Meeting Thursday 3 March 2016

Bowen Library Meeting Room Level 2 Training Room 669 Anzac Parade, Maroubra, NSW 2042

9.30am - 12noon

Present: Barbara (Randwick), Eric (Randwick), Maya (Randwick), Kim (Ryde), Lydie (City of Sydney), Laura (Hawkesbury), Cathy (SLNSW), Julie (Wollongong), Simon (Waverley)

Apologies: Louise Dolle, Auburn; Jody Rodas, Waverley; Margaret Redrup-May, Blacktown; Lynne Frances, Ku Ring Gai; Margaret Dunworth, Willoughby; Julieri Di Floro, Warringah; Helen Kassidis, Burwood; Kelly Wilson, Sutherland;

· State Library marketing Social Media engagement over the Government Architect’s office using the #publicmade. Multi March to celebrate the Australian multicultural community. They are working with niche engagement groups around the subject of history and nostalgia.

· PLN Facebook page update March 2016 - As at 2 March 2016, we currently have 493 likes, a growth of 25.45% since the date of our last Marketing Subgroup meeting on Wednesday 25 November 2015. - For the period of Thursday 26 November 2016 – Wednesday 2 March 2016: o We served 202 posts (an average of 2.08 per day) with a total reach of 67,235 users and a total impress count 130,951. o Discussion of most popular Facebook posts.

· Discussion: Bowen Library Refurbishment Update – Refurbishing a library while staying open

Bowen Library case study – Refurbishing a library while staying open - Bowen Library, Maroubra is Randwick City Library’s busiest branch with over 350,000 visitors per year. - A Bowen Library masterplan was developed in 2012, with renovations being staged across numerous years . - The refurbishment occurring in early 2016 will be the most extensive and will have the largest impact on the customer experience.

- Once completed, the refurbishment will provide: o a contemporary colour pallet and design, featuring modern furniture and light fittings o two additional study rooms o a new lounging area for reading and relaxing featuring a ceiling suspended sculptural piece o patron focused service desks and new group work spaces o additional study desks with integrated power points o a new work/study area overlooking bustling Anzac Parade o a centralised printing and photocopying hub o re-aligned shelving, featuring improved natural light

- Of most interest, all work will be conducted outside of operating hours. - Bowen Library will continue to be open during the refurbishment period, operating to our normal opening and closing times. - All library events scheduled during the refurbishment period will continue as normal and reserves, the Home Library service, free Wi-Fi and online resources will not be affected.

- In terms of the positives and negatives of refurbishing a library while remaining to stay open: o Pros: § The library is able to stay open to its normal operating hours. § Minimal impact on customer experience – library is still open and almost all functions continue as normal. § Collections do not need to be moved across branches to maintain circulation. § No impact on ongoing event delivery. Scheduled events can continue to run. § No impact on staffing – the same staffing is required on a day-to-day basis ensuring that casual/part time/volunteers staff are not forced into a period of lack of work. § No loss of income through the suspension of venue hiring while library is closed. § No noise impact on other tenants of the building as work is undertaken outside of operating hours. o Cons: § Work is completed overnight, with minimal client supervision. § Higher project delivery costs due to overtime hours worked. § Longer project delivery length required.

- Our learnings from refurbishing a library while staying open can be summarised in the following points: o Staff will adapt to the continual change – Staff resistance to change is often cited as a reason not to move forward with projects. Within our experience, moving from a “two desk” library (that being an information and circulation desk) to a single “desk model” Clear communication with staff and open lines of feedback have mitigated any resistance.

o Staff will actually be motivated by the positive change in a library’s appearance – The ongoing improvements in the library, especially of the cosmetic variety, will actually be a motivating factor. Staff will inevitably get excited about the change and look forward to the journey of its completion. Within our experience a simple cosmetic upgrade of changing the carpet had a positive effect on staff morale, with staff visibly more proud of the library’s appearance.

o Customers will be very understanding and complaints will be minimal or non-existent – So long as internet, printing and wi-fi are available, patrons will be happy! Our patrons happily adapted to the changed/moved/new study spaces and we received no complaints (even for the one day our Children’s library was closed or the one day when part of our non-fiction collection).

o The unexpected will always occur but things will work out – Unfortunately project managers and builders are not experts in libraries, as such things will come up that were not thought of! In our experience, the simple task of removing books from shelves (to allow them to be dismantled, moved or rotated) and re-stacked had not been properly thought through.. While jacks were used to raise and lower shelving for the replacement of carpet, when it came time to move shelving around a sub-contractor (Chess Book Movers) were brought on to handle removing, moving and re-shelving parts of the collection.

o It, will more often than not, take longer than expected – As with any construction or refurbishment project, delays will always be incurred and the project will take longer than expected. The original project dates for the Bowen Library refurbishment were Monday 18 January to Tuesday 12 February 2016, however the likely end-date is now mid/late March 2016. Within our experience, delays have primarily occurred due to work being undertaken overnight with minimal client supervision – as such, when inspected by the client (us) each morning and defects/issues found, the resolution of these issues would take a full day (as workers on site would not arrive until 9pm). Additional delays have been incurred due to hold-ups in sourcing furniture.

· Information exchange Roundtable discussion on what each library has been doing in terms of author events, displays and upcoming Seniors Week events.

Randwick · Book Club in a box launched recently to great success.

Ryde · Partnered with local shopping centres to promote the library and ran a few story times outside in the over air which were attended by 300 attendees. · Expanding Children’s to 20 programs a week. · In their recently refurbished library they have created a Children’s discovery zone with digital microscopes.

City of Sydney · Moving to a more fluid version of their newsletter without specific dates so they can respond to event requests. · Discussion about how various libraries track events- using digital mediums like eNews, Facebook, Event Feedback forms, Google Analytics etc.

Waverley · Gen Y Book Club is a great success. · Great Waverley Bake Off is planned for Seniors Week and all about engaging the community with baking and history. · Indieflix has recently launched and they are running a film club using these resources.

Hawkesbury · So you think you can’t dance – dance and exercise workshops are planned for Seniors Week. · Feedback on when you should cancel your events discussed.

Wollongong · Author Talks and Kids activities are frequently booked out.

· Next meeting 26th May – Waverley