Willoughby City Library Pop-Up Library

Who

• Representatives from all library teams.• Sarah – Home Library Services• Weili – Community Languages• Cecilia- Online Services• Liz P/ Meg – Promotions• Margo/Liz G Service Delivery• Cheryl/ Angelis – Collection Development• Peter B – Courier and Maintainance Man

Where & When

• Thursday Street Markets• Victoria Ave Mall, Chatswood

AimsWhy a Pop Up Library?

• Pop up libraries have been gaining a lot of popularity among public libraries as both a marketing and outreach exercise

• They are a fun and exciting way of reaching out to our current members, but also allow us to sign up new people who do not visit our branches

• They also provide a great chance to promote our collection – both physical and electronic.

Content• Adult Fiction & Non- Fiction• AV – DVDs, CDs & Audio Books• Community Language Books• Children’s books & DVDs• Promotional materials such as:

What’s on at the Library, Book Marks, Online services promotions.

Desired outcomes

• Increased awareness of:• E-resources• Event at the library such as:

Talks @WilloughbyLearn@the Library classesChildren’s activitiesMulticultural activities

• A convenient location to sign up and borrow• Promote the modern and extensive collection

How do we measure success?

• Number of visitors to the Pop-up Library• Circulation Activity• Handouts given to visitors• E-news letter sign-up• PR exposure

Statistics• Over 95 interactions during the 5 hours, which included:

6 new members34 items borrowed19 items returned28 general inquiries (location/branches/joining requirements)35 collection inquiries/people borrowing 16 event inquiries Eg: Talks @Willoughby/Children’s

activities/Music on Mondays/Book clubs13 Learn @ the Library inquires Eg: Tech Savvy Seniors/E-Skills

bar/tutorials.

What we have learnt• It is best to have 2 library staff working at the pop-up library• If possible, one staff member should be a Mandarin or Cantonese speaker• Weather will determine the pop-up library success• Have the most eye-catching books and DVDs on display (e.g. new big cookbooks,

science books, latest releases etc.) to portray the modernity of the collection – helps catch the attention of people passing by

• Promote what’s on at the time, not all the time (not just “we have author talks”, but “we have a talk on….this Thursday”) helps keep it relevant

• Give visitors the chance to sign up on the day• Be prepared for the technology not to work (e.g. manually record data for

circulation)• Test public wi-fi • Have somewhere to sit with visitors to demonstrate e-books and e-magazines• Start collecting items weeks prior to the pop up• Record the number of members and non-members who visit

Welcome to the Pop-Up Library