an AskUsNow! vision is being created to guide the future of the organization. a vision, for these purposes, is that big-picture pie-in-the-sky, perfect-world image that we strive for on a daily basis, with each thing we do, each new path we take, and each interaction we have with our customers/neighbors/patrons/users.

A Visioning Activity

at the June 2, 2009 Liaison meeting, we did a group brainstorming activity and came up with some really fantastic ideas:

(click on the images for a larger size)

From those ideas, Julie wrote down some additional / related notes:

• Frontier for technology
• No difference in level of service provided to customers/neighbors if they’re online or f2f
• It’s not just the information that is important, but also the delivery (= customer service)
• “information providers” does not limit to just libraries
• AskUsNow! = Maryland Library without walls
• Do people think about the buildings and physical libraries when they’re on AskUsNow!? Do they think about AskUsNow! when they’re in the buildings?
• Be essential.
• be @ new technology before new tech is
• Be seamless.
• Alignment and coordination of academic and public institutions

A previous draft

Julie had worked on a draft vision a while back, here's what she had:

It’s About People

We have the power to change lives. AskUsNow is about more than answering questions and providing information. We’re an organization invested in people; the people who come to us for help and the people who provide that excellent help and service.

We’re in the people business. Sure, we’re also in the information business, but that’s a secondary product cleverly disguised as our primary purpose. Our customers are the most important thing to us. Without them, we have no reason to exist. Our jobs are built around and made more pleasant by the conversations and relationship building we do and the investment we take in each customer’s need.

With every interaction we have with people, even if it’s just a smile as you walk past them, we have a unique opportunity to make connection with them; to make them feel acknowledged, important, and a reminder that we can help them. Sure, our skills are awesome gifts- really superhero stuff- but it’s not about us and the careful dissemination of information. It’s about investing yourself in the moment, having a conversation, building relationships, no matter how small, that’s the real gift.

People come to us for all kinds of things; homework help, help finding good medical resources, voter registration forms, books to read while on vacation, etc. But the scale of the question doesn’t matter. Whether it’s a young child who needs to know about the Civil War for their school work, or a mother of 3 who wants to know more about alternative treatments for cancer; each question is of the utmost importance to that person at that moment. When we invest ourselves in those moments, engaging with them, and bringing people in as co-creators, they know their question is of the same importance to us and their going to get the best help imaginable.

We have the power to change lives. Take a look at the bigger picture. It may look like a homework question to you, but to them, it might be a matter of lifelong learning. It may look like just a question about fixing a leaky sink, but to them it’s about being able to care for their family and provide a safe, happy home. It may look like yet another PIN or library account question, but it’s the first one for them and because they are treated with kindness and respect, the whole tone of their day is changed and great cycle continues.

Every interaction we have as people, with people, changes them in some way. Sometimes it’s huge, like giving the disabled veteran on the street corner $50. But most of the time it’s small, barely inconceivable changes, like the smile we gave as we held open a door, or walked passed someone. The “thank you” we gave to the store clerk as he passed you the change from your morning coffee. Those smiles and little connections are what makes this world an amazing place of opportunity.

What Julie liked about her draft:

• the focus on people
• the focus on affecting people's lives
• the focus on making a difference
• the use of customer examples
• "each question is of the utmost importance to that person at that moment"
• "We have the power to change lives."

What Julie didn't like about her draft:

• this draft had no input from the community
• it's too limiting and doesn't include any of the amazing ideas the liaisons came up with
• it was repetitious
• it was too long
• the campfire cumbaya feeling probably doesn't work for a lot of people

A New Vision

Let's take all these great ideas and create a vision we can believe in and word towards. This vision should inspire and get people excited. It should be the big-picture ideal that we're always striving for; the reason for our existance. This vision shouldn't be limited by cynicism, or thoughts of money, staffing, or walls.

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