Read The Big Moo.  That’s just a quick piece of advice for today.  The book, edited by Seth Godin, brings together 33 top minds of business and industry to present ideas on how to “remarkablize your organization.”  Who doesn’t want to be remarkable, right?

Several chapters hit me as being particularly relevant, but one is especially relevant to public libraries.  When Everything is Free (p.6) envisions a world where all business models are like that of National Public Radio.  Product is free and the organization’s revenue is dependent on customer loyalty, donations, etc.  Public libraries already operate under a similar model.

The author tells of how a wealthy NPR listener left NPR $200 million in her will and how more than 25,000 people signed an online petition within days when a personality change at NPR caused waves among its listeners.

Think about your communities?  Are we attracting that kind of broad-based customer loyalty, so much that if our budget is threatened, we have thousands of people come charging to our defense?  No?

The author asks some pointed questions at the end of the chapter, some worth considering as we plan future services:

For a moment, imagine that within a year global competition causes your company to rely on donations to survive.  How will you prepare?  How will you change your relationship with customers?  Will you change at all?

How will you attract and keep customers who will chip in extra money if you can’t meet your yearly revenue goals?

How will you change your product to become so valuable that customers will pay a fair price after they’ve used it freely for a year?

What will you do differently to survive?