Thursday, November 26, 2009

Newsletter Number 13


November 09


Review drought alert!....

The flow of reviews is drying up. Come on guys, don’t let our website become out of date and tired! Keep those reviews coming – we know you’re all out there reading, listening and viewing, we’ve seen the overflowing staff hold shelves! Just a few sentences is all you need to write. Send your reviews to Kim Sipeli

Other people’s libraries…

Working fireplaces, indoor waterfalls and moveable “clouds” to shade the sun are just some of the features of this stunning public library in Salt Lake City. Check out this amazing library and be prepared to be wowed by the features and facilities the citizens of Salt Lake City are able to enjoy.
” The librarians in this area take great pleasure in discussing your reading interests, helping you find more books like the ones you've recently enjoyed, and introducing you to new authors and subjects.”
Mmmm…That sounds strangely familiar!

Yet another library to visit on the Librarian’s world tour.

http://www.slcpl.lib.ut.us/details.jsp?parent_id=7&page_id=5

Website of the month…
http://getwithitweb2.blogspot.com/2009/08/module-6-topic-1-books-and-authors.html

This month you are being taken to North Shore Libraries’ very own blogspot to have a look at the sites included in module 6 of the “Get with it” programme which many of you are currently doing. Module 6 is all about sampling what’s out there for us to explore. Twittering, Facebooking, Blogging… you name it, someone is using it as a forum for talking about books and reading.
And when you have had a look at these, perhaps you may feel inspired to do the Get With It programme… there’s still time!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Newsletter no. 12

October 09


Looking at other people’s libraries…Take a moment to have a look at the outstanding modern Alexandrian Library in Egypt.
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/egypt/alexandria-library-bibliotheca-alexandrina

Designed by a Swedish architect and completed in 2002 it cost $220 million to build and sees 800,000 visitors per year.
Imagine a 70,000 square metre Reading Hall that can accommodate 2,000 readers at one time. And that’s not all… this is a truly outstanding facility. Like the New York Public Library, it would have to be a “must see” for travelling librarians!
Follow the links in this website and prepare to be wowed.

Quote of the month…The time to read is any time: no apparatus, no appointment of time and place, is necessary. It is the only art which can be practised at any hour of the day or night, whenever the time and inclination comes, that is your time for reading; in joy or sorrow, health or illness. ~Holbrook Jackson

Website of the month…http://www.readersadvice.com/
This website is quite a one stop shop. Not only can you search for authors, genres and series, but if you click on Reader's Advisory Tips & Sources you will find links to all sorts of other websites that may help you find that elusive “good read” your customer is looking for.

Monday, October 5, 2009

The Reading Experience conversation

Remember the video we watched at the Reading Experience training sessions?
Here it is, an excellent demonstration of a librarian and a customer engaging in a Readers' Advisory transaction.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Newsletter no. 11

September 09


Book reviews – a pick of the month….
What a great assortment of reviews being submitted to our web site. If you haven’t felt brave enough to try it yet, just take a deep breathe and write it down as if you are telling a friend. Here is a great example that feels as though the writer is talking to you about a series they enjoyed.

DarkangelReview by Library staff
Date: 3 August 2009
“I read this series many, many years ago and would recommend it to anyone who wants to read about vampires or the supernatural. I enjoyed these 3 books because I became engrossed with the characters and needed to find out what happened next. It was also a teenage love story, not like the “Twilight” series to which I only read Book One and I felt it told the whole story - without having to read the rest!! I recommend these three books to anyone who likes supernatural “love” stories”.

Quote of the month…
“Libraries are as the shrine where all the relics of the ancient saints, full of true virtue, and that without delusion or imposture, are preserved and reposed”. - BaconWell, yes… But helping our customers find a cracking good read is a lot more fun!

