An absolute gem of an idea from Brian Herzog: Work Like a Patron Day
That’s why I’m proposing “Work Like A Patron Day” on October 15th. In honor of the day, I think library staff should (when possible):
- enter and leave the library through the public entrance (not the staff doors)
- use the public restrooms
- use the public computers to do your work
- reserve public meeting rooms for meetings
- follow all library policies
This would be an amazing way to assess what works in your library and what’s unusable. To his list I’ll add:
- sit in the chairs/use the furniture meant for the public
- use only the patron interface for searching your catalog
- pay your library fines (no waiving them the day before!)
- use a database you’ve never used before
If this seems like it would be a challenge, you really ought to think about why you’re continually challenging your patrons. If it seems easy, congrats, you just might have an easy to use library!
