Best Practices for libraries to maximize digital circulation Your checklist to a successful digital collection. Collection Development Staff 1 Training Marketing 1
Best Practices With your OverDrive service, we help you maximize the circulation of your digital collection with support for collection development, staff training and marketing. This booklet provides many best practices. 1 2 3 Collection Development Staff Training Marketing OverDrive offers a variety of services to help optimize your digital collection. Our Collection Development team can create recommended title lists, help you add a new format, set up a Simultaneous Use plan, utilize Select Express and more. Sessions for all staff are offered via live webinars and recordings available anytime, anywhere from OverDrive s Learning Center. These sessions cover a variety of topics related to your OverDrive service, are lead by experienced trainers and are conducted with easy-to-use web and audio conferencing tools. Raising awareness of your OverDrive library website online, inside and outside the library is an important success factor. OverDrive provides assistance at no additional cost which includes marketing materials, web graphics, press releases and more. 2
Keep your collection fresh and varied, and use our tools to help. Mirror your physical collection with content users want: best sellers and classics. 1 Collection Development Subscribe to ContentWire Sign up for information on the latest titles and publishers available for you to add to your digital collection. http://partners.overdrive.com/overdrive-newsletter-signup Involve your staff Give staff an opportunity to participate in the purchasing process by creating carts in OverDrive Marketplace. http://marketplace.overdrive.com Maximize your collection Ensure users have access to popular titles in your digital collection. Purchase from suggested Must haves title lists. Check out OverDrive Marketplace for featured titles and suggested lists. Subscribe to a Simultaneous Use plan which means no wait lists on many popular and classic titles. Choose your subscription level (e.g. 25, 50, 75 or 100) and select from many publishers and suppliers. Contact OverDrive s Collection Development team to set up a plan for your library today. Get the WIN Catalog Give users additional titles to discover in your digital collection. Users can: Sample excerpts. Recommend to library. For collection development, library staff can utilize patron driven acquisition with automated tools. Buy it now and purchase the title from a popular retailer. A portion of the proceeds go back to the library as collection credit. Contact your Account Specialist to opt-in for WIN Catalog features. Note: Availability of features may vary geographically. Automate your collection 3
Automatically add best sellers to your digital collection and keep waitlists to a minimum using Select Express tools in OverDrive Marketplace: Smart Lists Create a customized selection profile based on the interests and needs of your users. Publisher Presale Plans Get audiobook best sellers in your collection automatically and tailor the plan to fit your needs and budget. Holds Manager Create a Holds Manager plan by selecting a hold ratio, monthly budget, frequency and maximum title limits, and holds will be filled for you automatically. Review Reports Use OverDrive Marketplace reports to track circulation, activity, holds and more. Circulation Activity Track circulation by date, format, subject, etc. Current Waiting List View titles users have placed on hold to help meet demand. Library Statistics View a high level snapshot of your digital collection. Questions? Contact Collection Development at collectionteam@overdrive.com 4
Many users learn about your OverDrive service from staff, so ensure they are knowledgeable to help promote and provide assistance. 2 Staff Training Attend staff training OverDrive s free training curriculum is available before and after launch, and conveniently hosted online. Invite staff to attend courses such as: Just the Basics Collection Checklist Community Outreach User Assistance Visit OverDrive s Learning Center Utilize the resources in OverDrive s Learning Center: Course materials (presentations, recordings) Patron training template Print-ready learning resources including cheat sheets for devices. Participate in live training opportunities. http://partners.overdrive.com/learning-center Practice makes perfect Try the user experiences on your own so you can help promote and answer questions: Browse, check out and enjoy all formats in your digital collection. Open an ebook instantly in your web browser with OverDrive Read. Place and retrieve a hold. Download and use the OverDrive Media Console mobile and desktop app. Transfer a title to a device. Visit the Device Resource Center: www.overdrive.com/drc Be familiar with the help resources on your OverDrive library website: http://help.overdrive.com Questions? Contact Training at training@overdrive.com 5
3 Marketing Market your digital collection online, inside and outside the library to raise awareness around your community. Help users find your OverDrive-powered collection P lace a graphic or text link on your librar y s website. Sign up to receive MARC records to integrate digital titles in your catalog. P ublish an article in your librar y newsletter with information about your digital collection. S end email updates to users about your OverDrive ser vice with a link to your digital collection in your email signature. Attend Community Outreach training Attend our Community Outreach training (live or recorded) to see examples of marketing and outreach promotions. Recorded session is hosted on our Learning Center. http://partners.overdrive.com/learning-center/on-demand Announcements of live sessions are posted on our blog. http://overdriveblogs.com/library
