Jeanne Steinbrink, SELCO-MLA Scholarship Recipient
Austin Public Library

The Eight Keys to Library Effectiveness:  Consultant Sandra Nelson's message targeted what libraries will need to do to survive.  While her message was not always what we wanted to hear (Phoenix Library sustained a 42% cut), it is what we needed to hear.  Libraries will be making tough choices in the next few years on whether to cut costs or services.  With touch economic times library use will increase while resources will decrease.  Libraries need to take their focus away from what they think a library should be to focusing on user needs and wants.  This means shifting resources to popular items instead of reference materials and difficult to use databases, by making data-based decisions by determining the greatest value for the dollar spent (cost per use).

Libraries are becoming America's living room and we need to draw new patrons in b y providing them with what they want, not what we think they need.  We need to learn from the competition (Google, Netflix, Amazon).  And we need to do this by providing excellent customer service--greeting people, anticipating their needs and not just sitting at the "desk" but having roaming librarians.  Collaboration will be another key to survival by coordinating activities with groups such as the Park and Rec., daycare providers, and by enlisting the help and support of advocates.

I Can't Understand You! was presented by St. Thomas ESL teacher Karen Batdorf.  She noted how Minnesota's population has changed in the past thirty years--with the influx of Vietnamese, Hmong, Russian, Somali and Hispanic.  We face not only language barriers, but also cultural differences.  Some of these people groups have only just recently developed a written language.  While library staff struggle sometimes with trying to understand the limited English when serving these groups, Karen helped us to realize the struggle most of them have gone through to come to the United States as immigrants, refugees from war zones, or asylum seekers who have often been victims of violence or torture.

Instead of thinking, "Oh, no, I have to help this patron," think "I choose to help this patron because it may be their only positive interaction today."  Empathy will help us overcome our annoyance and fear.

Lunch Speaker
We were treated again to Sandra Nelson in her presentation Everyone is Getting Crabbier!  In tough economic times everyone is stressed by working harder with less time and resources.

People mirror behavior.  We can choose how we will interact.  When you know tough times are coming, plan ahead.  Then instead of cutting across the board, you can decide what services are most important and work to provide them.  To accomplish this constructively you must plan ahead and simplify by getting rid of the clutter (such as vertical files) and the things we do that have high cost but are of little value.

Final Thoughts
Thanks to SELCO for the scholarship to attend this excellent conference.  The 2008 MLA conference was like a well-oiled machine, with each part working effectively for the whole.  The organization behind the facilities, meals, conference speakers, and other peripherals caused each part to fit together perfectly.  We can use this conference as an example for our libraries.  Concentrate on what is important and do it with excellence.