best_practices_2013

BEST PRACTICES 2013
logo/graphic always incorporates the theme that we have picked out. The
two longest meetings while planning the open house generally involve
picking a theme and a logo/graphic. Unless you are particularly skilled at
creating logo/graphics, I suggest you get help in creating yours to make it
look as professional as possible. There are many sources that you can use
to get help. In the past, we have asked agency staff members who create
graphics as a hobby, our printing office, and once even one of our security
guards created our graphic. This should not just be limited to the library
staff. The logo/graphic should represent the message you are trying to get
across in your theme. Brainstorm ideas with your staff so you can give
direction to those you will be asking to help with the creation of this feature.
Step 9: Have a hook
As much as we want to believe that if we hold an open house everyone will
come, that is just not a reality. We have to find something that will interest
them enough to tear themselves away from their desks and actually go to
the library. We have found several ways to get potential patrons to not only
come to the open house but to look forward to it every year and tell their
colleagues to attend as well. One of the best ways, is also one of the most
obvious: food. People love free food. However, being a government agency
means that we have no budget for refreshments. We still provide
refreshments by having the people who oversee the library chip in to provide
food. Also, our vendors will bring something. I know that some agencies
have rules about vendors providing food, but our vendors make sure that
everything is still under $20 and it all goes onto a communal table. That
way our guests have no idea who is providing what. They don’t know that
Lexis brought the doughnuts or that EBSCO brought the brownie bites.
Another way we have of making the open house more interesting is having a
guest speaker give an opening speech. This past year we had the FCC
chairman and one of the FCC commissioners come and give speeches at our
open house. Find someone your users would be interested in hearing speak,
and who they may get a quick moment with them or a photo op. They might
just show up. Another option is to look at companies that do business with
your agency and see if they have a product they want to show off. Here at
the FCC we have the advantage of mobile technology manufacturers who
work with the agency and are always very willing to show off their products.
We have a room located in the library, but separate from the library, that
focuses on technology that relates to the FCC’s work. For the past two years
we have partnered with the group that runs the FCC Technology Experience
Center to bring in manufactures of mobile technology to showcase their
products. We have also brought in local public libraries to present their
electronic resources. The purpose of this is to not only get agency staff
excited about the new technology, but to also see how these technologies
are impacting libraries. Our database vendors can also show how users can
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