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

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?

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!

Hunters and Gatherers - Are you serving both their needs?

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

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 – periodicalshttp://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

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

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.

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.