Service Responses Updated! Discussion Continues online & at Midwinter
January 2nd, 2007 by Kathleen HughesWhat Are the Core Services Offered by Public Libraries?
Help to Define the Unique Roles of Public Libraries Today and into the Future
There has been a great deal of discussion about possible new or revised service responses over the past six months, during meetings at Annual Conference and on the PLA Blog. and , the editors of the PLA Results series, have reviewed all of the suggestions and comments and have developed complete drafts of seventeen service responses. Click here for a complete list of the draft service responses and links to the descriptions for each. Each service response description includes the following elements.
| Title | The title includes two phrases. The first phrase describes what the user receives and the second describes what the library offers. |
| Description | This describes the benefits to the user because the library provides the service and is written in terms that lay people can understand. |
| Suggested Target Audiences | Target audiences are defined by demographics (typically age) or by condition (student, business owner, new immigrant). If a service is designed to serve a single target audience that audience has been defined in the title and description. However, if a service can be delivered effectively to multiple target audiences, then the title and description are age- and condition-neutral and library planners are encouraged to identify target audiences during the goal setting process. |
| Typical Services and Programs in Libraries that Select this as a Priority | These are the kinds of services and programs that libraries that select this as a priority might provide. The list is intended to describe services that go well beyond the basic level of services that a library might provide to support services that are not priorities. |
| Policy Implications | Most service priorities have policy implications. This section includes a list of some of the policy issues that may need to be addressed if a library selects the service response. The list of policy implications is not intended to be all-inclusive. Each library is unique and staff will have to assess all of the policy implications of a new priority based on local conditions. |
| Critical Resources | These are the types of resources that libraries that select the service response will need to provide the service effectively. The lists are not intended to be all-inclusive.
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| Possible Measures | There are four methods that can be used to measure progress toward meeting the goals that are established to support the selected service response. This section includes sample measures for some or all of the four methods. The four methods are:
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There will an open meeting to discuss the proposed service responses during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Seattle on Sunday, January 21, from 1:30-3:30. The discussion of the proposed service responses on the PLA Blog will continue until February 15, 2007. For more information about the current service responses and the revision process, click here to see the Service Response FAQ.
© Sandra Nelson, 2007
Tags: PLA Blog
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