Comments on: Power patrons? http://walt.lishost.org/2013/06/power-patrons/ The library voice of the radical middle. Fri, 28 Mar 2014 01:05:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1 By: Walt Crawford http://walt.lishost.org/2013/06/power-patrons/comment-page-1/#comment-102478 Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:22:57 +0000 http://walt.lishost.org/?p=5109#comment-102478 Laura: The more I looked at it, the more it seems that most uses of “power patron” are either in or can be linked to Library Journal, which has a habit of Singling Out for Special Treatment in various areas (M&S, Star Libraries, whatever).

Mary: I’m not entirely sure that very frequent readers should carry the most weight either. A good public library servers a variety of community needs; while for me, “source of reading material” is primary, I think the community as a whole needs a balance. I don’t think any one group should carry the most weight.

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By: laura http://walt.lishost.org/2013/06/power-patrons/comment-page-1/#comment-102477 Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:11:43 +0000 http://walt.lishost.org/?p=5109#comment-102477 Huh. I’ve never heard the term. I used to go to the library every day (before I became a librarian, that is), but I didn’t expect or want any special or extra treatment. I just liked the place.

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By: Mary Baum http://walt.lishost.org/2013/06/power-patrons/comment-page-1/#comment-102459 Thu, 13 Jun 2013 15:44:51 +0000 http://walt.lishost.org/?p=5109#comment-102459 This sounds like a port of the best-customer concept from the for-profit world. But applying that model to a free service could more easily drain resources than add revenue (unless a given library is that hard up to sell library cards.)
Especially if we’re alluding to daily patrons often sleeping the day away in the library.
I don’t mean to imply they don’t have that right.
But I do agree that letting them dictate the direction and purpose of the institution is taking things a little far.
What I’d rather see is those terms – power patron, super patron – referring to tiers of readers (okay, information seekers), if not donors.
And I suspect it’s the tiers of readers who should carry the most weight in shaping the future of an institution that serves as a community’s information hub.

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