Archive for May, 2006
Nancy Davenport, President of the Council on Library and Information Resources and keynote speaker at IUG 2006, gave a stirring and forward-looking talk. Librarians as IT workers and IT as the evolving DNA of libraries were her central themes. She also pointed to some nice examples of how some libraries are innovating their physical spaces to better accomodate customer behavior.
Coincidentally or inevitably, she cited research into Starbuck’s brand awareness and cultural impact and urged us to replace “Starbuck’s” with “library” as we read the article excerpt. Unfortunately, I missed the author’s name but I’ll be on the lookout. Until then, I’ll just have to point you here.
May 22nd, 2006
In a recent post, I said that Howard Schultz is the CEO of Starbuck’s. He is in fact the Chairman.
May 22nd, 2006
I’m in downtown Denver for the Spring 2006 Innovative Users Group Conference. The weather is perfect, Greek omelets are good, and the 16th Street Mall has free wifi. I’m sitting outside a Starbuck’s and so far have heard 3 kids, ages 8-12, asking they’re parents why they can’t go to Starbuck’s. There’s a Starbuck’s on nearly every corner here and in many of the hotel lobbies. I watched an interview last night with Howard Schultz, Starbuck’s CEO and founder, last night that focused on the value of persistence and, I would add, vision. This morning’s USA Today has a front-page article on the pervasive influence Starbuck’s is having on how and where we spend our time and money. What a culture they’re creating! We would do well not just to imitate, but to understand.
May 19th, 2006