Thoughts for the New Millennium
A. Target Market: Older Adults
Older residents have been located through the community study; com- munity agencies and institutions have responded with interest to our questions and indicated a desire to cooperate. Potential volunteers have also been identified and are interested in responding to this need.
We might begin the product development process by considering the senior group as two target markets—those able to come to the li- brary and those to whom service would have to be taken.
The first group is served to some degree by traditional library ser- vice, but the community study has highlighted additional and unique needs for this customer group. However, only a portion of older adults is served by traditional service patterns, and any information that pre- dates the community study typically portrays a common denominator.
We should not forget that the individuals who do not fit into the com- mon profile, and whose needs may therefore differ, may not wish to use our services. In the senior years, this group may include such per- sons as a retired professor, the foreign-born spouse of a former armed
services member, or an older—but still performing—musician. Some of the identified needs will have to be met through cooperation with other community agencies; others will be satisfied by services and materials given at the library.
Submarket #1: Mobile Older Adults
PRODUCT DESIGN
If we determine that our first-priority effort with older citizens will be to improve service to those able to physically come to the library, then we must first pay attention to the characteristics common to this age group: a wish for comfort, convenient hours, sociability, a slower pace of interaction, and a friendly atmosphere. Some elderly customers will want large-print materials or books on tape. Others will want older books of a type read in earlier days. Daytime film or video programs are often popular, and materials are often available from a film circuit or a library system. We can plan some group activities especially for this age group, but all activities need not segregate them from other customers as long as we keep in mind the unique needs of older adults. We could also waive fines for senior citizens.
Submarket #2: Nonmobile Older Adults
PRODUCT DESIGN
We may place serving nonmobile older adults as a secondary priority and design products that use volunteers to provide materials and de- posit collection services to the homebound.
Institutionalized people or people served by regular programs of another organization are known to other professionals who can pro- vide information and help. If we serve these customers regularly, for example, through a visit to a nursing home once every two weeks, they become known as individuals, and we can more easily identify their needs and wishes. We could place small deposits of materials at off-site locations; these should reflect customer tastes and be changed at regular intervals.
The cumulative effect in such service is far superior if we can have the same person served regularly by the same library staff member (paid or unpaid). The training of unpaid volunteer staff will take some of the time of our regular staff members.
PLACE/DISTRIBUTION
The designed products will not reach our target customers unless we include appropriate distribution and communication channels as part of our overall design. Distribution will be as important a component in our overall product as the specific service itself.
Physical facilities and issues of access will be important considera- tions for mobile older adults. Even for this physically fit group, effective distribution may include moving materials to locations more conven- ient to everyday life patterns, such as to shopping malls or social cen- ters, or even providing electronic access.
Distribution to homebound customers may be limited by the avail- ability of volunteers or cooperative arrangements with institutional facili- ties. However, electronic or mail access may be workable with this group.
PROMOTION/COMMUNICATION
Promotion may be distributed through agencies already in touch with members of these target markets, but we must make an effort, as well, to reach those not served by those agencies. Follow-up publicity from the community study will provide an excellent opportunity for stories in the general newspapers or for radio or television interviews. This publicity should stress not only group-type activities but also our ser- vices and materials. We can print or duplicate promotional literature for posting or pickup at churches, supermarkets, banks, and medical of- fices (where older adults regularly visit). The key here is to use a chan- nel for communication.
EVALUATION
Evaluation is a two-part activity: (1) monitoring the product design and documenting progress and decision making, and (2) assessing whether the objectives have been realized and analyzing the outcomes in terms of excellence and benefits. We can make measurement of out-
comes both objective and subjective, including participant counts, in- terviews, and observation.
For our services to nonmobile adults, actual circulation counts are not usually practical and, if attempted, are likely to be unreliable; there- fore, personal visits are more effective and can be much more easily evaluated.