Website of the month…
http://www.reader2reader.net/
Amongst other things, this site presents routes to books linked to the situations where they might be read – 3am reads for sleepless nights, relaxing and refreshing reads for the garden, familiar reads in a comfy armchair. A great site for browsing which includes “bin a book”. Hated reads and why.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Newsletter number 10

August 09

A fabulous new service to be offered by North Shore Libraries...!
We will soon be offering a new service to our customers. They will be able to download audio books on to a variety of devices, PC, Ipod, MP3 etc., both at home and in the library. Yes, there will be training so that you will be able to offer the assistance customers may need. So… in the next couple of months, if you hear the word Overdrive you’ll know what it’s referring to. Overdrive provides the infrastructure and applications to support the down loading of audio books. Here is a preview of how it works:

Visit the link below and click on “downloadable media help” and “quick start guide” to scroll through and find out what it’s all about.
http://auckland.lib.overdrive.com/5FDF8A76-F4DB-4032-A30C-A9549C2F0EB0/10/443/en/Default.htm

For further information you can also explore the Overdrive website:
http://www.overdrive.com/

You will hear more about this fabulous new service and any training needed in due course.
What about our ideas…?
You may have been wondering what has become of the good ideas you put forward at the Reading Experience training sessions. Well, you will be pleased to know that the Library Management group is soon to have a workshop to further progress The Reading Experience, and implementing those ideas will be discussed as part of the workshop.
Quote of the month…Considering how many cards have been signed by our patrons recently, this one seemed especially appropriate…
“The richest person in the world – in fact, all the riches in world – couldn’t provide you with anything like the endless, incredible loot available at your local library. You can measure the awareness, the breadth and the wisdom of a civilisation, a nation, a people, by the priority given to preserving these repositories of all that we are, all that we were, or will be.”
Malcolm Forbes, former publisher and editor of Fortune magazine.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Newsletter No. 9

July 09

The Reading Experience Training is finished. So is that it…?
Not at all, there’s more! The training sessions you have all just attended were only the beginning of The Reading Experience. Still to come for training are half day sessions aimed at The Reading Experience-kids and teens, two hour sessions for shelvers, and a workshop for the library managers. Also, the newsletter will continue on a monthly basis in the same format with hints, tips, websites and alerts to new things to check out on the blog such as exercises you can do to hone your Reading Experience skills. By now you should be seeing The Reading Experience on your staff meeting agendas. What an opportunity for you to share great reads with each other, new ideas, websites, events and programmes and to share your progress in being out there talking to your customers having that reading conversation and putting some wow! into their day and yours.

Tip of the month…Running out of books to put shelf talkers into because they keep going out? The customers sure do go for them. See what other library staff have enjoyed by visiting “Rave Reads” on the blog:
http://nslreadingexperience.blogspot.com/search/label/Rave%20Reads
Then have a look on the OPAC and see if copies are on your shelves. Grab them, put in shelf talkers, put them on display and voila! Your customers will love you for it. (developed from an idea from a TRE training session)
Congratulations…!!
…To those of you who have completed your two compulsory post training exercises, and have received your certificate from Geoff. If you need a reminder of what to do go to:
http://nslreadingexperience.blogspot.com/search/label/exercises
It needn’t take long – your answers can be brief. Talk to your manager or IS Librarian if you need help. (psssst! Ask them if they’ve done theirs!)

Website of the month…..
For your own enjoyment, and to keep you up with what your customers are bound to be looking at. Have a look at what TVNZ provides on line for readers.
http://tvnz.co.nz/the-good-word
Lifestyle Book Reviews

Quote of the month…“Libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries”. - Anne Herbert, Whole Earth Catalog

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Has it become so hard to find a really good book?

How many of you read this recent opinion in the Saturday Herald?

John Roughan: Why has it become so hard to find a really good book?

What were your thoughts on this article? Do you think we do better in libraries than book shops? Are we up to the challenge?

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Hunters and Gatherers

Many of you at the training sessions asked for information about John Stanley's theory that customers may be categorised as either 'hunters' or 'gatherers' according to their shopping habits. The following articles explore this topic further. Food for thought!




