BookExpo! NYC

Day One – Well actually day two, as I was here yesterday and was actually able to catch some programs despite LaGuardia Airport delays. Anyway, with its new(ish) emphasis on helping librarians feel at home here, there are many, many events and programs for librarians at BookExpo America (BEA).

Yesterday, I caught the second half of a day-long program, Library Journal’s Day of Dialog, for publishers, vendors, and librarians. Held in an auditorium at the McGraw-Hill building on 6th Avenue, in NYC, the event offered a full day of programming and networking. I was there for “Recession-Stressed?” and “Monster Lit/Urban Fantasy.” “Recession-Stressed” featured panelists Duncan Smith (Novelist), Madeline Brookshire (Marketing Director, Cuyahoga County Public Library), Christopher Platt (Head, Materials Acquisitions Office, New York Public Library), A. Isaac Pulver (Director, Saratoga Springs Public Library, NY), and Tracy Strobel (Deputy Director, Cuyahoga County Public Library). The wide-ranging conversation offered tips for managing your collection in light of recent budget woes, effectively handling the recent increase in usage at libraries, and also ideas for how to keep these new users as lifelong patrons and supporters. Strobel and Brookshire discussed Cuyahoga’s recession-related issues, including a 35% increase in usage and a looming budget cut. They also detailed the library’s “Reconnect with Reading” program which is intended to ignite a person’s dormant passion for reading and mentioned that they have begun floating some items in their collection and will float their entire collection starting in late June, 2009. Brookshire detailed marketing steps including eBlasts to let patrons know about author events, upcoming bestsellers, and more. So far, 11,500 users have opted in to receive the eBlast.

New York Public Library (NYPL) has experienced a 39% growth in circulation from 2006-2008. In April of 2009, they hosted 769 job related programs. In an effort to deal with budget issues they are examining their collection, and not spending money on items that will not get read. They are also working on a marketing effort (and working to get the public behind them) to let elected officials know the value of the library. Platt noted that during the Great Depression, the NYPL was open 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

The panel also discussed the rising role of Readers Advisory in public libraries. Saratoga noted that they do one full day of training that focuses on Readers Advisory for staff. Cuyahoga detailed staff training they had done with Nancy Pearl and in further efforts to connect books with readers, they make a selection of books available to moms at storytimes; display fiction titles in nonfiction stacks; display material of interest to computer users in computer area; make fishbowls available at all locations for users to drop in (and take) book recommendations.
They also use shelf-talkers (those plastic sleeves seen in bookstores – attached to shelves with descriptions of books or reviews).
Panel reinforced that staff need to be kept current on publishing news. Also that we need to use our entire collections and the best way to do that is passionate Readers Advisory, with all staff invested, from the top down.

To keep staff up to date, panelists mentioned a variety of techniques:
Leveraging staff interest and experience in genre fairs.
Talking to customers (who are fans of a certain genre) can help staff learn more about it.
Get staff talking about books, all staff even clerks.
Moving on, Smith mentioned that citizens who interact with passionate librarians are much more likely to vote for library funding. He then asked the panelists what they are passionate about and focusing their energies on:

Some replies:
…that every person who walks thru the door has a positive experience
…keeping the library relevant
…offering a wonder product
Other tips:
Use Interlibrary Loan
Floating Collections save time and money (but doesn’t work very well with children’s collection).
Off to hear about How Social Media is Transforming the Way we Publish and Sell Books, more about that (and the Urban Fantasy genre program) later!