The world moves faster than it used to and with technology focused on delivering what people want with fewer barriers, specifically tailored, and ever so quick -- people have really developed a desire for this pace and personalization. No one wants to wait for anything anymore. People don't like having to sift through stuff that doesn't apply to them. Is it an impossible standard to maintain? We'll see. But what we do know is that libraries who are more agile do a better job meeting and exceeding service expectations. Happy patrons use the library often. They carve a place for it in their lives. And, they'll fight for it and support it.
Being our flagship product, LibGuides has been around the longest and has grown in its capabilities by expanding its features. It's ever-evolving as we respond to the needs of our clients. Springshare endeavors to make sure that LibGuides helps you concentrate on serving the needs of your patrons with speed and fine execution. Here are some tips and tricks you can employ to stay agile and responsive.
1. Start By Knowing What Services Are Important To Them -- One of the key principles to being an institution that listens, cares, and responds is that you have to gather feedback. Understanding your patrons is critical to improving your services to meet their needs.
2. Maintain Clear and Steady Communication -- When you're raising the level of your customer service, it's imperative that you be as communicative and transparent as possible about your library.
3. Create a Culture That Supports Innovation and Collaboration -- In order to be a dynamic, responsive library, you have to nurture not just your team's ideas but the whole idea-generating process. If you don't allow people to take leaps and get caught in the wind, you risk a lot of self-editing and apprehension in the brainstorming room. It's best to hear all the ideas because that's how to get to the right ones.
4. Make Sure The Design In Place Reflects The Needs of Your Patrons -- You could be coming up with great programming and be unveiling all sorts of new ways to improve service, but you can't lose sight of how you share this information with your audience.
Don't miss excellent opportunities to attend new classes that complement our beginner-level sessions so that you can continue to acquire new skills and grow right along with us.
Training Tidbits: Creating a Summer Reading List with Books from the Catalog and Gallery Boxes
Best Practices for Building LibGuides and Accessibility Tips