Cutchogue Free Library, NY: Be Responsive, Avoid 'No';
RSSLiz Burns, Director -- Library Journal, 02/15/2009
So you want to know what works here at Cutchogue New Suffolk Free Library and what doesn’t? Well, what works is knowing your community and being able to not only respond to their needs, but being able anticipate their needs before they even ask. Hard to do sometimes, but worth the effort in the end. We are a small library, but the personal touch is something we pride ourselves on, and our patrons appreciate this. The strong support we get from the community is wonderful, and we feel it’s because the service is what they need and use. What do we avoid? Hmmm, that’s a tough one. I guess one thing we do is to avoid implementing policies that are very strident. For example, we offer wireless laptops for use in the library in addition to the desk top PC’s. While the original intent of this service was to use the laptops only when the desktops were full, we found there are patrons who prefer the laptops to the desktop, so we let patrons choose which they use. One other small brass tack we employ is to avoid the word “no” in our signage. It's a small step but makes a difference. Instead of NO CELLPHONE USE IN LIBRARY, we say PATRONS ARE WELCOME TO USE CELL PHONES IN THE LOBBY. One last item—the staff are typically very pleasant and personable to patrons: again, the personal touch.—Liz Burns, Director
