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August 24, 2006

Friends talking about books

At one of the busiest circulation desks in the state, you don't get much time to talk about books, as Nancy Sforza and Susan Marks are doing. If patrons are in line, even though as we would like to, we can't take much time to make recommendations or hear what people liked or didn't like.

That's why we're installing RFID self-check stations in the new Darien Library, so there will be time for conversations like this. And to make sure we provide the best Reader Advisory services possible, we've already begun providing training for staff, two years before the move.

It's been suggested that libraries will lose more than they save with self-service. We are absolutely committed to making sure that the opposite will be the case -- more customer service will result when there are less books to push across the circ desk, and more time to talk about our services and resources.

And there's another point. Frank Mussche of Libramation tells the following story: he was in Western Canada making a presentation about his company's RFID system, and afterwards someone he describes as a "little old lady" came up to him and said: "Let me get this straight. If I want to take out a book on sexuality for women over 60 I don't have to take it up to that desk and ask a young whippersnapper to check it out for me?" When Frank said, yes, she could check it out herself, she said, "Well, I am SO in favor of that."

Posted by Alan Kirk Gray at 03:45 PM

August 23, 2006

Looking for a new way to provide reference services

An outwork is a defensive position used in siege warfare.

Here's an example of one in the modern day:

Okay, I'm being unfair, but not inaccurate. Note the configuration, protected on all sides, and from the rear, with clear line of sight and good defilade position. The sense of it is, "we're here, and you're there, this is our workspace, and let's keep it that way." By the way, the space was designed in 1984, and it's quite welcoming for its type. And let me make this very clear -- the staff that work here are among the most helpful, professional and committed librarians you are ever going to find. IM them if you're not near Darien and you'll see.

That's why the Reference Staff of Darien Library, led by Mary Freedman, decided to do things differently in our new library, which will open in 2008.

What they've decided is that we are NOT going to have a desk or any kind of barrier, but that reference librarians will work in partnership with patrons at reference "pods." Truly, we don't have a clue what they are going to be like exactly (we have done lots of sketches but we aren't to the mock up stage yet -- some drawings look like lima beans, or saddleshapes or boomerangs) except we know the general principle is that a reference librarian and the patron will sit together so they can share access to computing resources if necessary. And the space will clearly as much the patron's space as it is the librarian's space.

When we started talking about this concept two years ago, we got some very helpful and supportive comments from Scott Bennett, Yale University Librarian Emeritus who commented how rare it was for a public library to be going in this direction. He pointed us to the concept embodied in the planning for the Welch Medical Library at Johns Hopkins of "touchdown suites." We don't have enough space in our new building to do things that way, but we like the empasis on comfortable collaboration.

We're sure that others are working towards the same goal of removing barriers and prompting a partnership between patron and librarian, and it would be wonderful if sometime in the last two years, somewhere, there's been installed a collaborative reference space that is just perfect. Great. If so, we'd love to take a look. Failing that, it's back to the sketches and mockups.

In the meanwhile, we're coming out with our hands up.

Posted by Alan Kirk Gray at 07:15 PM | Comments (1)

I like this

It comes from a Web 2.0 logo generator, and is intended at least somewhat as a parody, but it's a good placeholder for what we are doing, as far as I'm concerned.

Posted by Alan Kirk Gray at 07:08 PM

August 12, 2006

Design Details

I met yesterday at Peter Gisolfi Associates with Frank Craine and Cheng Hsun Wu of PGA, and Todd Berling of Harvey Marshall Berling Associates (Acoustic, Theater and AV Technology Consultants retained by PGA.)

We were looking at the auditorium (Community Room) plans for the new building, and also the Conference Room. Much of the discussion was on what kind of lighting, sound and presentation technology the Community Room would need. It's amazing how much attention has to be paid, for example, to how many speakers will be installed, and what needs to be considered in their placement, or lighting (incandescent, it was decided for any number of reasons), and how to gang the controllers so different schemes of lighting can be used. This is but one of many spaces in the new buildling, and just one set of literally thousands of decisions that have been made, or are yet to be made.

At some point during the meeting I was struck by the layers of paper on the table, and took this picture. Only afterwards did I realize that Todd has the strange ability to hold several pens in his hand and use them interchangeably. Impressive.

Posted by Alan Kirk Gray at 03:21 PM | Comments (1)

August 10, 2006

More Good Information

The Darien News-Review of August 10, 2006 has an article on the front page, written by Jennifer Gode, which provides a lot of detail about plans for the new Library. Here's the illustration that accompanies the piece, showing the prospective view from Post Road. (By the way, nothing's final until we get Planning & Zoning approval, maybe in September, a final budget is agreed, and fund-raising is completed)

In the article, Louise Berry speaks to plans for the new building, including the "main street" on the first floor, where a busy area with new books, DVDs and CDs, together with a cafe and casual seats will connect the expanded Children's Room on one side of the building, and the Community Room with 170 seats on the other, next to the Library's fiction books. There will be a lower level "power library" with enhanced technology, study spaces and a teen area, and an upper level with quiet study and research areas including an extraordinary Reference Room, finance area, magazine reading room and non-fiction books.

The project cost, which includes buying the land, doing environmental remediation, upgrading the site with parking, trees, plantings and storm water control, installing a very efficient and environmentally-friendly geothermal well system for heating and cooling at low cost, constructing the new library building, purchasing the new shelves, furniture, equipment and technology, moving all the books, magazines, reusable furniture and other items from the existing library, is $26 million. And you bet there are fees in there, including some payable to the Town of Darien!

We believe we have struck just the right balance in designing the extraordinary new library Darien deserves at a cost that is affordable and will reduce future operating costs that are borne by the taxpayers of Darien.

Kim Huffard, who is chair of the Library's Campaign Committee, provides some details about fundraising plans and progress in the article.

We will sell our existing building and apply the proceeds to the project cost. Because we are conservative yankees, we have budgeted an amount that is reasonably low -- $3.5 million -- but which we will hope to exceed, since there is a lot of interest in our property from a variety of sources, including the Town of Darien.

After applying the proceeds from the sale of the building, we have a projected $22.5 million to raise privately. As Kim Huffard is quoted as saying in the article, that's by far the largest amount of money ever raised by an organization in Darien. Kim, George Wyper (Board President and co-chair of the Capital Campaign Committee) and the Committee members have been quietly approaching long-time friends of the library and others in the community during the past 15 months, and the amount contributed to date is $17.5 million.

I'm sure they feel great about what they've accomplished so far, but a good analogy might be running a marathon. You've got to be in great shape even to enter, but everyone who has ever run one says that the first 20 miles are easy compared to the last 6. Well, here the first $17.5 million is going to seem easy compared to the last $5 million, when it's going to take support from everyone in Darien once the public campaign begins in the spring of 2007.

Posted by Alan Kirk Gray at 09:11 AM