My New Library Is Pretty Awesome
I've belonged to the Scottsdale City Library System for most of my life. I imagine I joined when I was 9 shortly after we moved to Arizona because my Mom was A. a prolific reader and B. an actual librarian at various times in her life.
Even when I recently lived in Tempe for 14 years, I still made the Civic Center branch my home base. It was conveniently located near my parents and my grocery store so I often killed two or three proverbial stones at once.
As their digital selection grew, however, I found myself getting physical books less and less. Between Phoenix Overdrive and Kindle Unlimited, I was pretty covered. So much so that I didn't get a Phoenix card until last November, six months after I moved.
I don't live close to the main branch in downtown but was surprised at how close I was to a satellite branch. So close that I drove past it a dozen times going to my new Costco without realizing it.
There are some very cool things that Phoenix does and Scottsdale didn't. And, I love the differences.
First, they hold requested books longer than the seven days that Scottsdale does. And, they don't charge you $1 if you don't pick it up in time. I got burned by that several times when I was on vacation and something suddenly popped up as available.
Second, if you have a book checked out that's due soon, they'll automatically renew your loan if no one has requested the same material.
Third, they really try to market their value. The first time I saw the checkout screen, I thought, "Yeah, man, this is smart advertising". As someone who can't afford to buy the 100+ books I read every year, it hit home how much I'm saving.
Fourth, they eliminated fines. I'd read an online article about another system somewhere in the Midwest who had done the same and they found people actually returned books faster. I suspect it was because of the social norm. You feel guilty if you're holding someone up from getting their material but if there's money attached to it you justify yourself by saying you're paying and therefore have the right to keep it. They freed up over 100,000 accounts that had been put on hold for overdue fees. Oh, yeah, they wrote off all of the accumulated fees, too.
Finally, (and I have to confess that Scottsdale may have done this and I never signed up), they send out monthly eNewsletters promoting events and giving impressive stats about library usage. I know there are a lot of people who think libraries are not needed in this digital age. Those people are wrong.
Here are some stats for 2019 from the February missive.
Even when I recently lived in Tempe for 14 years, I still made the Civic Center branch my home base. It was conveniently located near my parents and my grocery store so I often killed two or three proverbial stones at once.
As their digital selection grew, however, I found myself getting physical books less and less. Between Phoenix Overdrive and Kindle Unlimited, I was pretty covered. So much so that I didn't get a Phoenix card until last November, six months after I moved.
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| So artsy. |
I don't live close to the main branch in downtown but was surprised at how close I was to a satellite branch. So close that I drove past it a dozen times going to my new Costco without realizing it.
There are some very cool things that Phoenix does and Scottsdale didn't. And, I love the differences.
First, they hold requested books longer than the seven days that Scottsdale does. And, they don't charge you $1 if you don't pick it up in time. I got burned by that several times when I was on vacation and something suddenly popped up as available.
Second, if you have a book checked out that's due soon, they'll automatically renew your loan if no one has requested the same material.
Third, they really try to market their value. The first time I saw the checkout screen, I thought, "Yeah, man, this is smart advertising". As someone who can't afford to buy the 100+ books I read every year, it hit home how much I'm saving.
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| I may have picked this checkout to show because it has two non-fiction books on it and makes me look like I don't read a bunch of vampire and werewolf books which I totally do. |
Fourth, they eliminated fines. I'd read an online article about another system somewhere in the Midwest who had done the same and they found people actually returned books faster. I suspect it was because of the social norm. You feel guilty if you're holding someone up from getting their material but if there's money attached to it you justify yourself by saying you're paying and therefore have the right to keep it. They freed up over 100,000 accounts that had been put on hold for overdue fees. Oh, yeah, they wrote off all of the accumulated fees, too.
Finally, (and I have to confess that Scottsdale may have done this and I never signed up), they send out monthly eNewsletters promoting events and giving impressive stats about library usage. I know there are a lot of people who think libraries are not needed in this digital age. Those people are wrong.
Here are some stats for 2019 from the February missive.
- Over 10 million check outs of physical and digital books;
- Almost 4 million visits to one of our 17 locations a year;
- Over 60 thousand visits a day to phoenixpubliclibrary.org;
- 300,000 attendees to library programs including: early literacy Storytimes, Tools for School, Kindergarten Bootcamp, STEM programs such as Little Bytes, Builders Clubs and Robotics; personalized college application guidance; entrepreneurs connecting with local and small business resources; adults learning or practicing a new language, discovering a love for art, or diving in to the rich history of Arizona…these are just a sampling of the enriching and engaging programs we bring to our community members throughout the year.
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