Are you making the most of your transition zone and foyer?

Monday, June 15, 2009

Newsletter number 8

June 12 ‘09


Writing reviews for our website…….
I’m sure you are all thinking about that book you’ve just enjoyed and busily writing your short review for the new website. Don’t forget it’s your opinion of the book readers want to know … they can always get an outline from the catalogue if they want to know more about the plot.

Tip of the week…Did you know that you can request back copies of the reviewing journals that circulate to the selectors? What a great way to broaden your knowledge of those genres, subjects and formats you don’t read, and keep up with the new authors who are appearing on the scene.
To choose - search by subject: Books – reviews – periodicals
http://www.elgar.govt.nz/search~S6?/dBooks+--+Reviews+--+Periodicals/dbooks+reviews+periodicals/-3%2C-1%2C0%2CB/exact&FF=dbooks+reviews+periodicals&1%2C13%2C

Food for thought….‘When people say they can’t put a book down, the suggestion is that they want to find out what happens next, but I don’t think that’s true at all. I think when we say that, it means we don’t want to break the spell that has been cast upon us by the voice of the writer, and we don’t want to break that relationship, that intimate relationship, we’ve established with another while we’re actually reading.’
(Diane Stubbings, An intimate relationship; interview with David Malouf. Canberra Times, Saturday, September 2, 2006, Panorama section, p. 11)

Website of the week…..
www.mcpl.lib.mo.us/readers/movies
Based on the Book
'Based on the Book' is a compilation of over 1,250 books, novels, short stories, and plays that have been made into motion pictures. Utilizing the
Internet Movie Database as the authority, all movies in this collection have been released as feature-length films in the United States, in English, since 1980.

Quote of the week… “Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures”. ~Jessamyn West

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Newsletter Number 6

May 14 ‘09

The Training is here …
Q: How will I get to know about all the good ideas being shared during the course? There are lots of sessions, and I only attend one of them.A: The trainers are taking note of the good ideas coming from the sessions and these will be shared with you via the blog and these newsletters. They are keeping a note of the Rave Reads you are talking about too- these will also be available on the blog.
Tip of the week…

Displays don’t have to be complicated. Try relating a simple display to a colour, e.g.
RED HOT!”
Back it with red paper or cloth and fill it with all kinds of items with red covers- fiction and non-fiction ,DVDs, CDs and audio books. It’s a great way of showing customers a selection of our stock they may never stumble across otherwise.
How about MOODY BLUE or BASIC BLACK….? The list can be as long as your imagination
.

Food for thought….

Take advantage of opportunities within the library for promotion. The library building and its inmates are great promotional tools! Friendly, helpful people are one of our best means of promoting anything the library has to offer.

Website of the week…..
Mad about JD Robb?
Know someone who is?
www.indeath.net
All you will ever want to know and more about J.D Robb’s “In Death” series.


Quote of the week…

“Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere.”
Mary Schmich

Monday, May 11, 2009

Retail Imperatives

1: The Customer Experience
Every single way your company ‘touches’ the customer contributes to the total experience…
The answer is to create a sustainable competitive advantage through customer loyalty …
… so the best strategy is to cultivate customers by giving them very positive experiences.”

2: The Experience is the Brand
From the findings of a 2007 survey of New Zealand adult shoppers on the importance of measuring frontline staff performance and store presentation:
“The survey findings show that a ‘smooth transaction’ heads the list of the most important elements of customer service. ‘Friendly, knowledgeable, approachable staff’ were also considered a significant factor as was a ‘clean and tidy’ store.”
“Customers also say staff paying individual attention and appearing genuinely interested in them are as important as being offered a pleasant greeting or farewell.”

