ibraryservicesandoperations continuetoberedefinedasthenation learnsitsnewnormalfromtheCOVID 19pandemic.LACountyLibrary especiallyhadtoconsiderthis,asthe LosAngelesareahadsomeofthe highestCOVID 19casesdueto populationdensity(Schmidt,2021). Servingover34millionresidentsina serviceareaextendingover3,000 mileswith86branchlocations,LA CountyLibrarymadethedecisionat thestartofthepandemictokeepthe lobbiesofalmosthalfofthebranches openforholdpickupsduringlimited hours(Sarkisyan,2020).Heavily promotingdigitalservicesthroughout thepandemic,LACountyLibrary shattereditsrecordofeBookand audiobookcheckoutsin2020ofover3 millioncheckouts,a34percent increasefromtheprioryear (Broussard,2021).Astheworldstartsto healandfindanewnormal,LACounty Libraryadjustsitshoursandreturned to100percentcapacityforall branchesinMarch2022(Broussard, 2022).InthisStateoftheLACounty Libraryedition,BookBruisers,LLC,takes alookatthetrendsandonline presencewithintheLACountyLibrary branches.
Inordertounderstandyourinstituteandhowyouremployeesunderstandits purposeandinnerworkings,ourstaffengagedinabriefemailinterviewwith yours.WeinterviewedastaffmemberwewillcallTCwiththegoalofstudying notonlyhowyourlibrarypresentsitselfonlineandonsocialmedia,butalso howyourstaffunderstandsitsmissionandhowthatrelatestoconnectingto yourcommunityphysicallyanddigitallyandwithanemphasisonequity.
Our library system consists of 85 locations and multiple outreach vehicles (bookmobiles, MākMō, Reading Machines, etc.) - all of which serve unique demographics and communities. In order to understand each community that library locations serve, staff go out to community events to meet with members that may not visit the library. They conduct school visits, speak to teachers, visit senior centers, go to City council meetings (if applicable), and other community events to understand the type of patrons that live/work in their communities. In addition, our Library Director recently conducted 5 Community Feedback Sessions (1 for each LA County Supervisorial District) in order to obtain community members’ thoughts on services and programs that the Library provides. With such a diverse population, we actively purchase materials in 15 non-English languages. We welcome customer suggestions, and input from staff who are part of and/or actively serving members of these communities and work with vendors who can fulfill orders for publications published outside of the United States, written by authors writing in their native languages and living in those countries.
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by Ruth Headley
At each individual library, staff interact with their library users that are coming in and use customer suggestions to provide programs/services After visiting outreach events, staff are able to use the feedback they obtained from people who don’t visit the libraries to determine what is actually needed in the community In my experience, library users and non users are typically not shy to express what their needs are this sometimes makes it easy to determine what programs are services we should provide (if budgeting allows) We also partner with other County Departments to understand the needs of our community members and help determine how the library can assist for example, the County courthouses promote our libraries as locations for their clients to print out legal documents or use computers; the Department of Public Health has provided us with antigen tests to provide to communities that have been severely impacted by COVID, and our Internal Services Department has provided us with information on communities with low rates of Internet subscription so we can promote the Affordable Connectivity Program to those communities
Yes, we need to adapt our marketing based on demographics. For example, it would not be logical to only promote Affordable Connectivity Program events on social media when the target audience are households who do not have access to any Internet. In this scenario, we would likely try to promote with flyers and by word of mouth. Based on specific community needs of each library location, some may not need paper flyers – for example, there are some communities where they solely rely on our library website and social media for information. In addition, depending on the library, promotional items may also need to be provided in languages other than English. Centrally, our Marketing team will often share information that is applicable to the entire LA County community on social media (e.g. vaccination clinics, antigen tests, ballot box information, library closures, etc.).
I’m currently in more of an administrative role and am responsible for coordinating projects/services on a big-picture level – so our strategic initiatives play a central role in my day-to-day duties and how I conduct my work and plan services for our organization. When I was a Community Library Manager and had day-to-day interactions with the public, I think our strategic initiatives played an even more crucial role since I was directly providing impactful service to individuals in my community.”
It is clear that your staff has a clear picture of the services you provide to the community and how they play a part in those services both as an individual staff member and as a library as a whole (R. Headley, personal communication, November 18, 2022).
