Little Things Make a Difference

Sometimes it’s the little things that make the most difference. A staff member sent me an email this week that reminded me of that when he shared that many patrons have commented on how much they like the changes happening at the library – he was referring to things like the flash drives we now sell. It seems such a small addition to the services we offer, but to the patron who needs to save an important document, it makes all the difference in the world to be able to buy the jump drive on the spot.

I think it’s actually been more rewarding to see how these little changes affect our patrons rather than having a one-time huge new building to wow them. Why? Because it shows our community that we are moving forward to meet their needs. All I have to do is look at the patron suggestion list and know that we’ve come a long way in responding to their desires. Let me show you some examples directly from our patrons of what I mean:

May 2012:

• Books are handled by many hands -- to keep hands cleaner we need paper towels in the rest rooms, please! DONE 2015!
• Many children’s series books such as 39 Clues and the American Girl books are written by multiple authors and are located all throughout the juvenile fiction area. My kids are trying to find the next book the series have a hard time finding it. Our last library had a section for series books where all the books in a series were shelved together making them much easier to find. We would suggest the same for Linebaugh libraries. Made posters to help them with these series 2013!

June 2012:

• I wish we could be allowed to bring water into the library. No more major restrictions on beverages 2014!
• In the future, could there be a “quiet computer room” for people without children and talking. Just quiet. Appreciate the computers. Computer Lab 2013!

December 2012:

• Please find a more efficient way to shelve/display DVD’s. Done! 2013 – 2015!

April 2013:

• Have more children computers. Done Fall 2014!
• I think there should be a play area for kids. Added Duplos, puppet stage for kids 2015!
• Fix the men’s restroom door handle. Changed all bathroom handles 2013!

November 2013:

• Scanners. Coming May 2015!

June 2014:

• Simplify getting a computer upstairs. Done Fall 2014!
• Add Signage to indicate where NF is located. Not on sign pointing upstairs. Done 2015!

Are we listening to our patrons? Yes, in small ways and large, and as a result, I know we will continue to hear even more good things about how our libraries are viable, valuable and vibrant!