3: The Library Experience
Bookstore corporate headquarters assiduously control what they view as the “bookstore experience”.
Maybe we need to place the same emphasis on the “library experience.”
Since we’re no longer the only game in town, we’ve got to be the most attractive choice.
“But we’re free!” we cry. Sure, that’s an attraction, but it’s not enough.
Free or not, people won’t spend time in a library unless the experience contributes something to their day.

4: Customer Flow
Get 100% of customers to see 100% of your products. Offer 60% of the library floor plan as space for customers.

5: Merchandise how the customer thinks
In a successful library 50% of the users will be male. This has obvious implications for product promotion.

6: Power Spots

The Super Bookstore Difference
“Barnes & Noble customers come ten steps inside the front door and read the titles of a hundred books. Sometimes library users standing in the same spot may see empty space or the circulation desk.”

Four steps into the library is the ideal “power spot”.







7: The Image Game
It is important that the library customer’s first impressions are overwhelmingly positive ones: both their engagement with library staff and the physical appearance of the library.

8: Word-of-Mouth
A survey of shoppers in the United States determined that 31% of respondents inform their friends of bad experiences.
Significance
Generating positive experiences elicits spontaneous and sincere recommendations amongst the public.

9: Top Ten
All Barnes & Noble staff are required to know the Top10 Bestsellers and their location in their store.
They are also expected to familiarise themselves with the advance stock sheets for incoming books.

10: The Science of Merchandising




"The vast majority of products kept in the library are ‘non-known value’ and need to be marketed off the shelves." The Science of Merchandising by John Stanley
Impulse & Browsing:
Placement is critical
‘Purpose Products’ don’t require the same investment in display and space to promote their use.

11: Up Close & Personal
Barnes & Noble staff are assigned shelving areas within which, when customers enter their area, they approach and indicate early to the customer that assistance is readily available.

12: Effective Staff-to-Customer communication
Probe but don’t spend too much time questioning. Most people are either visual or kinaesthetic learners which means they need to experience the products.
Don’t flood the customer with information – relate only those product features and benefits specially related to their stated needs.
Adding on – suggest complementary products and/or services that will benefit the customer, again specifically related to their needs.
Farewell with attitude – firmly convey to the customer that you were pleased that they visited the library, that you hope their experience was enjoyable, with the aim of creating repeat visits.

13: The Do’s of Body Language
Make eye contact and position yourself face-to-face.
Look welcoming, not bored.
Approach the customer, don’t wait for them to ask you
Approach customers with a friendly question or a comment
Respect the customer’s personal space

14: The Sales Process
Meet and greet
Discover customer needs
Confirm customer needs
Research
Present products
Review or repeat
Thank and farewell

15: Evaluate the Experience
The best and most effective way to do this is to simply ask your customers. It is their perspective that matters. They will almost certainly let you know what you are doing well.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Reading Experience Exercise 1 - conversation with customer and colleague

Have a conversation with one colleague and one customer about their reading, based on the question: "How do you choose your next book?"
Email your comment on the responses you got and what you learned from the conversation to northshorelibraries@gmail.com.

Reading Experience Exercise 2 - visit a readers' advisory website or blog

Visit a new readers' advisory website or blog and post a comment here about what you found and what you liked/disliked.
Email a link to your comment to northshorelibraries@gmail.com

Reading Experience Exercise 3 (optional) What do

What do you think bookshops are doing well to enhance the customer experience? What have you seen that you liked that you think we could use in our libraries? Post your comment here and email the link to your comment to northshorelibraries.gmail.com.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Newsletter Number 5

April 30 '09
Training is here … the trainers are revved and raring to go!

Your manager will be organising for you to attend training – the first session is on Tuesday 5th of May. If you haven’t heard which day you’re going yet, don’t panic – the training continues right through into the middle of July. You will receive personal notification from Karen closer to the day you are scheduled to attend. Shelvers, you will have you own sessions arranged a little later in the year.