For most individuals their social media is a way to share their lives with an audience on a large scale It is a way to showcase their likes and dislikes archive memories and interact with friends in an increasingly digital world. Your library’s social media offers you a similar experience You can highlight library and community services, remind customers why the LA county library is integral to the community, and have some fun too Just looking at your latest five latest Youtube videos it is clear your social media managers make an effort to post frequently and on a variety of topics Your videos are both educational and fun We can tell that you are making an effort to connect with many different ages of patrons and have tailored videos for those age ranges specifically You highlight racial diversity often in your videos, most recently in speaking about Native American Heritage Month
Your TikTok and Instagram pages are similarly curated Your TikTok focuses on highlighting services that your library has to offer that might not be immediately evident to new customers Your Instagram Facebook and Twitter seem to focus on the same posts with little variation between them However your Instagram is by far your most followed social media account with 21.3 thousand followers. Facebook follows with 15 thousand, Twitter with 12 4 thousand, Youtube with 3 51 thousand followers, and TikTok with 487 followers It is clear that you spend time and creativity on your social media sites, but compared to your service area of over 3 million people, your number of followers is low We recommend re evaluating your social media and increasing engagement Do you have a specific staff member or members who run the account? Is this what they went to school for? If not, perhaps consider creating a new social media position to create better engagement with your followers that will help increase the number of followers that interact with you online
The public library is a key partner in sustaining the educational, economic, and civic health of the community during a time of dramatic change (Garmer, 2014). The library’s purpose is no longer based on getting information, but it is a place where people can access knowledge and develop a competitive advantage in the knowledge economy. In addition to being a physical space, the library in the digital age is a virtual space, accessible from anywhere 24/7 (Garmer, 2013). The LA County Public Library website does an excellent job of curating a virtual space that promotes a higher level of connection for today's workforce and community connection.
by Cynthia HernandezLibraries can help accelerate workforce development and learning opportunities by providing a connection between industry and education. Your library’s website page, Tools for Jobseekers, connects community residents to the training and career development that local employers are looking for. You are doing this by providing users with links to Gale Resources, LinkedIn Learning, Learning Express Test Prep, Brainfuse JobNow, and Universal Class Along with providing your users access to resources that will make them more competitive job seekers, you also provide external links for other community resources. Your library's ability to connect job seekers with technological resources is needed to find and compete for job opportunities. Since in the digital era 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies only accept online applications, this is extremely important (Garmer, 2014).
community"inadigitalworld. ItcanbeseenthattheLACountyLibrary ispromotingcommunityconnectionby workingwithcommunitypartnersto providepersonalizedandflexibledigital learningexperiencesthatindividuals needtoparticipateinthedigitalsociety. ThroughtheDiscover&Gopartnership withlocalmuseums,youareactively developingrelationshipswith communityleaders.Thisisagreatstep towardlibrariesbeinglessautonomous andadoptingmorecollaborative approachestoengagingandbuilding partnershipsacrossthecommunity (Garmer,2014).
thatyourlibraryisaligninglibraryservicesin supportofcommunitygoalsisthrough communityfeedbacksessions Thisinnovative programmakesitpossibleforyourlibrary stafftohearfeedbackaboutexistingservices andprogramsfromthecommunity.Makingit possibleforpatronstobepartofshapingthe futureofLACountyLibrary Yourwebsite wouldbeagreatexampleforotherlibrariesto observewaysthattheycanimprovetheir communitypresenceandpromoteahigher levelofconnectionwiththeirpatrons.
The vocabulary public libraries use to talk about what services and resources they offer for their community has a huge impact on how their work is perceived by the public and those who fund their services. The choice of words used can therefore mean the difference between receiving minimum and maximum funding because what is valued gets funded (Gross, 2013) There is so much value to the work that librarians and staff do for their community, and for the public to recognize this, you must find a way to highlight your value Replacing typical library terms and phrases with bold, compelling, and descriptive terminology will command value that people understand (Gross, 2013).
In “Rising to the Challenge: Re envisioning Public Libraries,” Amy K. Garmer states how one of the greatest challenges facing public libraries today is to transform their service model to meet the demands of the knowledge society while securing a sustainable funding base for the future (Garmer, 2014) By analyzing the current language used on your website, it is clear that common library language is being used that can minimize your value Replacing common library language on library websites with smart, value enhanced, and intuitive vocabulary can immediately convey your value to the listener and reader (Gross, 2013). Changing your everyday lexicon from non generic terms to stronger notable terms will convey your library’s importance with precision with little to no explanation
Another word used on your website that falls under common library language is " program " . The frequent application of " program " on the library's event calendar diminishes the importance of content and staff expertise Substituting " program " for more targeted terms such as; class, seminar, workshop, event, initiative, and project, will show the range of enrichment activities your library has to offer the community The overriding goal is to capitalize on the power of smart terminology to communicate accurately the complete value of what you do to maximize library funding (Gross, 2013).