Print marketing materials The Marketing and Outreach section of OverDrive s Partner Portal offers print-ready materials you can customize with your URL. http://partners.overdrive.com/marketing-outreach Display materials in the library as well as around the community in the following locations: - Local gym - Schools - Shops / restaurants - Subway / bus stations - Community events - Billboards Reach out to your Account Specialist to have materials customized for your library. Utilize QR codes Quick Response Code, also known as a QR Code, is a two-dimensional barcode that appears as a pixelated square that can connect users to your OverDrive library website. Create QR codes at sites including http://goo.gl and http://bitly.com. - Input the URL of your OverDrive library website. - Save the QR code as an image. - Place QR code on promotional materials. QR codes can be read by Smartphones and other mobile devices with cameras and a barcode scanning app. See the direct success of a promotional piece by clicking the Info or Details button from http://goo.gl or http://bitly.com to track analytics including the date and time of the referral. 7
Reach out to local media Issue a press release to your local media channels (TV, radio, newspaper and local publications) to announce your OverDrive ser vice and share updates. Host an event Host events to generate awareness of your service and provide assistance for first-time users: Device petting zoo Digital book club meetings using titles from Project Gutenberg or a Simultaneous Use plan Demonstration / training workshop D evice raffle Participate and / or sponsor an event in your community (parade, festival, county fair) and advertise your digital collection 8
Evaluate success using reports Use the reports in OverDrive Marketplace to monitor activity before, during and after your promotional campaigns. Monitor the Circulation Activity report to evaluate correlations between circulation and marketing campaigns. Evaluate the Current Waiting List to determine if increased interest in a title is a result of marketing. Track first time visitors using the New User Registrations report. 9
S o c i a l M e d i a T i p s a n d T r i c k s Post status updates about new content and reminders that your digital collection is available anytime, anywhere (even when the library is closed). Repurpose announcements from OverDrive s Digital Library Blog. www.overdriveblogs.com/ library Respond to questions and comments from followers. Link to OverDrive Help articles and videos to help troubleshoot. http://help.overdrive.com Dive into social media Facebook www.facebook.com Facebook is one of the most popular social networking sites. Utilize Facebook features to: - Create a training event. - Administer poll questions to see which titles or authors are in demand. - Showcase photo albums of library events. - Upload helpful videos or book trailers. Use Facebook ads to reach prospective users in your area. You can narrow down the scope by demographic, education and interest. Facebook ads are available at any cost level and there are flexible payment options. www.facebook.com/ads Toledo Lucas County Public Library (OH) Like OverDrive on Facebook: www.facebook.com/overdriveforlibraries Twitter www.twitter.com Twitter is a social networking site that allows users to share 140 character messages with others. When creating a Twitter account, keep the username short. For example, New York Public Library is @nypl. Engage with users by: - Easily sharing news and updates - Communicating one-on-one with your users. - Sparking conversation about new titles. Helpful Glossary @ - When a username is preceded by the @ sign, it becomes a link to a Twitter profile. # - A hashtag is used to mark keywords or topics in a tweet to help categorize similar messages. RT - A retweet is a copied message from someone. Watervliet Library, member of Upper Hudson Library System (NY) Follow OverDrive on Twitter: www.twitter.com/overdrivelibs 10
S o c i a l M e d i a T i p s a n d T r i c k s Invite followers to events such as ebook clubs, demonstrations, training sessions and how-to classes without needing to print posters or flyers. Host a contest, asking for pictures of users enjoying ebooks and audiobooks on the go, and offer a prize for the most creative entry. Encourage users to check out a device from the library through the Test Drive program. http://partners.overdrive. com/service-enhancements/ test-drive Pinterest www.pinterest.com Pinterest is an online pin board used to share ideas, information and events with a community. Add Pinterest Pin It buttons to your library website or blog. Similarly, add a Follow us on Pinterest hyperlink to staff email signatures. Create boards for different topics: Help Desk, Devices We Love, Recently Added Titles, etc. Engage with the community by: - Liking and commenting on others pins. - Following users in your community and repinning others pins. - Tagging others in your pins by using their @username. Boise Public Library (ID) Follow OverDrive on Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/overdrivecorp Other social networking opportunities Blogs: Use sites such as WordPress (www.wordpress.com), Blogger (www.blogger.com) or Xanga (www.xanga.com) to share information and interact with users. Goodreads (www.goodreads.com): A social networking site based around readers. Goodreads allows users to share reading history and titles currently being read. YouTube (www.youtube.com): Post how-to videos and book reviews related to your digital collection. Flickr (www.flickr.com) and Tumblr (www.tumblr.com): These photo sharing sites allow you to provide information about library events and activities. Post jacket covers of new ebooks and audiobooks added to your digital collection. Google+ (http://plus.google.com): Similar to Facebook, Google+ lets you connect with patrons in unique and interactive ways. Questions? Contact Library Partner Services at librarypartnerservices@overdrive.com 11
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