The most successful best practice:

• Organizing work by technicial application (Outlook reminders, task folders, removable drives).
• Staff's ability to be well-versed in all library functions and duties to better serve the community.
• Putting a Communication Policy (with an emphasis on using email) into place: it provides for more effective communication and has increased the staff's technology self-sufficiency. It also speeds the communication and response time.
• Journaling employee performance on a daily basis. By writing a sentence in each staff member's performance journal and keeping precise documentation, annual reviews become much easier.
• Create a warm, inviting and welcoming environment.
• Staff are committed to being enthusiastic and helpful, always going above and beyond to assist patrons, be it with regard to Reader's Advisory, Homework Help, or any other information needs.
• Create a vibrant team of staff supportive of each other's efforts and willing to pitch in where needed.  Even when a new employee starts, the team seamlessly integrates him/her by training them on our best practices, our history and our goals. 
• Sharing the responsibility for keeping our two large display cases filled.  Not only does the practice increase circulation, but it fosters creativity, camaraderie, self-esteem and team work among staff.
• Cross training all staff so all members can help out anywhere they're needed and they feel very much part of the team as a whole.
• Develop staff so they reach their full potential, creating areas of expertise and adding value to the library.
• Provide well rounded level of services to the families in our community.
• Stay up-to-date on current technologies, databases, training programs, etc., to offer the best level possible to our patrons.

The motivation to adopt a best practice:

• Any job or project that needs to be done and/or requires research.
• If the practice truly makes day-to-day processes easier for staff and not just being implemented because it seems innovative. 
• Understanding the benefits of the best practice and how it was implemented successfully in another location. Listing the benefits of the best practice so it can be clearly identified would make the implementation easier.
• Examples of how the best practice worked, how it was successful and how easy it would be to implement.
• The practice would clearly show a benefit to the community.
• The best practice would be fun for staff, such as the morning announcements made several years ago at the branch.
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Implementing a best practice creates problems and/or frustrations:

• If the practice is thought out adequately beforehand so its implementation will actually do good rather than harm.
• Create a better communication policy throughout the branch so all staff know what activities are going on at any given time in the branch.
• Standardize and implement a cataloging policy for children's paperbacks system-wide. 
• Creating best practices in a vaccuum.  For example, if the branch has always done something one way and considers it a best practice yet is unaware of how other branches may be doing it better, is it really a best practice?
• Continue improvement of communication within the system.  Though it is improving steadily, there are still areas that need help.
• Need for longer program projection.  We haven't been able to fully develop a program four months in advance.
• Need for more staff during busy times.  Part-time positions in the Information Services department would help alleviate this problem at a low cost.
• Training and/or guidelines needed to help new managers know when they should waive fines, how much to waive, etc.