It's the little things

The simplest things get the biggest responses in my new job.

A couple of weeks ago, after straightening out the catalog problems, I finally had the opportunity to catalog all the new books that had been piling up in my office. Since the bookshelves are on the other side of the library from the researchers' offices, they really only get used when someone is looking for a specific title. Which means there's not a lot of browsing going on. So, in an effort to increase ther browsability of the collection, I decided to shelve the new books that I had just cataloged seperately, on some empy, out-facing shelves near the researchers' offices and cubicles. It was a hit.

Since then, I've had people come up and tell me how much they like that feature. One guy told me it gave the books a kind of "buzz." And today, weeks after the initial shelving, the publications editor came to my office to tell me that she had just found the "New Book" section and that she was blown away by how inviting it was.

I'm blown away by how impressed everyone is. I thought nothing of making this new section, and didn't expect much response, just hopefully a slight increase in book circulation. Just goes to show how much of a difference it makes to put something right in people's way!