Dewey and BISAC
A Middle Path to Developing a Display Oriented LibraryAndy BarnettMcMillan Memorial Library490 East Grand Ave.Wisconsin Rapids, [email protected]
Our Situation in 2005
Budget crunch - Industry layoffs, city-wide cuts on horizon, static population / tax base
Library - 1970 building, with room to expand internally
Advantages – Strong sense of mission, shared system, support of local foundations, library endowment
Excellence on a Budget
Long range plan - community survey, focus groups, staff and board retreats
Consultation with architect
Best practices & PLA Conferences
Mantras: Leading edge of what has been proven Adapt not adopt
Role Models
Richmond (B.C.) Public Library – Power shelving
Retail and Hospitality leaders Bookstores not good models Marketing guru Paco Underhill Third place
2 ½ Strategies
A three zone library including a Community Commons
Maximize self-service options when consistent with quality service– Display oriented library
Display Oriented Library
Implementation will vary depending upon size and type of library.
Display / merchandise as much as possible, focusing on new materials and AV
Genre / BISAC subject collections Browsing areas not shelving units
Size Matters
In smaller libraries, entire collection can be displayed
In larger libraries, only a small portion of the collection can be displayed
At McMillan, 20% of fiction is on display and 30% is in genre collections. 15% of Non-Fiction is displayed.
Why New Materials/AV?
Don’t they go out anyway? Already a high traffic area Busy optimal Easy metric Bite size Incremental and evolutionary
Genre / BISAC Collections
New Adult books go into display collections 12 Fic genres and 17 BISAC NF categories After ~a year, items age into stacks Temporary stickers (collection and date) Display shelving and space
Browsing Areas vs. Stacks
More room = more circulation Stack aisle = one person A destination Permanent collection with dynamic content Displays and permanent genre collections YA = browsing collection, not a clubhouse
Our Gradual Implementation
Display shelving for New Book area Genre / subject collections of New Books Display shelving for AV Additional permanent genre collections Creating display areas wherever possible We still have stacks
Critical Mass
Enough items to reward repeat attention from a browser
Coherent and popular A constant stream of new materials After local browsers have seen, move them
out
Benefits to Readers
Simplest, easiest, most successful experience – Each reader, their book
Better service = better browsing Displays lead readers to new authors and
genres New authors lead readers to older titles
Benefits to Library
All authors/books get a chance at maximum display - Each book, its reader
Provides selection / weeding data 50%+ of displays checked out Displays lead readers to stacks Rewards patrons who visit library
Embracing Branch Library Status
As part of a shared system, McMillan is a branch of a large virtual library– Display collections an interior branch– Stacks are local storage– Shared collection is remote storage
Just in case vs. just in time Being the best branch
If we were a bookstore…
Our new books and AV = bookstore Stacks = used bookstore Shared collection = Amazon Bestsellers are where it breaks down
Lessons Learned
Display units don’t belong in aisles Maximize books patron can see at once Browsing areas – open, room-like Seating and tables in display areas Stacks - where books go to die Never use bottom shelves – anywhere
Lessons Learned (cont.)
Weed thoroughly – you can’t market what people don’t want
Fiction ≠ Non-Fiction Magazines a browsing collection We are all branch libraries now Direction of change > speed of change
Things we did wrong
Collections without critical mass AV Display Aisles - now six feet wide Children’s a tougher nut to crack
Getting started
Wall units Outside edges of stacks – x2 factor Display shelving – expensive and not always
ready for prime time Cul de sacs, C or L shaped areas
Our Fiction Collections
New Fiction Collections New Fiction New Mysteries Science Fiction Fantasy Christian Fiction Suspense Thriller Crime Historical Fiction Romance Adult Graphic Novels Rental
Permanent Fiction Collections Fiction Mystery Science Fiction Fantasy Christian Fiction Classics Adult Graphic Novels YA Fiction / YA Graphic
Novels Large Print Fiction, Mystery
and Western
New Non-Fiction Collections
Hot Topics Pop Culture Food & Celebrations Health & Fitness Self-Help & Psychology Art & Art Instruction Crafts Around the House Sports & Recreation
Memoirs & Autobiography Biography General History 20th Century History Travel & the World Science & Nature Religion & Spirituality Finance & Business
Recommended Reading/Viewing
Civic librarianship : renewing the social mission of the public library by Ronald B. McCabe.
Libraries, community, and technology by Andy Barnett. Why we buy : the science of shopping by Paco Underhill. The call of the mall by Paco Underhill. Inevitable surprises : thinking ahead in a time of turbulence by Peter Schwartz Richmond Public Library (B.C.) presentations
– The Public Library of the Future Today (2004) - http://www.yourlibrary.ca/presentation/frame.htm
– Good to Great (2006) - http://www.yourlibrary.ca/GoodToGreat.pdf– Creating Excellence (2004) - http://www.yourlibrary.ca/CreatingExcellence.pdf
McMillan Memorial Library tour - http://www.mcmillanlibrary.org/library/tour.html The Library Commons by Ron McCabe. Voya, October 2009, p. 296-7 Doing More with Less: the McMillan Experience (updated 2009) PLA Handouts http://www.placonference.org/session_handouts.cfm