We’re in the middle of a 1/2 hour break, so I thought I’d try to play catchup with yesterday’s sessions. (By the way, the food here is bountiful!). Continuing with the programs from Day 2…
AFTERNOON SESSIONS
SESSION 3: Maximizing reports & statistics. The Speakers were:
Annie Denison, Overdrive:
Using the activity chart & checking the basic monthly report, try & figure out what caused changes – good or bad month over month.
You can also check your title report to see what titles have circulated the most. See if there is a trend in the titles that you can use with your next selections.
She also stressed press releases & giveaways as best practices for increasing circulation. Training of staff as well as public is crucial.
Annie also talked about a survey Overdrive did with 33 partners
55.6% learned about the service from a link on library home page
47% used service weekly
85% used service for pleasure reading
71% enjoy titles on an mp3 player
Michael Siccone, Collection Development Manager, Hamilton Public Library (ON)
Michael continued to discuss the use of reports & statistics, reiterating the importance of paying attention to these tools.
Amy Terlaga, Bibliomation, Inc (CT)
Amy found the most useful and most used reports for collection development are: Circ activity by subject; circ activity by title and purchased title report – for a complete picture over time. Since weeding isn’t really done with your downloadable collection, learn to identify the “dead weight” – genre or particular age-designated material – and cut down on those purchases. With your maximum access titles, try replacing the low usage classics with more contemporary titles.
Deb Czamik, Tech. Services & Collection Manager, Lee County Library System (FL)
Deb also discussed the use of the reports & statistics & pointed out the need to look at turnover rates rather than just the basic numbers.
SESSION 4: Successful Staff Training & Patron Report. The speakers were:
Deb Halinski, Lead Trainer, Overdrive
Deb couldn’t stress enough the need for staff training. In Toledo, Ohio, circulation increased by 35% after adding videos and providing staff training. (Note from me: Open training month is September & if you haven’t signed up your staff, you should consider doing so. Even if you feel your staff has had adequate training, brush-up training never hurt!) The Overdrive training staff is only too happy to help you find the best method for your staff & will customize it to your needs. Encourage some of your staff to become Overdrive “specialists” who can do outreach and additional staff training. If you have a download station, use that as a training tool for the public (after your staff has become proficient with it.)
Erik Gustafson, Technology Consultant, State Library of Kansas:
He acts as the centralized support for the entire state and has convinced library staff throughout the state that the best way to become comfortable with Overdrive is to play with it!
Scott Duimstra, Capital Area District Library (MI):
If staff isn’t comfortable using Overdrive, public will not be comfortable. This is s simple statement but oh so true.
Andy Hird, Support Manager, Overdrive
Your staff needs to be familiar with the support process. When a patron has a problem, you must get as much information as you can; including a description of the problem & any messages that appear, their computer’s format & operating system, and the specific device they are using.
Okay, truth be told I didn’t get to add that much during my break this afternoon. Most of this has been added after a rousing evening at the House of Blues, courtesy of Overdrive & their vendor partners. So once again I will be a day late in posting information on today’s sessions.
I will add one more thing before I collapse for the evening. One of the things I’ve heard over & over again from Overdrive as well as from many many librarians, is the incredible success of ebooks. I think that as a consortium we should take another look at what we’re offering in terms of downloadable media and think about adding additional formats to our collection.
