Exploring the boutique model

Exploring the boutique model Uniformity Consistency Individuality Uniqueness Highly personalised Details matter Design/layout important Themed Not too large The Soho Hotel, New York "an artful blend of exquisite hand-crafted design, seamlessly intuitive service and personalized comfort” Brooke Barrett, CEO Denihan Hospitality Group specialised collections convenient location design/ambience Parklands Library - Christchurch, NZ "worked on every aspect of the library building and service to make it stand out from larger and less intimate libraries" Public Academic Subject librarians Can embracing the boutique approach help us to defend and better articulate what we do? 3 Point Plan Greet Engage Sell gives current best practice the recognition it deserves helps to articulate our activities supports value of local tailored expertise Can we keep boutique up? 'Many of us will have experienced the hotel with the crisp sheets folded back and the chocolate on the pillow, but will such 'delight' stand the test of an unemptied wastepaper basket or undesirable detritus in the shower plug-hole... 'irritants' have a much more profound effect in shaping our overall perception of service quality' McKnight and Booth How do we measure impact/success of a boutique service? What happens if we can't resource 'boutique' anymore? Is boutique always a matter of money? Is there a danger with boutique that we are not user-led and think instead that we know best? Would and should the boutique model always defend subject librarians? I do all this already - so what? But.... barely any mention of boutique libraries in libraries literature... recognises the importance of integration AND autonomy encourages collaboration values centralised support and resources But... Do you work it hard enough? Are you as 'boutique' as you can be? Is your service model balanced?