Six Years of Transformation: Trading Spaces in Mount Laurel Kathy Schalk-Greene Director, Mount Laurel Library SWAT Team of Library Transformers NJLA Conference 2010
Once upon a time… Preconference: Merchant Librarian April 2003 Dave Genesy
Trading Spaces Project Brainchild Karen Hyman, South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative Norma Blake, New Jersey State Library Gondola
Project Goals Show affordable retail merchandising techniques Show policy, cultural and physical changes Demonstrate increased circulation and customer satisfaction
Project timeline Project start: July 2003 Project budget: $45,000 Unveiled: March 23, 2004 The adventure continues… Slat wall Fun
Before: August 2003
AFTER: March 2004 Slat wall Retail Area Rug
… and they lived happily ever after
The library is a growing organism
S pecial W eapons A nd T actics More solutions than you first think
Weeding creates space
Less is more
Create comfort
Use creative signage
Buy everything you can on wheels
Live in the NOW
Remember Raganathan Books are for use Every reader his or her book Every book its reader Save the time of the reader
The library is a growing organism
Mess equals success
Simple things you can start today Remember: Willingness is more valuable than money
Two Good Books to Read Underhill, Paco. Why we buy: the science of shopping. New York : Simon & Schuster, Brand, Stewart. How buildings learn: what happens after they’re built. New York : Viking, 1994.
Leap the chasm! “You can’t leap the chasm taking baby steps. Baby steps will kill you.” --Dave Genesy