By Janine Schmidt
FALIA, AM
The
Australian government is focusing on the development of an innovation
culture to achieve economic transformation and future growth.
ALIA is likewise emphasising the importance of innovation and
associating it with leadership. Everyone can innovate, but not everyone
does. How and where are good ideas for creating improved processes and
fashioning new products discovered?
Some say the best ideas come from customers. OCLC’s Research arm has over many years examined customer behaviour and identified trends on which to base new products and services. A recent compilation by Lynn Silipigni Connaway The library in the life of the user: engaging with people where they live and learn summarises a decade of research exploring library user behaviour undertaken by OCLC in partnership with others. Beginning with Ranganathan’s directive of following the reader, the work provides an extremely useful overview of methods and data collection approaches to understanding user behaviour as well as a summary of findings. The behaviour of “screenagers”, millennials, school and university students, and baby boomers is explored. The studies make similar findings. Although libraries are seen as places to use Wi-Fi and access the internet, they are deemed to be print and book-based rather than digitally-oriented. Customers are not aware of the full range of services provided by libraries. Convenience is the major driver of information use. It is vital that libraries develop relationships and engage with their customers both to understand needs and provide appropriate services.
