Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County, NC: Utilize an IdeaTorrent

-- Library Journal, 2/23/2009 7:51:00 AM

The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (PLCMC) is fortunate to have a dedicated and talented staff, a board that fosters and encourages creativity and innovation, and a highly responsive and receptive community. This powerful combination over the past half-century, and especially during the last 20 years, has fueled the development of a highly successful organization, serving what many consider to be one of the country’s “great emerging metropolitan areas.” As a result, we have implemented several innovative programs and services in the past few years that have strongly impacted community access, circulation, programming, and use of technology.

PLCMC has long sought ways to increase the public’s access to our materials and services. In 2008, we created a Mobile Literacy Program with the goal of bringing our Summer Reading programs to those who couldn’t come to the library. Our Mobile Literacy Outreach Vehicle, designed to look and sound like an old-fashioned ice cream truck, visited neighborhoods of schools with 90-95 percent of students in the free or reduced lunch program. Children approaching the truck found a mini-library complete with chairs and tables, Internet computers, and a free book they could keep. IBM donated eight Thinkpad laptop computers and Reading Companion software as part of its commitment to community education.

In the same spirit of providing access, PLCMC has invited teens to be a part of our community though teen-friendly spaces and programs in all of our locations. In 2005, we opened ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center™ with the first-ever Teen Loft, a space for kids ages 12-18 only, that was designed by teens, for teens. Since then, the Loft has implemented innovative and award-winning teen programs, which have in turn inspired similar programs throughout the system and made the library a draw for teens throughout the region. Our annual Teen Read Week event each October at ImaginOn has become the teen event of the year, and in 2008 we actually had to turn teens away at the door when we reached capacity.

The sharing of ideas between staff is not just limited to teen services–PLCMC has long encouraged innovation by providing staff with tools for collaboration and idea sharing. A decade ago, we implemented RISE (Resolve to Improve Service Excellence), a process for staff to share ideas to save resources or improve services. That process has recently been redesigned as IdeaTorrent, which uses a web interface to facilitate discussion of these ideas. In addition, library employees use tools like wikis, blogs, social networking, and our Employee Intranet to communicate, collaborate, and share successes.

For the past three years, PLCMC has hosted a Technology Summit for library employees and the public. In 2008 the topic was technology and youth services. As the event has gained momentum, employees from across the system and library, as well as non-library professionals from across the country, have attended. The focus has evolved from user-consumed to also user-generated content. One example of how the library facilitates user-generated content is Studio i, a groundbreaking animation studio in ImaginOn that allows the public to create their own animations, music, and videos.

Coming from the Technology Summit and staff collaboration has been a greater emphasis on user-generated content both by employees and our customers. We have firmly established ourselves in the social media space with dozens of staff-generated blogs, Facebook groups, MySpace pages, and Second Life spaces which are monitored by the Marketing department and cross-promoted through various social media tools and the library’s website. By allowing our customers of all ages to contribute content through these and other means such as Studio i and technology tools in our various locations, we are building an engaged, loyal customer community. We are also using technology-based tools like social media, gaming, and more to bring the community together in library spaces both virtual and physical.—Cordelia Anderson, Deputy Director of Marketing and Communications

Photos: Mobile Literacy Vehicle , Teen Loft, 2006 Technology Summit