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SpringyNews - Building Strong Relationships

March 2019

LibGuides Love is New and All for You

Giving you more to love has always been a driving force here at Springshare. So we're shaking things up a bit by expanding our page devoted to LibGuides -- our flagship product -- to have the tips and tricks you've come to know and love, plus a whole lot more. 

LibGuides Love is a place for new LibGuiders as well as those who are... more than well-versed.

Our relationship with you has taught us that Librarians are dedicated and thorough. They're creative and fun. Because you're so inspiring, we love highlighting and celebrating the excellent work you do to serve your patrons, students, public and staff. 

LibGuides Tips & Tricks

LibGuides is a natural at helping you build strong, active relationships. Here are some ways you can do this in a world where communication seems to be skewing toward what's fastest and easiest rather than what's most beneficial, memorable and fosters a real connection.

1. Schedule time for relationship-building - Use - LibCal’s MyScheduler appointment widget inside your LibGuides profile box, which can easily be added to every LibGuide. This way, patrons can book time with you, based on their schedule.

  • As patrons use your LibGuides, if they have questions, what better way to communicate your willingness to help than by having an appointment button that leads to a show of availability?
  • Having a photo in your profiles also helps to break down barriers and makes your team more approachable.
  • You can generate reports in LibCal to see if appointment statistics got a boost since you added the widget to your LibGuides profiles. It's always good to measure results.

2. Invest in knowing people - Who are the people reading your LibGuides? How do you know who they are, what they want? Let's ask them!

  • Try embedding a LibWizard survey. You can customize the LibWizard survey to ask a number of useful questions and gain key demographic information. You might want to ask a. How did you find out about this guide (a web search, a librarian, a friend, an instructor, etc.). b. Is there something you wish were included in this guide that is not? LibWizard has many different field types so you can choose based on the kind of answer you want to receive. In this case, there is a text input field.
  • Or, you can focus on one question by adding a poll to your LibGuides content box. For instance you can ask, "What sort of guides do we need more of right away?" Then provide options. 
  • Consider routing LibGuides through your authentication layer. Then you can mine your authentication layer’s logs to see exactly who is looking at which guides. This way, you’ll better know your customers to better meet their needs.

3. Make it Personal - How well do you know your patrons or your community? And vice versa - how well does your community know your staff? Consider building LibGuides that highlight your community’s achievements and make it a point to share professional and fun personal information about your team with your patrons. Did the spelling bee champ come from your town? Celebrate that. Perhaps one of your librarians runs in the city's marathon. Share it. Patrons will see it as an opportunity to connect with you and emotionally charged patrons become library advocates.

 

Your most popular LibGuide falls under what category?
How to use the library/databases guides: 3 votes (12.5%)
General subject guides (Business, History): 8 votes (33.33%)
Course-specific guides: 6 votes (25%)
Citation/Plagiarism/Writing/Research How-to guides: 6 votes (25%)
Reading Recommendations: 0 votes (0%)
Annual events, holidays, notable months (Poetry Month): 0 votes (0%)
Children/ Young Adult guides: 0 votes (0%)
Genealogy guides: 0 votes (0%)
Local/Community info guides: 1 votes (4.17%)
Total Votes: 24

Brunch and learn. Building a historical walking tour with a libguide. watch it now

LibGuides Video Series

Thinking about working on customizations? Check out this recording of a training session focused on adding CSS to LibGuides. The best part? You can watch when it's convenient for you.

Adding CSS to LibGuides Video

LibGuides CMS Examples

Want control of your library web presence? Have a look at some excellent institutions using LibGuides CMS as a library website.

LibGuides CMS As a Website Examples

Upcoming Webinars

Is a makeover on your list of things to do for 2019? Don't put the project off any longer! Join us for 2 days of LibGuides CMS webinars on Creating a Library Homepage! 

Day 1: Creating a Library Homepage with LibGuides CMS

Day 2: Creating a Library Homepage with LibGuides CMS: Advanced Customizations

have you come up with or found and used a libguides hack and want to share it? write to news@springshare.com and let us know what you were trying to solve and then share the workaround.