New LibGuides, LibConnect and LibAnswers Features Coming Soon!
Some exciting new features are in the works for your favorite Springy Apps! These new developments from our Product Team are just too exciting not to share with the world, even before they're ready for use. As such, we'd like to share a few exciting teasers with you for some innovative features that will be hitting the Springy-verse soon!
LibGuides A-Z List New Features
We can't wait to present the revamped LibGuides A-Z module this winter! This update will bring you a more powerful and flexible A-Z resource management tool with a fully refreshed public A-Z databases page, plus the ability to maintain multiple A-Z lists per LibGuides CMS site. We're also working on a host of frequently requested features, including a dedicated landing page per database, nested subject categories for better resource descriptions, expanded field support, and so much more.
This screen is an example of our new AZ individual database landing pages!
New A-Z Features Include:
- New default styling: With the new A-Z interface, we’ve upgraded to the latest and greatest Bootstrap user interface framework, with a clean, modern look and larger, more legible fonts -- soon to come to the rest of LibGuides as well!
- Individual database landing pages: Display far more information about an individual database than could possibly fit in the main A-Z List. Share links to this landing page to provide users with all the institution-specific context they’ll need in addition to the direct database link.
- "Description" and "library review" generated by a rich text editor --No more typing raw HTML to get your database descriptions to look like you want!
- Card-style database layout option, for a cleaner, space-efficient look that works especially great on mobile.
- Results pagination: Instead of always seeing all matching databases on the same screen, your results are displayed at a more manageable 50 at a time.
- Nested Subjects: Make long subject lists less overwhelming by dividing them into subcategories. The new A-Z supports one-level deep nested subjects. Notice the three indented computer "child subjects" under "Computer Science" on the right.
- Custom Flags: Need more than “New”, ”Popular” and “Trial?” Mark databases with your own custom, colored flags ("Multidisciplinary" in the example above).
This is just the beginning! Keep an eye on our blog and the Springshare Lounge for information about these new features, which will start to roll out in the winter of 2023.
LibConnect: 30+ New Email Templates
We know that patron connection reaches far beyond the walls of the library so we're adding 30+ new email marketing templates to the LibConnect system to help you share information about your programs, services, events, and collections!
Summer Reading - Add a little fun and whimsy to your email marketing with templates created specifically for youth programming.
Themed Templates - Share information about specific library collections, digital resources, or upcoming book clubs with themed templates.
Special Events - Local author fair? Townwide reading initiative? Special events deserve special attention! Unique templates will ensure that your most important emails stand out.
LibConnect Makes Outreach Easy
- ILS Integration - Import user info from your ILS to create profiles and identify audiences to send targeted marketing emails. Enable auto-updates to keep the information accurate!
- Email Marketing - LibConnect comes with pre-built email templates that are ready to use right off the bat. Use the Drag & Drop Editor to customize a template and then use it each time you send an email. Sticking with a consistent layout is more efficient and will make your emails recognizable for patrons.
- Springy Tool Integration - Pull content directly from your LibGuides, LibAnswers, and LibCal systems without leaving the Drag & Drop Editor.
- Built-in Analytics - Evaluate the success of your email campaigns with LibConnect's robust analytics. In addition to helping you analyze success and plan future campaigns, the statistics reports can help demonstrate the value of your efforts to stakeholders and administration.
Interested in learning more or trying out LibConnect? Get in touch with our Sales Team!
LibAnswers: Chatbot
Our exciting new Chatbot functionality is coming this December, and will be included as a standard part of the LibAnswers Platform. Use this new Chatbot functionality to help guide your users to the types of help they're looking for, and depending on their responses, you can route folks to different chat departments, prompt folks to create a new LibAnswers ticket, execute a LibGuides or LibAnswers search, or even direct them to a LibCal resource or LibWizard form.
Chatbot Can Connect to a Librarian...
Chatbot acts as a first responder, connecting patrons to helpful resources like FAQs and LibCal Events. If patrons still have questions, Chatbot can easily connect them to a live chat operator.
Or Operate as a Standalone!
Don't use LibChat? No problem. Chatbot can act as a self-contained system and provide an opportunity to connect patrons to a librarian for follow-up via email or a LibAnswers Queue.
Chatbot Will be Able to
- Gather basic patron information like patron name and email.
- Ask custom questions like “What is your department?” or “Do you have a student ID number?”
- Pass patrons off to a live chat operator or collect contact information for follow-up via email or LibAnswers Queue.
- Provide a selection of FAQs to answer common questions like: “What are your hours? or “How do I renew an item?”
- Connect patrons with info from other Springshare Tools like LibCal Events and LibGuides.
- Prompt patrons to choose the type of help they're looking for using fully customizable (and natural language!) contextual flows.
Want to learn more? Watch this sneak peek of the new Chatbot functionality.*
*Please note, this video is password protected. Contact sales@springshare.com to request the password.