Preparing a Guide to your Library and Information Service

Sylvia P Webb

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781351227247
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Library & Information Science
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Discusses the choice of information that can be included as well as the different styles in which it can be presented.Covers not just the physical preparation but also distribution and publicity.Selected examples of interesting features.

1. Introduction

Guides to library and information services (LIS) come in an ever-increasing variety of shapes, sizes and formats. Widely-available and easy-to-use graphics software and desk top publishing facilities have certainly contributed to this. So has the increased awareness among LIS professionals of the potential of a well-produced and up-to-date guide in promoting the service and ensuring that maximum use is made of its facilities. LIS guides can range from a single sheet of A4 paper to videos and interactive computer-based packages. Printed versions might be presented as a simple bookmark or a reference card, or as a more comprehensive brochure, booklet or information pack. A number of the printed versions (and other formats) are produced in-house, whilst some are printed and produced commercially. This sometimes involves the use of design consultants and external printers, and can result in some visually impressive glossy brochures and alternative products.

Often there is not just a single guide to the service, but a series of separate sources of information on different aspects of, or specific services within the overall LIS. These can be issued individually or in a specially designed folder which may be given to all new users, providing them with a guide to the total service. Guides may also be planned and prepared to be used in conjunction with, or to supplement oral presentations and guided tours of the LIS. Rather than being purely descriptive, these could well include practical exercises to assist the user in gaining an appreciation of the content, arrangement and use of information sources. This is increasingly the case in academic LIS where the new student may well be expected to use specific sources as part of the learning process (see the section on subject guides in Chapter 3).

So is there any one way, to be preferred above all others, in which to produce a successful and effective guide to your service? The answer, as could have been expected from the above comments, is definitely 'no', but there are a number of matters to be taken into account, and questions addressed before you set out on the path towards producing your next guide. Perhaps, up to now, in your LIS there has been no guide, or any which has existed is now either out-of-date in terms of content, or in terms of style, or both. What are the key considerations for the LIS manager or other member of staff who is thinking about producing or updating a guide to the service?

A useful starting point could be to consider the questions which you might ask in producing any written report-they apply equally well to other formats. These are the oft-quoted, but still extremely pertinent, "six honest serving men" featured in Kipling's poem "I keep six honest serving men". They are What, Why, When, How, Where and Who? In applying them, although in a different order, to the development of a library guide we would be seeking answers to the following initial questions:

• WHY have a guide; what is its purpose; what do we hope that it will achieve; does it have a long-term as well as a short-term aim; could it help fulfil any other aims; where does it fit into both organisational and departmental objectives?
• WHAT do we want to say i.e. dependent on the stated purpose what needs to be included; which particular features or aspects of the service do we want to describe; how much detail is required?
• WHO is the perceived reader/user at whom the guide is aimed-the intended audience; is there more than one identifiable user or potential user group; what implication does this have for decisions on content and style?
• HOW should we present the information in the guide; given the make-up of the potential user group or groups, what level and language style should we adopt; what format should be used-paper, electronic or other; who is going to write the text and have overall responsibility for its production: what about design details like size, shape and colour; is there a house style to which we need to conform; should we design an appropriate logo for the LIS to make the guide instantly recognisable; should it be produced internally or externally; if it is not to be a printed guide what would be the most appropriate format; what supporting equipment might be needed?
• WHERE is it intended to be used; what access (local or remote) will there be to the guide; how widely will it be made available; what implications does this have for LIS space and equipment e.g. siting of terminals for a computer-based package, or control systems for loan copies to be used off-site, or viewing facilities for a video-based guide; what impact does the place where it is used have on the number of copies which may be required?
• WHEN is it likely to be used; is it intended to be an 'in-hand' guide which can only be used within the physical confines of the LIS as an aid to locating and making use of material; what implications are there for the hours of opening and staffing levels; if it is intended to be used on a network, will it be accessible at all times and are users then able to conveniently follow-up their requirements; does it act as an introduction which new users need to read before visiting or making contact with the LIS; is there follow-up material which needs to be studied at specific future points in time in relation to particular scheduled usage e.g. as part of a programme of training or an education syllabus?