How do I prepare for the training day?Read, read, read! You will need to think about a book, DVD, magazine etc. you’ve enjoyed so you can share it on the day. You will also need to have posted a comment on the blog – talk to your supervisor or other senior staff if you need help with this.

Where will it be?The venue is Glenfield Library Community Board room. The day will start at 8.30 sharp, so please be there five minutes before. The day will finish at 5.00.
You will need to make your own arrangements for lunch, an hour has been allocated, the mall is nearby and you are welcome to use the library lunch room. Morning and afternoon tea will be provided.

Food for thought….
“The very least that public libraries can do…is to ensure that the overall impression of the space is not negative. How tidy is it? How many notices are displayed which aim to control visitor behaviour? Are staff members identifiable if they’re not behind the counter and if they are, do they take a moment to raise their heads, make eye-contact and offer a smile to visitors?”

From: The Reader Friendly Library Service – Rachel Van Riel.

Website of the week…..
www.readersadvice.com
10,000+ fiction authors in 475+ subgenres

Quote of the week…
“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could
call him up on the phone whenever you felt like
it…”
~ J. D. Salinger ~

Thursday, April 23, 2009

The Importance of Reading


Do you read for entertainment, for information, to escape, for enlightenment, to experience new things, for comfort or for stimulation?


Some questions to consider:

What does reading mean to you?

Why does reading matter?
Why do people read?
How personal is the reading experience?
What benefits do you personally gain from reading?


Record your thoughts here!

Newsletter Number 4

April 23 ‘09

Shelf Talkers … What are they and how do we use them?

Your library has received some shelf talkers designed by North Shore Libraries’ very own Jan Marshall. If you haven’t seen them, ask your supervisor or manager to show you where they are.

Shelf talkers are a very simple way of making reading suggestions to your customers… and it needn’t be limited to books either. They can be put into DVDs, CDs, audio books, magazines etc.

What a great reason to chat with your customers as they are putting their books into the bin. Ask them if they enjoyed them! If they did – put a shelf talker in the book and put it on your face out display shelves or bay end display for other customers.
Naturally you will all do the same with the books and other media that you enjoyed!

Tip of the week….

The balance of a freestanding display is most important: The shape of a pyramid is the easiest way to create a freestanding display, it has imaginary 3 sides, is visible from all angles and is a guideline which is easy to use. Create this by stacking cubes or blocks which can be offset to create interesting angles and spaces on which to put your books.


Food for thought….

On entering any new space, 80% of the impression we carry thereafter is based on what we see immediately…..Creating a welcome for visitors involves more than putting up a sign saying “welcome”. Eye contact and smiles from the staff, clear signage and guiding, uncluttered surfaces and tempting points of focus created by well stocked displays all help customers to feel relaxed, confident and comfortable. From: The Reader Friendly Library Service – Rachel Van Riel.Website of the week…

http://www.thrillingdetective.com/

Winner: 2008 Gumshoe Award for Best Crime Fiction Website

Quote of the week…“I often feel sorry for people who don't read good books;
they are missing a chance to lead an extra life”.
~Scott Corbett ~

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Newsletter Number 3

April 9 ‘09
How are you going to keep yourself informed of good websites, reviews, ideas, display tips and all the other things that make The Reading Experience happen, you may be asking?
Well here is the forum for this…..

The Reading Experience Blog…This is an ongoing forum for all of us – to contribute ideas, good books, dvds, magazines, websites, to ask questions or just to browse and keep up to date.
You will need to have registered to comment on the blog site, before you attend your training – feel free to use a pseudonym. If you need help, ask one of the web 2.0 experts in your library, or you can email northshorelibraries@gmail.com .
The blog is currently in its infancy, but there are already links on there that will interest you.
Tip of the week….Do you have bookmarks with “who writes like” or with genre lists in your library?
Instead of putting them in containers for customers to take, try popping them into relevant books on the display shelf and recent returns so that customers who pick up a book in a particular genre will find a list of other suggested authors ready and waiting for them in the book they have chosen.

