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Week 5 – Service Review – Brisbane City Council Library – Products, programs and services
Prelude: In the book Libraries and Information Studies in Retrospect and Prospect, Volume 2 it states that UNESCO when it was formed had 5 goals to ensure libraries and their services were unified accross UN member states. On page 374 the report states that “..an effective library service forms and indispensable and integral feature of any education program..”
This week I entered the gates of the Brisbane City Library for the first time. My goal was to use as many of the services/products that the library has, then review them whilst covering a broad range of scenarios of I setup. Firstly I wanted to see if these products/services had any intertwining relationship and if the effectiveness of these products/services being delivered to me by staff members delivered an outcome, whether positive or negative. I wanted to get a whole feel about a Public Library experience other than the one that I have used all the time which is QUT’s Libray GP to which I primarily use for borrowing text books and using their on line cataloguing to look for academic articles and make a comparison. In particular emphasis I immediately set off to learn about signing up for a library card, getting assistance with using the internet, asking about DOI and finally the information literacy of staff. I spent around 3 hours in the library all up.
.My first port of call was to a library sign up desk to obtain a card to be able to use the Brisbane City Council’s products/services. I made subtle enquires to them about whether they have a service delivery model similar to this one, as I was curious about their range of products/services compared to QUT’s one. I was handed a phamplet, however I did manage to find an online version.
.My next step was to enquire about how to use the internet services there and what they had on offer. Upon approaching the desk of the Librarian I was greeted with a smile and the Lady advised me of the two options I have relating to the usage of internet at the library. The first she explained was for general purpose use, and she pointed to the area in the building where that was located and it was clear to see that this was the most in use area. Then secondly she explained to me that there is a special internet service area designated area for people who are conducting jobsearch enquiries, resume writing and other services and in this area you are allowed 2 hours of use as opposed to “general purpose” use. She also explained that there are classes for people who require skills in order to use the internet if I was not fluent with this. So overall I feel that the Brisbane City Council has thought clearly about the needs for the community in every aspect when it comes to using the internet. In essence they cover for the disabled, hearing impaired, immigrants etc. And I got the feeling that they had a life cycle service chain (which is in their Mission Statement) when it came to their overall approach to the use of Information and Communications Technology. For example they have classes to teach a person which can then lead a person to become computer literate and thus in the best possible outcome a user would then be able to use the library internet service to look for a job then write a resume and subsequently apply for a job, overall bringing prosperity and a dividend for the Library, because if that person was to get a job, buy a house and then pay rates, some of the rate money would then go back into supporting the libraries all over Brisbane. I know this is a perfect example, and isn’t always the case. But with regards to Information Literacy and Architecture as an Organisation the Brisbane City Council Library has a perfect model of what a Library should be and it has kept pace with the advancements in Technology, and the staff member that assisted me with all of these products/services had a very through understanding of Information Literacy. For example when I was shown how to use their catalouging system I was unsure of what as DOI was (I actually did) however this staff member went on to explain in detail that it is similar to an ISBN and showed me how to use a DOI to seek if it was in stock (as they only have a certain amount of licences for certain books). In comparison when living in Kalgoorlie last year I was at the Kalgoorile City Library in WA, they had none of these “life cycle” services and still charged around $10 an hour to use the internet, even for jobseekers, in their defense this could be due to funding issues of course being a moderate sized city.
In Conclusion it is clear that the Library is a one stop shop for anything and it clearly caters to the entire Brisbane Community, this is shown by the fact of my overall experience there, and perusing the website, which even included the website offered in 9 different languages. It seems that their mission is to ensure that Information is easy to find and the staff have a very good extensive knowledge of their roles and my overall experience was amazing. I have even left a link to a thank you review to them here. Furthermore there are a large number of other classes and community activities that the library sponsors and I will be reviewing a program in a later weeks.Image Reference source :
- Screenshot of BCC website : http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/facilities-recreation/libraries
2. Inside the Library : http://plconnect.slq.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0004/253921/varieties/thumbnail250.jpg
3. Kalgoorlie City Library : http://www.ckb.wa.gov.au/Your-Council,-Your-City-Files/Images/Internal-images/Residents/HERO-Image-Library-641x280px.aspx
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I love my local Brisbane City Council library and really am glad you had a good experience. The online resources are fab and access to Overdrive and Bolinda is wonderful (stock up before you go on holiday whether that is a break from the norm or otherwise!). Plus staff really helpful – obviously QUT trained!
Thanks, Sarah
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Hi Steve,
I enjoyed your detailed description of your 3-hour visit to the library and the impact of the service provided to you as a user. In addition, I liked how you supported your experience with images of the library. Great post, thank you.
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Wow Steve, you certainly set youeself a big task but I admired your goal of trying to achieve a holistic experience of the library. You clearly got through a lot of research in your time in the library and it’s great you were impressed by the services on offer. Computer literacy and spaces for everyday tasks such as job applications and resume making are excellent to hear about and positive well-informed staff make for a great user experience. It’s a shame that rural and regional libraries don’t necessarily have the same opportunities to provide the same services. Do you think that funding is the only issue here? It might be worth having a conversation with the librarian next time you are home in Kalgoorlie about the particular barriers they face.
Did you come across a makerspace in your travels? A spin on a SD printer might have been the icing on the cake!
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