are we getting? What are we doing now that we can do better? What needs aren’t we filling?

LOGO Results of Session High Demand Information on resumes, job hunting, etc DVDs, Books on CD How-to Books on everything Stress reduction, meditation, exercise

LOGO Results of Session High Demand Information on resumes, job hunting, etc DVDs, Books on CD How-to Books on everything Stress reduction, meditation, exercise Questions How do I find a job online? Can someone tutor me on how to use the computer? How do I find an apartment or home? There are how many holds on that???

LOGO Results of Session High Demand Information on resumes, job hunting, etc DVDs, Books on CD How-to Books on everything Stress reduction, meditation, exercise Questions How do I find a job online? Can someone tutor me on how to use the computer? How do I find an apartment or home? There are how many holds on that??? Doing Now How-to Computer Classes Fiction Reading Lists Entertainment Type Programming Routine Reference Work

LOGO Results of Session High Demand Information on resumes, job hunting, etc DVDs, Books on CD How-to Books on everything Stress reduction, meditation, exercise Questions How do I find a job online? Can someone tutor me on how to use the computer? How do I find an apartment or home? There are how many holds on that??? Doing Now How-to Computer Classes Fiction Reading Lists Entertainment Type Programming Routine Reference Work Unfilled Needs Job Hunting Classes Medical & Insurance Info Money & Finance Education Housing, Legal, more!

LOGO A Pleasant Surprise! We were doing better than we thought. We mostly needed to expand on familiar tasks we do We found an opportunity to use social networking tools Best of all- It was professional work!

LOGO Branding The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a "name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers. Top 5 Branding Books Recommended by About.com

LOGO 1.Theme 2.Logo 3.Tagline Our Brand Consists of a: MVPL Brand

LOGO Our goal was: Flexibility, Memorability, & FUN

LOGO Planning the Campaign – All Aboard! Staff- Involving staff at all levels, brainstorming related ideas, assigning tasks, provide a deadline. Collection Development- Programming- Handouts- Social Networking-

LOGO Staff- Involving staff at all levels, brainstorming related ideas, assigning tasks, provide a deadline. Collection Development- Recognizing key areas, adding funds, writing it into strategic plan and goals for the year. Programming- Handouts- Social Networking- Planning the Campaign – All Aboard!

LOGO Planning the Campaign – All Aboard! Staff- Involving staff at all levels, brainstorming related ideas, assigning tasks, provide a deadline. Collection Development- Recognizing key areas, adding funds, writing it into strategic plan and goals for the year. Programming- Investment Club, craft programs, movie nights, job hunting computer class, resume help. Handouts- Social Networking-

LOGO Staff- Involving staff at all levels, brainstorming related ideas, assigning tasks, provide a deadline. Collection Development- Recognizing key areas, adding funds, writing it into strategic plan and goals for the year. Programming- Investment Club, craft programs, movie nights, job hunting computer class, resume help. Handouts- Topics, design, location, web editions, timeliness, fast turnaround. Social Networking- Planning the Campaign – All Aboard!

LOGO Planning the Campaign – All Aboard! Staff- Involving staff at all levels, brainstorming related ideas, assigning tasks, provide a deadline. Collection Development- Recognizing key areas, adding funds, writing it into strategic plan and goals for the year. Programming- Investment Club, craft programs, movie nights, job hunting computer class, resume help. Handouts- Topics, design, location, web editions, timeliness, fast turnaround. Social Networking- Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and more.

LOGO Sidetracks Basic Computer Competency Expanding Social Networking More Budget Cuts

LOGO Basic Computer Competency Basic Time Management Training Advanced Time Management Training Basic Web Advanced Web MS Word & Templates Using Drives- Floppy & USB

LOGO Blogspot Twitter Yelp Flickr Delicious Facebook Social Media

LOGO Fewer Programs Fewer Computer Classes Resume Help on Hold One-on-one Computer Help on Hold More Budget Cuts

LOGO Program Attendance Computer Class Attendance Handouts Used Followers, Fans, Friends Customer Feedback Measuring Success

LOGO Customer Feedback "I wanted to share with you that my little sister (52 years old) has found a job in Mountain View thanks to the Library's Hard Times Train Program. After losing her job, a home of 15 years foreclosed, battling alcoholism and homelessness for 9 months, she came to Mountain View to live with me. The next day I took her to the Library and pursued a library card so that she could begin her journey home through education and community resources. I had learned about the Hard Times Train program and found it innovative and unique. She found the library to be a friendly, non-threatening environment in which to do research and therefore attended daily. Within 5 days she had a job interview with a local construction firm for an office assistant. I want to thank you and the Library staff for helping my sister find her way home again. Now she can move out of my house! So, she'll be back to the Library taking the next Hard Times Train to the housing line. Thanks."

LOGO Resources Used Web Sites: BetterInvesting Club- iLibrarian- LifeHacker- MakeUseof.com- Mashable- Red Tape Chronicles- Simple Dollar-

LOGO Examples of Topics Online Computer Practice Personal Finance & Budgeting Foreclosures: Getting Help & Avoiding Scams Opening Bell: Investment Education Best Apartment Search Tools 10 Useful Comparison Sites To Bookmark 10 Resources for Finding Free and Cheap Things to Do This Summer Free Foreign Lessons Online

LOGO Mountain View Public Library 585 Franklin Street Mountain View, CA The End