Food for thought….
“It may seem curious that youth services librarians, both in public libraries and in schools, do a considerable amount of reader's advisory work and reader's guidance issues and concerns appear frequently in their literature. In fact, reader guidance is seen as a central concern. For some reason, it is assumed that children and teens need help in selecting the right book, but that adults do not. Is this a reasonable assumption?” William C. Robinson University of Penn.

Website of the week…

For Lee Child fans…

http://www.reachercreatures.com/

Post a comment on the blog if you know of other similar sites.

Quote of the week…
“Books had instant replay long before televised sports”. ~Bern Williams

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Newsletter number 2

April 2 ‘09


Congratulations to those of you who found the source of the quote included in the last newsletter …. It’s good to know that you read the newsletter right to the end!

Wanted… for our new website!Remember contributing the name of a book you enjoyed to the librarian’s reads for summer last Christmas? Well now you can go the next step and contribute a review of a book you have enjoyed to our new website. Just write a brief review and email it to Kim. How easy is that?! kims@shorelibraries.govt.nz. She will compile these so the new website can be launched with some great reading suggestions from us. Can’t wait to see what you guys are reading out there!

Tip of the week….
“Opt in” to your Reading History in “My Info” and review the list occasionally. This quick easy technique jogs our memory of the wonderful titles we’ve read. You’ll be surprised how much this can help you make a reading suggestion to a fellow reader.

Food for thought….“[The reading experience] is about public service, about meeting readers where they are and helping them find something they will enjoy… libraries have become many things to our patrons, but one of the mainstays is the civility with which our patrons are treated. Their questions, no matter what they are, are considered important. When their questions and their reading tastes are valued, our patrons feel valued too.” Joyce Saricks Booklist July 08.


Website of the week…
http://www.candycoveredbooks.com/

Welcome to Candy Covered Books!
From Chick Lit Book Reviews to those of Women's Fiction, we are determined to make choosing your next book a breeze. We gather reviews from a wide variety of sources and average them into a single rating so you don't waste valuable time reading anything less than fabulous. After all, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover……

So true…?

“No two persons ever read the same book”
~Edmund Wilson

Monday, March 30, 2009

Newsletter number 1.

The Reading Experience:creating the Wow!

March 26 ‘09



Welcome to the world of The Reading Experience.

What is The Reading Experience?It’s what our customers experience every time they come into our
libraries. Over the next couple of months we aim to help you become an ace facilitator of that reading experience.

How will I learn to facilitate The Reading Experience?You are already doing it! Every time you smile and greet a customer, every time you find them what they want, every time you put a book on display, you are delivering the reading experience.

Then why do I need to learn more?We all want our customers to consider us the very BEST place to receive
professional, knowledgeable, friendly help to explore the reading world
– and come back for more. You are the “best seller” of what the libraries offer.

How will I learn this?
Between May and July you will be attending a training course that will
enhance your professional knowledge, hone your skills and arm you
with great resources to use.

Who is delivering this?
A team of enthusiastic, knowledgeable and fun trainers:
Fiona Martin, Patricia Kay, Kathy Neivandt and Bernice Sell.


Future newsletters will help you prepare for your training and keep you up to date with information, reading experience tips, resources to explore and more.

So…….Watch this space!


Who said this?
“You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”

Monday, March 23, 2009

Reading is a creative, mind expanding, adventurous, exciting activity……
Through reading we can experience what it is like to be somebody else – a different age, gender, culture, sexuality, in a different society, another part of the world, another time in history. Readers embark on a journey every time they open a book, website, newspaper, magazine…… (1)



Readers for life:
The Reading Experience Strategy for North Shore Libraries 2008-2011


Encourage and support reading;
Reading is vital for the enrichment of personal learning and recreation and for the ability to access and use information. North Shore Libraries will support reading for all ages and abilities. (Aim number one from the Draft North Shore City Library Plan 2008).


