Utica College is using tent cards created in Microsoft Publisher, complete with QR codes.
I think most of the increase is due to the chats from students at South Seneca and in Ovid. This increase was a direct result of a presentation I did and bookmarks I distributed to the school librarians meeting at the Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES. The Lansing librarian demonstrated the AskUs service to her tween and YA patrons last summer. Before the end of the school year I sent 1000+ bookmarks to the BOCES library services coordinator at the Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES who will distribute them in the Fall. I also reminded the member library staff who attended our Summer Reading system meeting about AskUs and brought bookmarks for distribution.
I also talk up the services all the time, mention it at least once a month in our weekly bulletins, bring bookmarks to all meetings, and use chat examples to talk about how our databases can be used. It is a constant effort.
We don't really focus on any single type of service (IM, phone, chat, text, etc.), instead we try to push the concept that we are available when students need us. Some of the things our Ad Team has done include:
Bookmarks that we give out at every service desk, in classes, and at orientations (this is a previous version but you get the idea)
Tabletop signs that we insert into acrylic holders and place on study tables throughout the library
We also have a large (8 ft) sign to place behind us at campus orientation events that pushes the concept that we are here to help
Finally though, I must say that even with all this advertising the biggest increase we saw in use of our IM/QP reference services came when we simply reduced the number of clicks that it takes for a patron to see our chat box. There is a ‘Help’ link at the top of every page on our website, and it used to be that if you clicked this link you would go to a generic help page where you would have to click on reference options, then click on live chat options, etc. As soon as we put our local IM widget on that page our numbers began to go up. In the coming year I hope to see our chat box placed in the catalog and on our databases pages and I suspect that we will see another increase in usage. I used to think that placement on the Library’s home page would be ideal, but now I think that embedding the widget at the point of need is the best option (in the catalog, on the databases page, in a LibGuide, etc.).
We made a concerted effort to market Ask Us 24/7 during the 2010/2011 Academic year. Here is what we did:
We created Ask Us 24/7 business card magnets, and distributed them to all students during new student orientation. We told students that they wouldn’t need the service right away, but to stick the magnet on their refrigerator, to keep in mind for research paper time.
We also distributed the magnets in each library instruction session, showed students how to access the service, and told them what a great service it is, because they might be getting help from academic librarians in NY state, across the country, or around the world. If they use the service in the middle of the night, they might be chatting with a college librarian from Australia! (Students seem to think this is really neat.) I tell students that since the librarians in the service share information about each other’s libraries, any librarian can help them.
We started using LibGuides in July 2010, and we make sure to place the qwidget in each guide. Here is an example.
We have a campus messaging system at SCCC, that displays PowerPoint slides on closed-circuit TVs around campus. I create a few new slides each semester, to display on the messaging system.
Also, each semester I send faculty an e-mail that lists the services we offer students in the library. I include Ask Us 24/7, and ask them to remind students about this service.
We have a required Library Research course that enrolls approximately 700 students per semester. We reach hundreds more students through our course-specific instruction sessions. We actively promote Ask Us 24/7 in both. Those two channels are probably the biggest reason for our high usage. For the fall we plan to do more to include the Qwidget in our LibGuides which get lots of use. Additionally I'd like to promote the mobile Qwidget and QR code as in the YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZJFUVXcKIw