Pittsburgh Area Residents Begin Brainstorming Sessions on Ways Libraries Can Better Serve Users

From the The Tribune Review:

The Allegheny County Library Association and Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh have teamed up to initiate the discussion in order to better serve patrons’ changing needs and expectations.
The plan is to brainstorm ideas this month, test them in the spring and have a possible new approach toward the 45 libraries served either by the county library association or Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, along with the eiNetwork that connects them all.
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“With the advent of computer terminals in libraries, suddenly we have to be experts in anything that exists with that computer,” she said. “We’ve got one of those 3D printers (at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh) and it’s a wonderful service to the community. But there is so much in the back end that goes into knowing how to run the software and train our staff to run it who, in turn, train the public. With technology, there are more and more demands on librarians to increase their skills.”

We also 100% agree and appreciate this comment from an area resident who at one point “criticized” a library tax stipend.

[Homestead council vice president Barbara Broadwater said,] “I think a lot of people don’t know all that the library offers.”

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See Also: On many occasions infoDOCKET has pointed out that we’ve noticed that many current and potential library users are unaware (aka “don’t know”) about what their library offers both in the building and remotely.
This problem/challenge is also discussed in the 2012 and 2013 Pew Internet reports on how American’s value their public libraries.

Filed under: Libraries, News, Patrons and Users, Public Libraries, Reports