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Has your library been Stanleyized?


In 1999 Brisbane City Libraries contacted John Stanley. “What do you know about libraries?” they asked. “Nothing” John replied. “Great” they said. “We need someone to help us. Libraries are losing customers and struggling to maintain funding. Would you tell us how to apply retail principles to our libraries and show us how to better serve our customers needs?” “Sure!’ said John.

Within 12 months the Brisbane City Library services had turned around their patronage figures and had grown their market share by 60% in that first year.

Word of John’s success with Brisbane libraries spread to the UK and libraries in the United Kingdom asked John to come and help them too. John’s work with libraries in the UK was so successful that libraries in the UK created the term to “Stanleyize” a library. The term to be “Stanleyized” referred to applying John’s retail principles to transform a library into a modern facility that meets the needs of today’s consumers and today’s communities. Libraries discussed amongst themselves asking each other “Have you been Stanleyized?”

Since then libraries in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, have been “Stanleyized”; they have been turned into thriving focal hubs of their local communities.

If you would like to:
  • re-layout your library to encourage visitors to use the facility more; 
  • define specific new generational areas to encourage maximum participation, 
  • define categories in a way that relates specifically to your customers; 
  • provide your clientele with the type of customer service that creates word of mouth marketing for your library service and delights visitors. 
  • Create targeted marketing for your specific patron demographic
  • Turn your library service into a modern vibrant hub or your community
  • Increase your lend rate and grow your patronage

Then drop us an email and have a chat with John.

Have you been “Stanleyized?”

Meet John

"Probably the BEST speaker with the most critical message I have ever heard in memory and not just MNLA"
Kail Food , University of Wisconsin, USA.


“Yesterday's workshop was a beauty - it presented lots of stimulating ideas, and was the most successful industry event I've ever attended in terms of getting audience interaction and participation. I thought John Stanley presented it really well and that an event of this type - ideally with him or someone of his calibre - should be an annual event.”
Kate Malfroy
, Jambaroo, NSW


"John has excellent knowledge of his subject and is able to demonstrate it with practical examples which you can relate to in your business."
Bruce McDonald
, North City Lotto, NZ.