1. Six Years of Transformation: Trading Spaces in Mount Laurel Kathy Schalk-Greene Director, Mount Laurel Library kathy@mtlaurel.lib.nj.us SWAT Team of Library Transformers NJLA Conference 2010

2. Once upon a time… Preconference: Merchant Librarian April 2003 Dave Genesy

3. Trading Spaces Project Brainchild Karen Hyman, South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative Norma Blake, New Jersey State Library Gondola

4. Project Goals Show affordable retail merchandising techniques Show policy, cultural and physical changes Demonstrate increased circulation and customer satisfaction

5. Project timeline Project start: July 2003 Project budget: $45,000 Unveiled: March 23, 2004 The adventure continues… Slat wall Fun

6. Before: August 2003

7. AFTER: March 2004 Slat wall Retail Area Rug

8. … and they lived happily ever after

9. The library is a growing organism

10. S pecial W eapons A nd T actics More solutions than you first think

11. Weeding creates space

12. Less is more

13. Create comfort

14. Use creative signage

16. Buy everything you can on wheels

18. Live in the NOW

19. Remember Raganathan Books are for use Every reader his or her book Every book its reader Save the time of the reader

20. The library is a growing organism

22. Mess equals success

23. Simple things you can start today Remember: Willingness is more valuable than money

24. Two Good Books to Read Underhill, Paco. Why we buy: the science of shopping. New York : Simon & Schuster, 1999. Brand, Stewart. How buildings learn: what happens after they’re built. New York : Viking, 1994.

25. Leap the chasm!  “You can’t leap the chasm taking baby steps. Baby steps will kill you.” --Dave Genesy

26. www.sjrlc.org/tradingspaces