Why reading is important.

…Reading is a critical skill people in all walks of life need to become active, informed and successful members of society; it allows participation in society not alienation from it.
…Reading allows people and communities to grow and learn.
…Reading contributes to the development of healthy individuals and communities.
…Readers help to develop a creative workforce; creativity empowers individuals and communities. …Readers are independent learners.
…Reading supports literacy.
…Reading helps to support an understanding of others, of wider social issues and a culture of citizenship.
…Reading is an important partnership base for a range of sectors including the arts, health, business and local government.
…Reading exercises the imagination- creating flexible, lateral thinkers.

What is The Reading Experience?

…The Reading Experience is the active work library staff engage in to increase people’s confidence in, and enjoyment of reading.
…The Reading Experience is crucial for information, relaxation, education and communication. It encompasses all formats e.g. Internet, newspapers, DVDs, CDs, Audio books etc.

What is the unique role of libraries in supporting reading?

Libraries are welcoming community spaces in which to meet, browse, read, study and borrow. Our role as librarians is not to teach people to read, but to foster the enjoyment of the reading experience. This is an opportunity for our libraries to cement our relevance and importance in an increasingly competitive market, ensuring that libraries retain their place to “engage, inspire and inform citizens and help build strong communities” (Draft NSL Strategy 2008)

Libraries offer:
…The opportunity for risk free experimentation with reading.
…An open, free, non-judgmental and friendly atmosphere.
…The ability to provide expert staff to guide and support reading.
…A wide range of opening hours.
…Materials in a wide range of formats providing choices for reading preferences
.

How The Reading Experience can help.

The Reading Experience means active intervention to:
…Increase people’s confidence and enjoyment of reading.
…Open up reading choices.
…Provide free access to information to support a democratic society.
…Offer opportunities for people to share their reading experience.
…Raise the status of reading as a creative activity.

The Reading Experience is now seen as central to the work that public libraries do, and not as an added extra.

Our Strategy


Reading and Learning
North Shore Libraries will:


Ensure that the development of The Reading Experience is an integral part of North Shore Libraries’ strategic direction.
Prioritize The Reading Experience in current and future library buildings.
Ensure quality collections through application of NSL Collection Management Policies.
Respond to the needs of a diverse community by providing a range of titles, formats and languages.
Support a range of national and local initiatives to ensure that readers have exposure to promotions, events, competitions, awards and authors.
Identify opportunities in the community for promoting reading.
Ensure the provision of material that supports new readers and those with English as a second language.
Provide opportunities for writers and readers to meet each other to further develop audiences for reading, and to create excitement around the written word.
Ensure that reading for pleasure is promoted at library-based learning activities and programmes such as those offered at homework centres and during holidays.
Encourage the development of family activities so that children and young people are encouraged to read with parents and caregivers.


The Online Reader
North Shore Libraries will:

Make full use of the capability of the library website to promote The Reading Experience.
Facilitate access to on-line resources to maximize opportunities for reading.


Delivering The Reading Experience
North Shore Libraries will:


Ensure The Reading Experience is reflected in job descriptions.
Recruit staff with genuine enthusiasm for reading.
Encourage and support a staff culture that prioritises The Reading Experience.
Ensure The Reading Experience is an integral part of induction and continuous staff training.Empower staff to develop creative new ways of encouraging reading.


“The more you read the more things you will know. The more that you learn the more places you'll go.”
- Dr. Seuss

(1) Reader development and advice in public libraries. Peter Conlon, Ellen Forsyth and Jean Jamieson. Australasian Public Libraries and Information Services 18.3 (Sept 2005): p106(7).

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Welcome to The Reading Experience Blog

Welcome! This is the blog for all North Shore Libraries Reading Experience participants. Here you can engage and communicate with each other on matters relating to The Reading Experience.

As the programme develops we hope you will share your ideas and comments and enjoy enriching your knowledge of reading for pleasure!