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Research: Leveraging the power of WorldCat Tips & Tricks: Raise your online visibility Labs: Get your library on the go NetLibrary launches new media center Spotlight: From linking to thinking 
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How libraries are using new ideas and out-of-the-box thinking to meet a variety of challengesBy Andy Havens and Tom Storey Personal innovation “What can I do about it?”
When faced with challenges, many groups and individuals react by drawing in. The natural response to uncertainty is to minimize risk and avoid change. This may be exactly the wrong approach, however. By encouraging creative solutions and new ways of doing business, library organizations are successfully navigating times of uncertainty and turmoil. How can each of us create and maintain a culture of innovation? Our conversations with the libraries featured here suggest that you need to make innovation personal—for yourself, your users and your organization. Innovate around users’ needs Customer experience is key While cutting back on service levels is a common response in tough economic times, maintaining a great customer experience should always be the goal, according to an article in The McKinsey Quarterly,“Maintaining the Customer Experience.” Although not written specifically for libraries, the article’s advice is nonetheless instructive. “Sophisticated companies figure out what matters most to customers and invest in the drivers of satisfaction,” says Adam Braff, Principal in the McKinsey Washington office. “This requires analyzing the customer experience and a willingness to question long-held internal beliefs reinforced through repetition by upper management.” In the end, Braff says, such a rigorous process may improve service and save money. He notes a bank that recently was considering an ATM upgrade that included a new user interface and screening barriers for user privacy. Customer research showed, however, that more ATMs and the consistent availability of money in them was what users wanted most. The costly ATM upgrade was postponed and the bank redirected its efforts. Just ask … The Norris Medical Library at the University of Southern California used focus groups to innovate around user needs and preferences. For example, in the research area, one group revealed faculty frustrations in trying to keep up with the proliferation of data analysis tools and databases. It was essential for faculty to improve their knowledge and use of these resources that would analyze and interpret large quantities of data. The library responded by hiring a Ph.D. in molecular biology. After assessing user needs, he developed and conducted ongoing training sessions in selecting and using bioinformatics resources. He also provided consulting services for research teams in their labs and developed a Web site to promote and support the use of these resources, as well as to disseminate information about new tools available for use by the USC research community. Key learning: Innovation around users’ needs was driven by simply asking what areas were most challenging. Short-distance reference calls
Key learning: Observing user behaviors and focusing on improving their experiences provided the basis for a simple, innovative improvement. Three varieties of “quiet” In 2007, librarians at Oak Park Public Library in Illinois were hearing from two groups of heavy library users. One wanted to use the library for quiet study. The other was interested in creating community spaces there. The library faced a tough decision.
Monica Harris, Young Adult Librarian, says noise had become an issue and the objective was to create a library space that a wide variety of users—from those who wanted total silence to those who wanted boisterous programming and meetings with friends—could feel comfortable in. To address these seemingly contradictory needs, the library implemented color-coded zones last year to clarify the noise levels and activities permitted. Red Zones are silent areas, ideal for users who want to work or read with no disturbance. Yellow Zones are quiet areas for those who want to work or read with only whispered conversation and minimal disturbance. Green Zones are social spaces for users who want to gather in groups or talk with others. To keep costs low, the library created inhouse materials, such as signage and brochures, to implement the zones. “All in all, this has been very successful in meeting everyone’s expectations of what the library should be,” said Harris. So successful that a neighboring library, the Schaumburg Public Library, adopted the same noise zones, and Oak Park provided its staff with all of its artwork, posters and collateral materials, as well as advice to help them implement the program. Key learning: Staying close to customers helps guide innovation efforts and make them successful. Look for trends and listen for cues from your environment. Forget the fine. See you on Friday! At a retreat two years ago, staff at the San Diego County Library (SDCL) were brainstorming ways to turn any negative library image into a positive one. The group was looking for quick, easy-to-implement ideas to make the library a more customer-friendly, welcoming place. One staffer suggested eliminating late fines—arguably the most unpopular part of a user’s library experience.
With that, Fine-Free Friday was born. On the last Friday of every month, SDCL waives fines on all overdue materials and allows users to get replacement library cards for free, normally a $2 charge. Sometimes, to liven up the celebration and make an impact on users, staff dress up in party attire and serve refreshments. “The program brings an enormous amount of goodwill to the library, particularly in these tough economic times,” says Bertha Heurtero, Circulation Services Manager, who oversees the program. Originally called Happy Hour and limited to two hours, Fine-Free Friday began in September 2007 and has brought a slew of materials back to the library, including a book due January 15, 1980. Each branch decides how to run its event. Circulation from 2007–2008 rose 27 percent. And while waiving fees might mean forfeited revenue, surprisingly, total fines collected in that period increased 17.7 percent over the previous year. More overall circulation meant more fine revenue across the board, along with better customer satisfaction and good publicity. Key learning: Identify “hot button” areas that are most in need of change in order to innovate in ways that will be most meaningful to users.
