It has been over a month since I have updated my blog. I had a feeling when I started it that there would come a time when I would lose some interest.
But, this week I feel that the Empowerment Zone could use some news updating.
Last Thursday (August 12) we had a dozen people use the Empowerment Zone and it seems like things are really revving up. Yesterday we had a half a dozen people use the room, and Mondays have typically been slower than Thursdays. My reasoning for using Monday (besides the ease of scheduling the room) is that people would be looking for jobs first thing Monday morning just like most employed folks head off to work first thing. This does not seem to be the case as many patrons are showing up after 10am to use the Empowerment Zone. We also seem to be getting a lot of people that come at 11am, which means they only get one hour in the Zone. I have been trying to encourage people to come at 9am since that enables them to have the most time, and I am now writing down what time people are signing in for further research.
Another new thing I have been doing in the Empowerment Zone is a survey of how people heard about the EZ. Most of the respondents either heard about it from a friend, or from a library worker. So far no one has reported reading about it in the local papers (although we have had several articles published, and it is in the events portion of the Palm Beach Post) and only one person reported reading about the EZ in the monthly library calendar. This leads me to believe that word of mouth advertising from staff is the most important way that we can let people know about the Zone. Every time someone complains about the lack of computer time, or the time management software, or the length it takes to fill out various egov forms, I tell them that they can come Monday and Thursdays from 9-11am in the Tech Center and work for three hours straight on the computers in there.
Yesterday I submitted an online application to present on the EZ at the 2011 Florida Library Association in Orlando. My goal is a 60 minute presentation on the creation, and evolution of the EZ here at my library, along with steps for other public libraries to follow if they want to incorporate a similar program. I am hoping to get accepted since I think this would be good experience for me presenting to a large group, and the exposure for my library would be worthwhile as well. Someone I work with mentioned that I do not have enough to present on, but I hope to prove them wrong. And since the conference isn't until next spring I have plenty of time to come up with material for the presentation. Other people have been more encouraging.
Finally, someone from Palm Beach State College who works in the Career Center, and holds a doctorate in education, has agreed to give a resume and career workshop for us in November. I am very excited about this event since it was difficult locating a guest speaker, and this event should draw people to the library that I can then tell about the Empowerment Zone. The tentative date for this is November 15th, from 10am-12pm. I will be working with our PR person to fully advertise the event.
Other than that things have been pretty typical around the library lately. In one month I will reach my 2 year mark here, and I am developing a new project now that the EZ is up and running. To be continued...
