[WEB4LIB] RE: Is the milk in the back? (was Re: Alta Vista's

[Edward Wigg]

At 07:21 AM 4/21/99 -0700, Paul Deane <pdeane at rla.lib.il.us>
 wrote:
>I have found that libraries and book stores usually have science fiction in 
>the back or the far corner of the basement.  Harlan Ellison even wrote a 
>story about it.  Does this qualify as the milk in the back?
>

I think this is a different but related phenomenon -- readers of science
fiction will find the books that interest them no matter how much they are
hidden (the fact that they pass the cookbooks and the like is probably
irrelevant to them -- they get the less desirable real estate because they
know what they want and will find it); the flashier impulse purchase items
are up front where they can entice the people who just happen to wander in
to the store.

Most public libraries do a poor job of marketing themselves; "milk in the
back" may not be an appropriate technique for libraries, but the a
marketing mind set that would at least consider such a technique would be
help. To say that _the_ goal of a public library is to "satisfy the patron
as quickly as can be completely done," is very narrow and incomplete view
of the library's role in society.

I'm not much of a lover of mission statements, but they can at least give
us some guidance in this sort of matter. For example our mission "is to
provide and promote open access to reading, cultural, intellectual and
informational resources that will enrich and enlighten all segments of our
community." Nothing about speed being of the essence in there. Promotion of
library services (and educating citizens about what they are getting for
their taxes and why it should be matter to them) is very important, even at
the expense of slowing some transactions down. Slow it down too much and
you are interfering with the mission, streamlining the process by not
promoting the library at all is just as short sighted.

The trick is not to slow down the easy (I hate the fact that it can take 15
minutes to buy a gallon of milk at the grocery store), but to encourage
people to broaden their ideas about library services by making them
appealing, friendly, and probably in your face.

Edward