Nothing is out of bounds Less hiding, more finding Processing backlogs has always been a challenge in the archival community, due to the great care taken to painstakingly arrange and organize the unique materials in archival collections. Staff at the American Heritage Center (AHC) at the University of Wyoming, though, was finding that these requirements meant that much of their collection was hidden from those who needed access. Making more of its rich, archival collections accessible required radical innovation. By rethinking traditional practices, the Center moved its unprocessed collections out of the back room and into the mainstream. The answer was what has become known as MPLP (More Product, Less Process), or minimal processing. MPLP is an attempt to drastically limit item-level work within collections, focusing instead on series- and collection-level work. The premise is that users are better served by some information about many collections rather than detailed information about fewer collections, says Mark A. Greene, Director, AHC. “We implemented MPLP in its most radical fashion, deciding to create collection-level catalog records, entered into WorldCat, for all our unprocessed collections, to ensure basic intellectual accessibility,” he says. “Then we work backwards to do series-level arrangement and description where warranted on those same collections. Collections are being prioritized for more work in part by user demand.” The new approach results in more visibility for previously hidden collections by roughly tripling the speed with which AHC processes archival materials. “We take comfort in the fact that we are revolutionizing access to our holdings,” Greene says. Key learning: Be prepared to challenge even your most basic assumptions if you want innovation efforts to yield significant results. A five-minute walk On the cusp of a financial crisis in Asia, the National Library Board of Singapore made a decision—to become a world-class library system. Today, 14 years later, customers love Singapore libraries. What was their secret? A five-minute walk.
Chew Leng Beh, Senior Director, Library and Professional Services, National Library Board of Singapore, says that customer-centric innovation drove the system’s design and growth. “It’s a simple principle. All of our services are convenient, accessible, affordable and useful.” To maximize convenience and economic value, the library board opened new, state-of-the-art libraries in leased space at shopping malls around the island, left empty by a crash in the economy. Innovative thinking was required in order for libraries to be within a five-minute walk from all public transportation stations—the board’s definition of convenience. Since then, library membership in Singapore has doubled. Circulation is 28.8 million, up 53 percent from 1996, and visitorship hit 37.3 million last year, up from 9.8 million in 1996. Use of e-resources has skyrocketed, tripling in the last two years. And it’s not unusual for large crowds to show up for new library openings. Key learning: Look outside your organization, your industry, your community—your comfort zone—for ways in which to discover and implement innovative solutions. Veni, vidi … vending? Let’s push the innovation envelope even further than “library branches in shopping malls.” What about serving the needs of users who don’t have the time or transportation to get to any kind of a library branch? Each day, more than 60,000 people commute from Contra Costa County, California to San Francisco. About 5,000 use the Pittsburg/Bay Point transit station. Thanks to the innovative efforts of the Contra Costa County Library, these previously underserved commuters now have access to a collection of books via an automated book lending machine—the first of its kind in the United States.
Developed by Distec, a Swedish firm, and originally used in Scandinavian countries, the Bokomaten is a freestanding, book-dispensing machine that stores books, DVDs and CDs, and handles loans, returns and administration automatically. A touchpad, similar to an ATM screen, is used to select from up to 500 items that are delivered through the front of the unit. Materials are returned through the same slot. A library card is required to use the machine. “We needed to correct an inequity in library service without additional county funds and without reducing library service to other communities,” said Cathy Sanford, Deputy County Librarian, Support Services. The library partnered with the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District and secured an LSTA grant from the California State Library to purchase the Bokomaten machine. It launched the new Library-a-Go-Go service in May 2008. Two days a week, at peak commuter times, the library puts a community outreach librarian on-site to answer questions, help commuters use the machines and sign people up for library cards. Through January 2009, about 1,400 books have been circulated and more than 800 new members have been signed up. A survey revealed that 73 percent of users consider the Library-a-Go-Go machine as their main branch. With the success of the program, the library is on track for three additional installations in 2009: one in a shopping center, and two in other transit stations. “Feedback indicates that Library-a-Go-Go provides a much-needed service for commuters and is expanding the library’s presence through new library cards, book lending and information on local libraries and programs,” says Sanford. Key learning: Reaching underserved users may require extreme focus and radical innovation in order to break into new markets, specific demographics or niche communities. Encourage innovation among users, too Library … camera … ACTION!
