Librarian by Day

One of the benefits of traveling is the exposure to new experiences and ideas. On my way back from Germany I filled my water bottle at water fountain that had a spout specifically for water bottles and it had this counter above it. My brain immediately started whirling – why don’t libraries do something like this? Not for water bottles of course.  It would be easy to add into displays and convey a great marketing message easily.  It makes library data freely available to patrons (stop hiding it in boring reports to board members) and creates a sticky talking point.

A few of the possible statements that came to mind were:

• Helped XXX children learn to read (number of children’s library cards or whatever number floats your boat)
• Helped XXX children learn to love books.
• Gave XXX of children a head start on life.
• There are XXX possible worlds to explore from this library (number of books).
• Introduced XXX people to a new world. (patron library cards)
• We have assisted in XXX job searches this year.

You get the idea and you probably have more than me because you are not jet lagged.

* data from IMLS  that’s 96.4% of the US population BTW.