These suggested initial considerations indicate just how much planning is required in producing a guide if it is to be really effective in achieving its objectives. Answers to questions under any one of the above headings are likely to influence those under another. For example, questions about format under HOW will also relate to those on access and equipment under WHERE. All the answers will lead to further questions which will have to be addressed, for example, in relation to resourcing, is there a budget available for the development of a guide; if so, will there also be money available in the future for updating and change; what are the implications for staff time, not just in terms of producing the guide, but also in meeting the expectations of users which may have been engendered by the guide; are there implications for staff training and development in terms of acquiring or upgrading certain areas of skill and knowledge?

The act of carrying out the initial planning of the guide should not be viewed as an isolated task, it needs to be considered as part of the overall strategy for disseminating information about, and promoting the services and skills available within and through the LIS, in other words part of the LIS public relations and marketing policy. For example, it should be coordinated with any plans for signposting, labelling and guiding to assist users in finding their way around the physical layout and arrangement of the LIS. It is also likely to have wider repercussions in terms of suggesting possible changes and future directions for the service, so it can play a positive and constructive role in broader management planning.

2. Why produce a guide?

Establishing the need

As indicated in the previous chapter, before making a decision about style or presentation, you will need to have a clearly-stated purpose for the guide. Why is it thought to be necessary and what does it hope to achieve? In order to answer these questions it could be useful to go back to the raison d'être of the LIS itself-what is it there to do, what does it currently offer, what additional or alternative services could it provide? That in turn suggests looking at the current objectives of the parent organisation and its future direction. If, as in the case of an academic library, it is part of an institution with education and research objectives, then the LIS objectives will be developed in support of, and relate strongly to those objectives. Equally in a special library or information centre, although the role and objectives of the LIS may be different to those of its counterparts in public or academic libraries, they must relate just as strongly to those of the parent organisation as a whole.

The size of the organisation and the spread of its activities, both in terms of its fields of interest and operation, and the number and location of sites to be served, will also play a part in determining the purpose and style of any guide to the LIS. It is generally accepted that however large or small the organisation may be, if the LIS is to maximise its usefulness it needs to ensure that users and potential users are made aware not only of its existence and its current services, but also its possible wider contribution in achieving corporate objectives. A simple LIS guide can certainly help in this. In referring to the importance of producing "leaflets and brochures which advertise the services and resources of your library or information unit" Hamilton (1990) says "It doesn't matter if you are working in a tiny one-room, one-staff operation, or a large, many-floored, many-branched organisation with a staff of hundreds, the production of such material will be essential".

Award for good PR material

Each year in the United Kingdom a series of awards is made to promote and improve the standards of public relations and publicity within library and information services. These are known as the Library Association/T C Farries Public Relations & Publicity Awards and attract hundreds of entries annually across the various categories, covering public relations programmes, special events, publicity material, sponsorship and partnership funding, and personal PR achievement. Category 3 (Publicity Material), which cover posters, handout publicity, any single publication for sale, and audiovisual materials, is the one in which LIS guides are submitted, unless they form part of a planned programme of good PR practice. There has been a lot of interest in producing audiovisual material and the CD-ROM format has also featured in this category.

The judges for the awards look for:

• excellence, imagination and innovation in the promotion of library and information services
• presentation to complement the standard of the entry itself
• supporting information clearly presented.

The enthusiasm of entrants and the increase in the number of entries indicates the importance now attached not only to informing users of what is available in their LIS, but also of how to do this as professionally as possible.

Preparing your LIS guide will give you the ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Series Editor
• Contents
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Why produce a guide
• 3. Purpose and coverage of different types of guide
• 4. The user: who, where and when
• 5. Style and format: how to get your message across
• 6. The visual impact: design details
• 7. Printing and production: internal or external?
• 8. Conclusion
• 9. Selected examples of interesting features
• 10. Further reading
• 11. Organisations and addresses