When Library Director James Radcliffe received an e-mail about neighborhood renewal grants, he and his staff at Nunsthorpe Library came up with the idea to install a media suite in the library with high-definition cameras and editing equipment for the community to use and borrow. The objective was to give something different to library users, enabling them to make videos for YouTube, other Web sites or personal DVDs. The library got its grant and named the new initiative Nunny TV. It partnered with several local groups to build the studio, buy the equipment, train the users, operate the studio, produce the programs and publicize the hours. “Nunsthorpe is a depressed area and we felt that digital media was a great way for people to learn a range of transferable skills in a fun and imaginative way,” Radcliffe said. “Ultimately, we wanted to make the public library more relevant in the 21st century and a focal point for the community. As with many public libraries in the U.K., membership and active use were falling.”
“Although we’ve had some fantastic programs, we have nothing on the same scale as Nunny TV. It’s been an innovation that enhances everything else we do. We’re hoping to get small community media hubs into all of our branch libraries as soon as we can.” Key learning: Innovations that help your users to innovate in their lives will create a more meaningful connection with your library. “Your ideas are important.” People, not organizations, make innovation happen. All it takes is an individual with passion and perseverance to turn an idea into reality. Encourage everyone in your library—including users—to champion ideas that improve services.
The most popular book at the time was Gone with the Wind, of which the library had one copy. When he checked the reserve list one day, he saw 48 people who wanted to borrow the book … a waiting list four years long. “I tried to do something about that,” Kilgour explained. He asked the library to purchase more copies. “Couldn’t do it”, the order department said, because at the time it was illegal for a library to own more than one copy of a book. Undeterred, he put a note in the student newspaper for used copies that could be donated to the library. He received four, but to his chagrin, the catalogers at first refused to add them to the collection. He persevered though, and soon the library was circulating more copies of Gone with the Wind. Kilgour’s early, successful experiences with personal innovation led him to imagine larger possibilities and improvements later in his career. The ability for one person to make a difference in the lives of library users inspired him to go on to forge new territory in library automation, cataloging, resource sharing, electronic “Your ideas are important,” he said in closing to his audience of OCLC employees. “It takes some doing and you have to get out and around and talk with people you never met before, but do it.” Challenging times provide opportunities for innovationHistory suggests that tough economic times provide opportunities for innovation. Just ask Tom Nicholas. An Associate Professor at the Harvard Business School, Nicholas recently researched business practices in the 1930s to see if there were any useful lessons for executives setting priorities in today’s highly volatile economic environment. The answer? Yes—particularly when it comes to innovation. Nicholas found that companies that delay innovation during the hard times risk significant growth opportunities when uncertainty subsides and the economy recovers. “Many companies hesitated to innovate during the 1930s, as measured by patent applications,” Nicholas said. “On the whole, corporate executives preferred to wait and see. Successful companies—even in the midst of the Great Depression—did not delay investments in innovation.” The best example is DuPont, he says. In 1930, DuPont discovered neoprene (synthetic rubber) and nine years later, every automobile and airplane manufactured in the United States had neoprene components. In addition, by 1937, 40 percent of DuPont’s sales came from products such as rayon, enamels and cellulose film that did not exist prior to 1929. DuPont isn’t the only example, Nicholas says. Hewlett-Packard and Polaroid were established as entrepreneurial start-ups in the 1930s, as well as Carvel, Good Humor, Clairol and Chock Full O’ Nuts. All became leaders in their industries later in the century. “Even the deepest of downturns can create opportunities for companies and organizations with ideas,” Nicholas says. For libraries, Nicholas says the generalized observation is that in times of economic stress, delaying innovation doesn’t make sense and is not always the best option. “An uncertain economy should not dictate a blanket pullback. It’s a time of reconfiguration when you decide which projects go forward and which ones are delayed. And that’s not easy.”
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One often thinks of innovation in terms of sweeping changes—entirely new technologies that arise and, over time, saturate society and alter our way of life. We ride these waves and, often, incorporate these improvements into our daily lives. But the average citizen is not the inventor, engineer or programmer who creates new technologies and alters the landscape. Innovation isn’t something ordinary people do … or is it?
Turning an old storeroom into a media studio has unleashed the creative talents of Nunsthorpe residents ages 7–70. And it’s all possible thanks to the innovative thinking of 
Since the establishment of Nunny TV, however, the library has seen a 30 percent “jolt” in use. The new studio and
equipment, along with the videos produced, sparked new life and new interest in the library. Several creative Nunsthorpe residents even produced award-winning videos, including one used by the U.K. National Health Service to
launch a teen health campaign and one on a local soccer star that was among the top five finalists in the BBC’s young
journalist competition.
OCLC Founder Frederick G. Kilgour, in his last public appearance at OCLC, stressed that the future of libraries hinges on the work of the individuals who make it happen. He emphasized the importance of innovation and how critical it is for each person to push his or her ideas ahead. He told of a radical idea he pushed in 1936, in the depths of the Depression, while working at the delivery desk at Harvard Library.
