I worked in the retail world for more than a decade. Some of the guiding principles from those years have become ingrained in my psyche—and have filtered down to my work as a school librarian. Whether working in farm goods, craft supply, or high-end women’s clothing store, I found some of the philosophies of retail applied across all markets—and easily apply to the management of the school library.

THE SCHOOL LIBRARY STORE

If you think about it, the school library is a “store” of sorts. We are in the business of providing our customers with services and goods. We supply these customers with merchandise like reading material, technology, resources, and skills. We have to make sure that each customer is paired up with the right piece of merchandise, knows how to use newly acquired merchandise, knows about new merchandise when it arrives, and has an experience that inspires them to make return visits.

It is the school librarian’s job to make sure staff and students are connected with the knowledge, tools, and resources they need to be successful. Several retail strategies can help accomplish this goal and satisfy our customers.

YOU CAN ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT… AND WHAT YOU NEED

As a retail clerk, you may need to use your best detective skills to figure out exactly what it is that the customer really wants/needs. Let’s say they need an outfit for a wedding—you will need to ask details like the location, time, possible dress code on the invitation, what he or she feels best wearing, etc. The same is true when matching up a student or staff member with a library resource. Ask questions! Is it for a school project? If so, what are the requirements, what is the deadline, what format works best? If not, is the purpose personal enjoyment, what did they like using/reading before, what do they do for fun outside of school? Take a few extra moments and ferret out what they truly need and, then, offer them the best-suited resource, tool, or book. But, don’t hover over them if they want to look on their own.

Self-selection is also a key ingredient of a good retail model. Your customers need to be able to walk into your store and find what they want or need without any help from you. There is no way one or even a few sales clerks can provide individual attention to each and every customer—nor do they all want it. When it comes to books, there are several ways to improve self-selection by your customers. Create a browser-friendly atmosphere. One way to do this is to face out as many books as possible. Students tend to grab the covers they can see over books with just the spine out—at least they did in my library.

Colorful, age-appropriate signage can also support a browser friendly space—but consider going beyond the traditional Dewey or category signs. You could add removable shelf markers to point out popular series, authors, or topics. Also, don’t be afraid to make major moves in organization. Place your resources where your patrons are most likely to look for them—just because that book has lived on that shelf for the past five years doesn’t mean it needs to continue doing so. And, rotating your stock can force customers to see items they never noticed before. Make sure your electronic resources are easy to find too. Put a direct link to the library page where people will look for it—and maybe have it available in more than one place. One simple trick is to make the library homepage the homepage for all student computers in your building—not just the ones in the library.

In many stores today, if what you want is not available, a clerk will call another location or special order it for you from their warehouse to be delivered in store or to your home. The school library can imitate a similar process for materials not readily on hand. Try to avoid a blanket, “No we don’t have that.” Instead, try “We don’t have that at the moment, but let me see what I can do about getting it for you.” Inter-library loan could be possible—maybe from a nearby school. Seek out the student with the overdue book personally. Purchase a frequently requested title outside of your normal buying schedule. Find a free, easy-to-use resource. Suggest options at the local public library.

HOW-TO USE YOUR NEW…

Whenever you buy a new gadget or gismo, you are given an instruction sheet on how to put it together or operate it properly. Or, the sales clerk takes the time to show you how to use or wear the item correctly. The same should be done for new and frequently used resources in the school library. Create handouts and/or online pages that provide your customers with information on how to use the card catalog and the online databases, create citations, evaluate websites, and so on. Make them available at your front counter and/or 24/7 via your school library website. These handouts can be a great reminder for students/staff who have already used the product, and it is also a way to get the product in the hands of new users. If your customers don’t know about or how to use the resources, chances are they won’t. If they aren’t using them, it is hard to justify the school or district spending money on them—even if they are amazing.

WHAT’S NEW, WHAT’S HOT, WHAT NEEDS SOLD

Marketing is a key strategy for all retail stores. You often see large colorful posters and displays and items set out in special locations throughout the store. Impulse buy items are usually near the checkout. There are also items marked at a discount to make way for new merchandise. At home, you receive flyers, catalogs, and coupons and see or hear commercials enticing you into the store to get the newest and latest items available. In order to get the word out about what you’ve got, the school librarian also needs to reach those core customers.

Promote new items. You may already showcase new programs, resources, or books through enticing displays and new book carts or display racks in easy-to-access locations. But, you also need to promote the locations of these displays—and the new items—through hallway posters, listings in the daily announcements, and school newsletters. You can give teachers a quick guide to new videos or professional resources in their virtual or physical mailboxes. Getting the word out gets people in the door to check out the library. Better yet, ask students and staff for their input on what they want or need prior to purchase—this guarantees you get titles that will circulate from day one.

The next big series, book, or resource is always around the corner. You don’t usually have to market these—they fly off the physical and virtual shelf. Instead, use this opportunity to come up with a way to market your book hold process or easily provide information on when the next title comes out. Place a sign on your circulation desk or near popular series/titles advertising your “hold” service. Create a binder of series held in the library and periodically update what you own and when new titles will be released. If it’s a new online resource, find out how it works and provide tutorials and suggestions for use.

Have any great books that just aren’t being checked out? Consider placing a title or two on the circulation desk—this is a high traffic area and could be a good way to give attention to less frequently checked out titles. You can also put these titles as your face-outs or on your display racks for some added promotion. Maybe the covers are too dated to be appealing—have an art or graphic design class create new covers to give these books more draw. Weed those that no longer fit your core audience to make way for new merchandise.

Your electronic resources need marketing too! Tape small informational cards about a specific database near each computer. Switch these out semi-frequently—possibly monthly or quarterly. If they are always the same, they will be like background noise and get ignored. Create large posters to hang in the library with information on how to access online resources. Put all of your catalog and database log-in information on business card size pieces of cardstock for students and teachers to grab and store easily in their wallet or backpack.

COMING BACK FOR MORE

Operate with a customer service attitude. An unhelpful or disagreeable salesperson is not effective, and usually not employed long. You don’t want someone scaring off your customers. And really, being customer service oriented is quite simple. First, begin each interaction with a positive attitude—even if one of you had a negative experience in the past or is just having a rotten day. Being positive can change the customer’s attitude and yours. Try to begin with, “How may I help you today?” Or, focus on how you can help. “The resource I will be showing you today will save you time, because…” Encourage this positive customer service attitude with everyone working in the library from paraprofessionals to student workers and community volunteers.

Then, go beyond the superficial and develop positive relationships. In a commission-based retail environment, it is repeat customers that can make or break your sales month. To develop repeat customers you have to get to know their likes, dislikes, and some personal details. In the school library, you are in a unique position to create positive relationships with your entire school community, because you “see” everyone and because your products appeal on both academic and personal levels. Don’t forget to develop relationships with other members of the school community like the custodial and secretarial staff, PTA, and adopt-a-school sponsors.

While your school library is not a retail store, many of the principles that make retailing successful can also apply to your library. Just keep in mind that being a school librarian is very much like being a sales clerk, manager, and advertising agent all rolled into one. We are here to serve our school population by providing them with the best products and services available. Using a great customer service model will lead to a more vibrant and interactive library experience for you and your customers and inspire them to come back for more.