Two common terms used to describe your library services are, “storytime,” and “ program ” In, “Transforming our Image, Building Our Brand: The Education Advantage,” Valerie Gross explains how storytime trivializes the value of what storytime really is (Gross, 2013). Storytime downplays the skills and content that are essential to a quality storytelling experience. An alternative term that can be used instead of storytime is children’s classes On your website, the description for Smarty Pants Story Time reads, “enjoy books, songs, rhymes, and movement while learning school readiness skills and having fun ” While the description of your storytime explains that children will be learning and aligns with education, the name of your event does not portray that value Transitioning from saying storytime to children’s classes will take some getting used to, but the community will perceive it as more valuable and a heightened level of respect will be allocated by the community to you and your entire library system (Gross, 2013).
What does "Storytime" mean to you?
What does "Program" mean to you?LA County Library (2022, June 28) LA County Library (2022, June 30) Cynthia Hernandez
As your mission statement expresses, providing a dynamic collection that meets the informational, cultural, and entertainment needs of the patrons that you serve (LA County Library, n.d.) , your strategic goals break down how you plan to meet this overall goal. However, the broad statements posted don’t list how you plan to meet these and how you plan to reach these initiatives.
Social media is a great way to reach and engage with a wide audience The strong number of followers on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter shows that you have been interacting with your followers in order to maintain your audience. You made a TikTok account this year on March 30th TikTok is a great way to interact and reach a younger audience base online Outreach that your staff members are shown attending also allows the library to directly connect with members in the community.
There are many opportunities for digital learning through almost a dozen resources offered Some shown on your website are ABCmouse, Brainfuse for tutoring, High School Diploma classes, Gale Courses, test prep through Learning Express, LinkedIn Learning for job skills, Mango for learning a new language, Leamos for literacy classes, and Universal Class
A great example that strengthens this goal would be The Great Read Away program, which was implemented to allow patrons under the age of 21 to read down their library fines (Patrick, n.d.). This is a great opportunity to keep patrons utilizing library services and remain feeling welcomed and encouraged.
Computer courses are a highly demanded program in public libraries Your library offers many in person Computer Basics courses showcasing different topics such as cybersecurity, email basics, internet skills, document management, as well as general computer classes that adults can sign up for A variety of STEM courses are offered for both children and teens. These courses offer social opportunities for children and young adults to learn something new while also having fun in the library through activities such as making a kaleidoscope or an LED greeting card, creating a stop motion animation video, or participating in the marine life program and many other creative activities (LA County Library, 2022a)
Add more digital content and make it easier to find and use Expand mobile access
Your four bookmobiles have pre set routes to allow patrons who aren’t able to come to a physical library branch access to library services With each of the bookmobiles holding at least 2,500 titles, offering homework and career help, and a space to place and pick up holds, bookmobiles allow library staff to meet patrons where they are and also give them a chance to market the digital library on OverDrive, Kanopy, Freegal, and Hoopla Digital access to library materials through these resources offers access to materials and information without a patron needing to step into the library Promoting these services is vital for patrons who are unable to access the library in person, may not have the time, or any other reason keeping them from coming in still allow community members to utilize the resources they have access to You can see an increasing trend in the figure included of digital items circulated by each fiscal year
Increase the role of the library in the community and offer services beyond the library’s walls Customize each library to the community it serves
LA County Library has the unique privilege of serving rural, urban, and suburban communities with a service area that extends over 3,000 square miles (Patrick, nd) Making sure everyone has access to the library, even community members who can't make it to a physical branch is a clear priority.
Some amazing services offered to help meet this goal include the Parks on the Move program for school aged children in unincorporated areas of LA County to gather and receive sports and art activities from staff. The library director has implemented 10 STEM mobiles called MākMō and 5 early literacy mobiles in addition to the bookmobiles already in service
Introduce collaborative workspaces to learn new tools and technologies or share a creative hobby or interest.
