More Privacy with StackMap

We love StackMap because our patrons can find books on sensitive or private matters on their own, without needing to ask anyone for help. StackMap gives patrons independence with discoverability.

When we were designing our building ten years ago we realized one of the biggest problems we wanted to solve for was privacy. We wanted our patrons to be able to find their way around the library and get items on their own, without being bombarded with too much signage or having to tell anyone what they were searching for.

We have so many people working on things or looking up things that they don’t want to ask for help with—like information on divorce or legal issues, medical research on breast cancer or depression, or LGBTQ issues. In our community when people are job hunting, for example, they don’t want their neighbors to know about it.

StackMap provides this privacy, and that is a big asset for us.

Our library is designed to have specific areas where people can look through materials without being broadly visible. And using StackMap affords them the ability to look up an item, pinpoint exactly where it is and get there without help.

The vast majority of our users have smartphones and if they’re using StackMap they just locate the item on their phone and walk right to it.

Often times they’ve even done the search at home so they just walk into the library with their phones out and walk straight to the book they need.

— Sally Ijams, Head of Knowledge and Learning Services, Darien Library