High Touch with Customer Care

Thanks to everyone who attended High Touch with Customer Care at the 2008 Computers in Libraries conference on March 7, 2008. Here is the .pdf of the presentation:

High Touch with Customer Care

Remember that automating processes and services means more personal interaction and better service, not less.

More Online Summer Reading

Take a look at what the Farmington (NM) Public Library is doing for children, tweens, teens, and adults for their 2007 summer reading program. They’re even promoting it via their online catalog.

Farmington Public Library – Main Summer Reading Page

Farmington Public Library – Online Catalog


The Columbus (OH) Metropolitan Library’s Summer Reading Club for Kids, Teens, and Adults is also wonderful.

Columbus Metropolitan Library


For more online summer reading info, see my posting from May 23.

ALA Drawing - Using Technology to Market to Young Adults

If you attended Michael Stephens' and my presentation "Using Technology to Market to Young Adults" at ALA 2007 click HERE to enter for a chance to win a FREE 1-year subscription to E•vanced Solutions' Online Summer Reading Program software.

Enter now through June 30, 2007. A winner will be announced July 2, 2007!

Thanks to E•vanced Solutions for their generous software donation and to YALSA’s Teens & Technology Committee for working with E•vanced to secure this giveaway.

Handouts still to come...

Online Summer Reading - Kids and Teens

More and more libraries are getting on board and rolling out online summer reading for kids and teens. Not only is this a great way to draw in young customers and promote your library's website and online resources, it is also a terrific way to market to new participants and increase active participation of all involved through online registration, online logging, individual home pages, automated prize alerts, review and information sharing, and more. Remember Prince William County's success last year (See the Sept. 2006 posting)?

Automating summer reading is a huge draw for busy families. It is also a smart library management move as it streamlines tasks and saves countless staff and volunteer hours. No more counting cards, counting logs, tearing up slips of paper for drawings! Check out what some libraries across the nation are doing:

Prince William Library System (VA)

This past summer the Prince William Library System (VA) ventured into their first year of online summer reading for teens. They've reported tremendous success. "Staff loved the program and teens flocked to our Teen Summer Reading Program by the droves, said Cathy Chang, Assistant Director. "In just 2 days our teens submitted more than 150 reviews to us. It was truly wonderful to have a program so easy to set up, user-friendly, and attractive to teens." By the end of summer Chang reported that the Library was up to more than 2600 reviews. (Last year, teens submitted only 450.) They also increased to 68.5% active readers. (Last year, before Summer Reader, they only had 50%.)