Hammersmith and Fulham Libraries have been operating a Loyalty Card Scheme now for a little under two years.
The way we run it is that a reader can have their Loyalty Card stamped each time they visit the library to borrow anything, on five separate days. (It does not have to be A/V material, books count as well.) The reader can take as long as they like to complete the card. We have found that some of them gather the requisite stamps over several months.
The reader proffers the card upon checking out items and the member of staff issuing the items stamps it with the standard date stamp (for book issues) in use that day. This means that the dates stamped on the Loyalty Card do not correspond with the dates that the reader is in the Library; in fact they are usually three weeks ahead. (Three weeks being our standard issue time for books.)
When the reader has completed the card with the required five different dates, ( and has filled in their membership number on the card) they can surrender the card and claim the loan of One DVD, or One CD free of charge. The DVD or CD loan is for a standard issue time. The free borrowing does not entitle the reader to any special consideration with regard to the loan: They will still be charged fines on the item if it is kept past the date it is issued to.
After we had been running the scheme for some while it was decided that the card could also be surrendered in return for a free half hour session on The Peoples Network (Internet) (normal charge 50p) or for cheap items from the For Sale shelf of withdrawn stock. This was done so as to have something to offer those readers who did not ordinarily pay for the loan of DVDs and CDs (In the main, Pensioners and Young People under 16.) We found in the first months of the scheme that many Pensioners were using the cards in order to show "Loyalty" to the Libraries, but under the way the scheme then operated, we had nothing with which to reward them.
The great bulk of surrendered cards are however from people who use them to take out a free DVD or CD loan.
At the end of each calendar month, we collect up the completed cards from each of the (six) Libraries in our system so as to have some idea of how often the Scheme is being used in different parts of the borough, and to monitor seasonal fluctuations etc.
From these monthly harvests, we choose one card (at random) and the person who's completed card it was (identified by their Membership number which should be on the card) is notified and is then allowed to borrow all DVDs and CDs (up to their normal limits) for one calendar month free of charge. So at any one time, there is always one Loyalty Card user who is able to borrow free. We give that reader a special status on the computer issue system for that month, so that they are automatically exempt from the charge for that period of time. (They do not have to identify themselves as the winner at the point of issue, the computer screen will automatically alert the librarian that the reader is currently exempt from charges for those selected items.)
Because of the time it takes to collect the completed cards, we always run this part of the offer one month behind: e.g. Cards completed and handed in during the month of February are counted (and a winner is chosen) during March. The reader is then informed, and takes up their free month of borrowing during April.
I hope that the above will explain enough to give you the idea of how we operate our scheme; but if I can be of further help do ask!
Yours
Francis Blake
Marketing and Promotions Officer
RSD Libraries and Archives
London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham
020 8753 3812
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Director of Resident Services - Lyn Carpenter
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