Selling What Can't Be Seen

Selling What Can't Be Seen: Marketing Virtual Lib Services

Cecile Farnum, Ryerson, Christy, Kitchener PL and Liz Dobson, Centennial College

• Cecile talking about 3 virtual services at Ryerson: AskON, an audio tour of the main floor that's downloadable (neat idea), and “discovery layer” (federated search engine – soon to be implemented)

• AskON: Ryerson had a deeper history with chat ref (since 2001ish)...talking a lot about the service itself...what about marketing?!!

• marketing AskON: logo on web site; inclusion in ref services; mention in univ. Publications; marketing in library space; in-class demos (nothing really revolustionary there!)

• idea...(chat with LL and Jro...) should we put askON widget (or maybe logo and link) on our Database pages / My Giant Search page / Just Ask Us / other places people look for help...but then it is on the home page...hmmm

• is askON prominent in new member guide / info ?...

• audio tour: 8 minute tour of the main floor to orientate new students; developed a script and recorded it ina studio; edited using GarageBand (comes with a mac...like windows media player?...check it out)...interesting idea...see if any public libraries do this

• audio tour marketd with the lib's suite of mobile apps...niiiice...check out their other ones!

• Experimented with QR codes...linked to audio tour

• also have QR codes in all their opac records...WOW!

• Discover layer: Summon...University of Calgary has this...check it out

• This will be a radical change...so agressive marketing plan required...to explain how this new thing works...will change the research process...planning to: mandatory staff training for everyone; workshops for lib users; booth in Library lobby; demos during orientation week; social medial push; testimonials

Christy from Kitchener (Teen services)

• Go! “Get Online” presentation developed for showing to students outside the library

• WOTS: barrier free advertising

• GO! Get your Info Online at KPL...wanted to SHOW students on tours of the physical library how they can use databases / so added show and tell to tours...consulted with school boards...agreed that presentations to grade 8 students useful...used Cantasia to edit video...filmed selves doing tour (+ demo?) resuled in major increase in use of databases

• KPL has Freegal

• Go! evolved to demos of downloading ebooks, eaudio etc. Show them how to do it

• focus shifting away from research databases to leisure stuff / Tumblebooks etc.

• Also use Captivate software

• marketing at the street level...Word on the Street festival...kpl has a booth...test driving new media (OverDrive eAudiobooks)...needed to educate peeps (public and staff)...had a laptop with earphones at the fesival...let people download books on to their portable devices on the street...barrier-free library cards (lax on i.d. On the street to encourage use of overdrive...)

• christy.giesler@kpl.org if any questions

Liz from Centennial College

• AskON and Citizen Researcher (an interactive graphic novel that teaches info literacy...neat!...check it out)

• marketing is necessary

• good practice to read about marketing in general...and adapt ideas for library use...

• how Cent. College marketed AskON: several places on web site, black board software and other college web sites; twitter and FB; tent cards and flyers (canned, from KO); not exactly revolutionary stuff here

• plan to make a video about askON and to add QR codes

• Markam PL has a YouTube video w line dancing staff! Check it out

This is not really what I thought it would be.

Ended with an overview of contemporary marketing trends...not exactly relevant.