Hi David,
I don't think I misrepresented your point - I said in my last email 'treating' our members as "citizens..." would be a bad thing, irrespective of how we 'refer' to them - of course you weren't suggesting this is how we refer to them. I apologise if I wasn't clear on this.
You're right in saying that our members aren't consumers, but that doesn't also mean they're not customers. People can choose to provide a service/organisation with their custom, without necessarily being a consumer as such.
Whilst I don't have time for research in the academic sense, I will of course find a copy of the book you suggested to read - thanks for the pointer.
Regards,
Richard.
-----Original Message-----
From: lis-pub-libs: UK Public Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David McMenemy
Sent: 26 August 2010 12:57
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Hands off our libraries!
You're deliberately misrepresenting what I said. Of course you don't refer to library users as "citizens engaging in accessing a collective service paid for by taxation" - don't be absurd. That is, however, what they are. They're not consumers.
Congratulations on your issue figures, I'm actually a great admirer of the work you're doing in West Dunbartonshire. Your new website is excellent.
But your lack of will in researching the words you use to refer to the people who use your service, does you a disservice. Bob Usherwood has an excellent book on from 1996 called "Rediscovering Public Library Management" it if you care to pick it up. These are actually fundamental issues, that have directly led to service dumbing down.
-----Original Message-----
From: lis-pub-libs: UK Public Libraries [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Richard Aird
Sent: 26 August 2010 12:48
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Hands off our libraries!
I don't equate the two, but would be happy to use either depending on the preference of the people we're serving. Either way, relating to our public in plain English on their level is important, and the language you suggested just isn't suitable.
I'm afraid I don't have time to research the origins of the words as we have services to manage and provide. On that note, our 'plain English' approach has done us no harm - statistics are virtually all on the up:
Visits up 4.75% over 12 months
Request up 125% over 24 months
Issues up 9.15% over 24 months
Active borrowers up 6.4% over 12 months
I would imagine treating our customers as "citizens engaging in accessing a collective service paid for by taxation" would have alienated quite a few, and our stats would drop accordingly.
Regards,
Richard.
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