{"id":82331,"date":"2014-10-06T07:30:22","date_gmt":"2014-10-06T12:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=82331"},"modified":"2014-10-05T23:01:43","modified_gmt":"2014-10-06T04:01:43","slug":"connecting-with-potential-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=82331","title":{"rendered":"Connecting with potential library users"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Emma Pinault, Senior Editor, INALJ Florida<\/a>, \u00a0INALJ Idaho<\/a>, INALJ Indiana<\/a>, INALJ Iowa<\/a>, INALJ Kansas<\/a>, INALJ Georgia<\/a>, INALJ Hawaii<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Connecting with potential library users<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Emma<\/a>A long-standing and frustrating question for libraries everywhere is how to draw in potential library\u00a0users. Often, many of the people in a community who would benefit greatly from library services are not\u00a0using them, either because they don’t know what the library offers, they don’t see the library as relevant\u00a0to their lives, or they are unable to access the library’s services (due to distance, limited hours, etc).\u00a0While the library may have systems in place already for requesting and receiving feedback from current\u00a0users, finding out who isn’t there and why they aren’t is a harder problem.<\/p>\n

To find the people who aren’t in the library, you have to go outside the library. There are a few different\u00a0ways you can spread the word.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Word of mouth:<\/strong> Be alert for opportunities to talk about what you do. Be prepared to strike up a\u00a0conversation in the line at the coffee shop, or at the supermarket. We’ve all had that conversation, the\u00a0one that starts with “Where do you work?” and ends with some version of “Aren’t books obsolete?”\u00a0or “Who needs libraries when we have the Internet?” Be prepared to answer those questions, not just\u00a0with an awkward smile and a change of subject, but with a firm “No,” followed by “Quite a few people,\u00a0actually.”<\/p>\n

And be prepared to ask questions like, “Have you been to the library lately?” and if not, “Why not?”\u00a0and “What would encourage you to visit the library more often?” Personal conversations and word of\u00a0mouth can be very effective.<\/p>\n

But don’t rely on informal outreach alone. If your library doesn’t have a strategy for community\u00a0outreach, get together with your manager and coworkers and brainstorm some ideas. Define some clear\u00a0goals and map out a plan for expanding your library’s reach in your community.<\/p>\n

Know the community you serve<\/strong>, not just the people who are inside the building or visiting the library’s\u00a0website, but throughout the surrounding geographic area in your city or county. Do some research.\u00a0And know what other organizations are in your community doing similar work. Coordinating with other\u00a0community organizations can help you expand your reach, and also provide insights into unmet needs in\u00a0your area. Coordination is also essential to ensure that the library and the local school system and other\u00a0community organizations are supporting each other, rather than duplicating each other’s efforts.<\/p>\n

Communication with library users is key<\/strong> to satisfying your existing customers, and those who use the\u00a0library on a regular basis can offer valuable feedback on the services you provide. However, it is also\u00a0important to reach out and seek feedback from those outside the library, to find out how you can draw\u00a0those people inside.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Emma Pinault, Senior Editor, INALJ Florida, \u00a0INALJ Idaho, INALJ Indiana, INALJ Iowa, INALJ Kansas, INALJ Georgia, INALJ Hawaii Connecting with potential library users A long-standing and frustrating question for libraries everywhere is how to draw in potential library\u00a0users. Often, many of the people in a community who would benefit greatly from library services are…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":60376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[69,3592,6580,5538,3652,3593,3607,3653,3639,3829,3708,6581,5085,5591],"class_list":["post-82331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-connecting","tag-emma-pinault","tag-inalj-florida","tag-inalj-georgia","tag-inalj-hawaii","tag-inalj-idaho","tag-inalj-indiana","tag-inalj-iowa","tag-inalj-kansas","tag-library-users","tag-outreach","tag-patrons"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Emma-Pinault.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-lpV","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=82331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82331\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/60376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=82331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=82331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=82331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}