[Michlib-l] Get a Library Card, Shop at Costco

[Jim Flury]

All, 

As a follow up to the below, my librarian friend Ben provided the following information: 

***Toledo Lucas County Public Library (TLCPL) provides library service to the city of Toledo as well as all of Lucas County. Its total population served is about 430,000. In addition it also provides no charge library cards and service to some residents of adjacent Wood County. 
***Metro Toledo has two Costco stores. One is in Lucas County. The other is in Wood County. 
***The "Use Your Library Card to Shop at Costco" project was initiated by a branch manager at a TLCPL, working with the manager at the Lucas County Costco store. 
***Once the Lucas County Costco store manager got on board with said project, the Wood County Costco store manager thought it would be a good idea for their store to do so, too. We both found this interesting, in that Ben told me there are three libraries in Wood County that service communities that are either in or adjacent to, the Wood County Costco store. Yet that store opted to get on board with an out of county, TLCPL, initiative. 

I asked Ben if he thought this would be a good project to try in Michigan. He said yes. I asked him if he thought it would be better to approach this project from a statewide, or from a local, basis. He said that given that local Costco store managers have the authority to enter into these kinds of agreements, sans corporate interference from Washington State, and that there are many more Costco stores than two in the metro Detroit area, much less throughout Michigan, that in his opinion it would be better for local libraries that have a Costco store in their service area, to approach the store manager with a proposal. He also encouraged you to print and take along a copy of the linked Toledo Blade article as a reference. 

This is much more information than you ever wanted to know/needed to know/needs to be posted on this listserv about a non-Michigan public library initiative. But this was an interesting project and, based on the number of replies I received from libraries following my initial post, one that I believe worthy of pursuit on the local level by libraries that are interested in doing so. 

In the weeks leading up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, 2018 I hope to read articles about "Use Your Library Card to Shop at Costco" projects involving Michigan public libraries :) 

Thanks. 

Jim 

Jim Flury 
Technical Services Manager 
The Library Network 
41365 Vincenti Court 
Novi, MI 48375 
248-536-3100 x133 
Fax 248-536-3098 
jflury at tln.lib.mi.us 


From: "Jim Flury" <jflury at tln.lib.mi.us> 
To: "everyone" <everyone at lists.tln.org>, "michlib-l" <michlib-l at mcls.org> 
Sent: Monday, November 20, 2017 8:00:06 AM 
Subject: Get a Library Card, Shop at Costco 

This library does a number of interesting things, and is a very positive force in the community. The "library spokesman" named in the article is a friend of mine, and I am supposed to meet him for lunch Friday. Assuming Ben is open to "talking shop" for at least a few minutes, I am going to ask him how this came to be. Depending upon his answer, maybe it is something we (or at least, libraries that have a Costco in their own community) could pursue! 

http://www.toledoblade.com/business/2017/11/17/Library-card-will-soon-double-for-Costco-membership-for-a-week.html 

Jim 

Jim Flury 
Technical Services Manager 
The Library Network 
41365 Vincenti Court 
Novi, MI 48375 
248-536-3100 x133 
Fax 248-536-3098 
jflury at tln.lib.mi.us 

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