Technorati Tags: library users,libraries in society

Every library operates today in a very competitive environment. Google, Yahoo, etc., compete with us in bringing information seekers and information sources together. More than that, we have competition for people’s attention–Internet surfing, television, radio, telephones, innumberable ads in every medium conceivable, video games, text messages, and on and on. If we can connect with people in the communities we serve long enough to get their attention and demonstrate to them how through our services and resources we can add value in their lives and work, we can hook them as library users and advocates.

I had a number of conversations with colleagues in October at the New England Library Association conference in Sturbridge, MA. One was about a library user is is hooked on her public library to an extraordinary degree. A librarian at a Massachusetts public library told the story of a very loyal user who depends on telephone reference service for a variety of information needs. One day this user was in an auto accident. Who did she call on her cell phone immediately after the accident occurred? The reference staff at her public library! She asked what she should do. The librarian who took her call made sure she wasn’t hurt and then advised that she should call 911.

Not many library users are that hooked (or perhaps in this case, dependent) on their libraries. But it is a wonderful example of how, once we demonstrate our value to an individual, that individual is hooked on the value of library service.