Trendspotting

TRENDS SHAPING THE FUTURE OF LIBRARIES
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SCANNING FOR PLANNING
At Markham Public Libraries, we continuously scan our environment to identify emerging issues and trends that will have a significant impact on our future. By aligning our strategic priorities with broader trends in social, technological, economic and political landscapes, we can continue to be relevant to our customers and to make a difference in people’s lives. In the words of Wayne Gretzky, we want to “skate to where the puck will be,” not to where it is now or where it was in the past.

SEVEN TRENDS FOR 2005 – 2006

1. THE “THIRD PLACE” LIBRARY
In a world where people are increasingly wired and connected to the Web, humans still have a compelling need for physical spaces to meet and interact with others. A wide range of private sector businesses – coffee shops, bookstores, hotel lobbies, banks –– see this human need as a business opportunity, and provide upgraded spaces that invite people in and encourage them to stay. This is the concept of the “third place” – the community place outside of home and work where people can go to meet, develop friendships, discuss issues, and interact with others. “Third places” are crucial to a community’s quality of life – as informal gathering places, they help create a sense of place and community, and they encourage interaction instead of social isolation.

MPL as a Third Place for Our Customers
As MPL builds and renovates our library spaces, we design spaces that can be “third places” in the lives of our customers. That means lots of comfortable seating, a warm ambiance, coffee and food, and libraries that provide a wide range of customer experiences – from animated spaces for lively children’s play and learning, to spaces for meeting and vibrant discussion, to quiet spaces for learning and study.

2. WEB 2.0 AND MARKHAM PUBLIC LIBRARIES 2.0 – LIVING ONLINE

The World Wide Web is evolving from Web 1.0 – search engines and static websites – to Web 2.0 – the interactive, social Web, a Web of community-building and immersive learning experiences. In the Web 2.0 world, library customers are always online, always connected to one another and to the Web.

MPL 2.0 – At Markham Public Libraries, we are planning our services with a 2.0 mindset. We know that MPL 2.0 needs to be “live” wherever the customer is, whenever the customer is there, and that we must find ways to connect with our customers in Web 2.0 – through channels like Instant Messaging, blogging, RSS feeds, podcasting and wikis.

3. THE LONG TAIL OF LIBRARY SERVICE
The long tail business model explains how the endless “tail” of online content means unlimited choice for consumers. It means, for example, that the customers of an online music store are not limited to the in-house stock of a bricks-and-mortar store – they can go beyond the bestselling music and beyond the mass market to find tracks that meets their specialized “niche-market” interests. And it makes business sense for the online music store because the country-wide aggregation of “niche markets” adds up to big enough group of like-minded customers to justify the cost of making the niche product available. In the digital “Long Tail” world, customers, products and markets that used to be unprofitable are becoming commercially viable.

MPL’s Long Tail
For Markham Public Libraries, the long tail of digital content means that library resources are no longer limited to the shelf capacity of our bricks-and-mortar libraries. By expanding our online resources and filtering the Net for our customers, we can go down the long tail to find what our customers need. MPL already offers e-books, electronic guides to print and online content on hot topics, and a growing range of electronic databases. In the future, we’ll explore the potential of audio e-books, other downloadable media, and improved ways of making the long tail discoverable.

4. IMPROVING CUSTOMER SERVICE - SELF-SERVICE WHILE STRENGTHENING THE HUMAN TOUCH
ATMs at banks, Self-service Check-In Kiosks in airports, self-checkout machines in grocery stores – many businesses are using self-service technology to make customer transactions faster and more convenient. And when routine transactions are automated and handled by machines, staff have more time for personal customer service.

Self Service at MPL
To improve customer service while also keeping pace with increases in usage (borrowing was up 54% in 2005!), MPL will continue to invest in self-service technology. At the same time, staff are continuously reviewing our processes to streamline workflows, enhance efficiencies and speed up customer service. MPL also invests in our staff to ensure they have the skills and expertise to communicate effectively with customers and help them find what they need.

5. LIFELONG LEARNING FOR SUCCESS IN THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
Globally, the world is moving from an “information economy” to a “knowledge-based economy,” based on knowledge, technology and innovation. In a high competitive and global knowledge economy, people and innovation are the keys to growth and wealth creation.

MPL and the Knowledge Economy
Libraries, like all learning organizations, are recommitting to the concept of lifelong learning as a vital basis for the success of individuals and the prosperity of our community. For MPL, this means developing libraries that are places of opportunity for lifelong learning and experiencing new ideas.

6. EARLY YEARS LEARNING
Research continues to strengthen the evidence for the importance of learning and brain development in the early years as the foundation for success in life and the achievement of individual human potential. The early years are where it all starts, and libraries have always had story times and other programs designed for small children. Lately, we’ve noticed similar programs being offered by the retail world – by bookstores, children’s clothing stores, even furniture stores.

The Early Years at MPL
At MPL, we understand that early childhood learning sets the learning path for a child’s whole life, and determines future success in school and career. We build upon this understanding with high-quality programs like Baby Goose that help parents support their children in learning and achieving their full potential. We are also committed to improving our children’s spaces to better support children’s learning, reading and discovery.

7. MERCHANDISING
In the retail world, merchandising techniques are used to sell products to the customer. Bookstores, for example, use layout, end-caps, power walls and face-out display of book covers to attract customers to the product.

Merchandising at MPL
At MPL, we have begun moving away from the traditional library stack toward merchandising our collections to improve customer access, make our collections easier to browse, and increase borrowing. Merchandising will maximize compelling reading opportunities, communicate a new excitement about the library, and support our belief that reading changes lives.

In planning our strategic priorities, Markham Public Libraries will continue to analyze trends in our fast-changing landscape, and anticipate our changing environment. Our world is increasingly competitive, but competition is good for the customer. We believe that it’s also good for libraries, because it compels us to change and become more creative and more relevant to our customers.



"IT IS NOT THE STRONGEST OF THE SPECIES THAT SURVIVES, NOR THE MOST INTELLIGENT, BUT THE ONE MOST RESPONSIVE TO CHANGE."
CHARLES DARWIN