Rhonda K. Kitchens
is a Librarian, Writer, Poet, Pug Enthusiast, Florida History Buff and
Kayaker. This purpose of "Sell it With Sizzle" is to provide free
ideas and tips for adult librarians who do programming.
To contact me: Rhondakwrites
@
…aol.com
#4) FAILURE’S CHALLENGE: ”It is not enough to know how to
ride but you must also know how to fall.” – Mexican Proverb
Reference service provides a valuable
indicator as to where to go with your programming. Unlike other
businesses that need to pull in a research consultant, the library customer
provides a constant stream of information about what is important to them.
What you can’t find on your
shelf, what you wish you had more time to explain, what you wish you knew but
can find a partner to present and other daily service failures are
opportunities to educate and share with your audience your full iceberg of information.
In a major study of 700 service
incidents from hospitality industries researchers found that out of all
positive memories customers have of a good service, 25% began as a failure in
service delivery.
Which is to say if your program fails,
it is your memory of it which may be the darkest.
The way I’ve played it the 2
worst things that can happen to you in when you have a program is that no one
shows up or too many people show up.
When no one shows up, check the
variables. Was the timing bad? Did you put three months of planning into it?
Did you publicize it in the right places? Did you try to build an audience
out of an existing group?
In last month’s Women’s Day
article there was a brief article on “How to Stay on Your Game.”
People who succeed have the right attitude. A component of that is to
expect setbacks. Great athletes aren’t those people who never had
a setback, but those who persist through adversity.
And the sound of crickets at your
program is a great, profound adversity. It is also an opportunity to
tinker with it, rethink it, retool it and get back in the saddle.