Your library offers an amazing variety of programs for all ages that promote creativity and learning new skills From the Gardening Club for adults to help maintain the Library’s garden at the Lawndale Library branch to learning to incorporate STEM skills in a crafts class by making 3D greeting cards with LED lighting inside There are many arts and crafts programming for patrons to drop in and participate in a fun hobby Adults can enjoy your knitting club and socialize while making something new. There are many opportunities for patrons of all ages to participate in a fun program at their local branch here
Collaborate with the community’s cultural groups and broaden our leadership role as a trusted source for equal access to information find and use Expand mobile access
A few of the events listed on your website show that your library is a center for the community to gather together and receive trusted information From computer literacy programs for adults to Teen Thursday programming that allow spaces for teens to feel welcome and connected outside of school. On a more serious but highly important note, seeing that your library offers a space for grief related mental health support in the Grief, Loss, and Resilience programs is a way to incorporate community health workers from the Department of Mental Health within the library for patrons to receive the necessary resources and support, strengthening the bond that patrons have with the library community
Your library promotes many resources for the LGBTQ+ community and a number of cultural community resources including American Indians, Asian Pacific Islander, Black, and Chicano resource centers, offering inclusive and welcoming spaces for all
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There wasn't anything easily searchable as to the staff training and collaboration your organization offers to staff. Your employee benefits and pay ranges are posted with open career opportunities Additionally, your website mentions how someone would be able to seek out the necessary education to become a librarian. You may wish to include that more in the future to add more transparency to your website Serving and encouraging your staff is just as important as the patrons and communities you serve
listeningtocommunitymembers' ideasandneedsintoreal consideration.Asitshowsonyour ProjectTimelinepage,yourdirector activelyvisitsalllibrarybranchesto speaktocustomers(LACountyLibrary, 2019) Thelibraryhasaddedprojects toimproveservicesforcommunity membersineducation,digitalcontent, buildingandfacilities,creative programming,andcommunity resources.Trulyshowingthatyour libraryvaluesitscommunityandthe patronsyouserve.Yourlibrary continuestoaddvalueandenrichthe livesofthepatronswhouseyour
Broussard,P.(2021,January12)LACountyLibrarysurpasses3millioneBookand audiobookcheckoutsin2020.LACountyLibrary.https://lacountylibrary.org/wp content/uploads/2021/01/2020 LA County Library PR OverDrive Mill Checkout Finalpdf
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LACountyLibrary.(2020,August9).Bubblesgalore.Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/LACountyLibrary/posts/pfbid0v7DqevUKSbbesY5hV uLs2rPqrVpmQhvbCA9WfPVQbiAoLn7Xk9pr3r8qDvo7VPWsl
LACountyLibrary.(2022,June28).Lifestylesoftheslimy&squishy.Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/LACountyLibrary/posts/pfbid0sR3xF7Cbse4a9F4pqc y5ogrL2xc5ypLtTq7LXiqZQQar1BkK1fFzgfiEdx66Su8Jl
LACountyLibrary.(2022,June30).ThekidsatMaywoodCésarChávezLibrary. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/LACountyLibrary/posts/pfbid0sR3xF7Cbse4a9F4pqc y5ogrL2xc5ypLtTq7LXiqZQQar1BkK1fFzgfiEdx66Su8Jl
LACountyLibrary.(2022,October17).WehadsomuchfunattheTasteofSoul L.A.familyfestival.Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/LACountyLibrary/posts/pfbid031EvmiAynkNHi3agJsif UjSq1PzmKZdEL4XiNUT3Nc2dysfNsbvnRFz23iVAegTCEl
LACountyLibrary.(2022a).Events.LACountyLibrary. https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/events?r=thismonth
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LACountyLibrary(n.d.)Collectionpolicy.LACountyLibrary. https://lacountylibrary.org/collection policy/ Patrick,S (nd)Aboutthelibrary LACountyLibrary https://lacountylibrary.org/aboutus/
Sarkisyan,K.(2021,March16).LACountyLibrarieswillremainopenduringselect hours LACountyLibrary https://lacountylibraryorg/wp content/uploads/2020/03/LACountyLibrary PressRelease LibraryLobbies Coro navirus.pdf
Schmidt,G.(2021,February18).WhydoesL.A.havesomanyCOVID 19cases? USCNews.https://news.usc.edu/182433/los angeles covid 19 cases density housing overcrowding usc experts/