It doesn’t have to be your slow season..
“A study once showed that library attendance dropped over 50% during the summer months,” notes The World’s Festival of Books website. “This usually means that governments and private funders will not provide as much funding to the libraries.”
Who can afford that kind of usage drop? Though you’re competing with movies, the public pool, camp and travel, you can still boost awareness of your services. How?
Make new connections
Summer reading programs are not just for fiction and nonfiction. You can tie both our library and its eReferences to the traditional summer audience and persuade new users to investigate our resources.
Accentuate the convenience. Promote our library as a no-cost respite from summer’s heat or storms; a comfortable, air-conditioned destination with resources for the entire family
Bring the fun. How about a lemonade stand or a bake sale out front? It’s an attention-getter, and you can donate the money to a the Library’s Foundation.
Highlight the benefits of mobile usage. Encourage our users to download the OverDrive Media Console free app to take eBooks or eAudio Books wherever they go. (There is also AccessMyLibrary app which works with our Gale online resources)
Tie into local interests and concerns. If it’s got the town talking, you can likely find a related eReferences:
A big musical act in town?
This summer’s blockbuster movie?
VideoHound’s Golden Movie Retriever
Playoffs? Tournaments?
Job fair?
Carnival?
America’s Eras
Here’s one for Las Vegas:
With the opening of the crosswalk to The Neon Museum promote our Hot Topic – Las Vegas and Nevada History. Patrons will find a link to The Neon Museum as well as other great resources like the new Nevada Digital Portal.
Do you have any suggestions to share? Then post them here as a comment!
The AccessMyLibrary Public Edition App
Boost usage by encouraging them to download the AccessMyLibrary Public Edition mobile app from Gale. AccessMyLibrary uses GPS to find public libraries* within a 10-mile radius of the user’s location, then gives them free, unlimited access to our reputable, authoritative Gale online resources — without the need to authenticate.
