by Kalleen Marquise on Dec 30, 2020
Aspen Discovery has been developed with the intentional purpose of highlighting and increasing access to library resources.
Developer Mark Noble says, "My #1 goal is to make sure patrons know all the amazing things that libraries provide! There is so much that libraries do that patrons don't know about because they only know the library for books. There is so much information and they may not know where to look on the library site to find everything."
Mark created Aspen Discovery with this mission and mindset as the focal point of all developments. With the use of the website indexing functionality, libraries can easily link patron materials search results to library services, programs, and special collections. And, the beauty of Aspen Discovery, is that as library offerings grow and change, so can the customization of your library OPAC.
Marketing Library Services
The services that libraries offer are essential for their communities. How often do you hear a patron overcome with surprise when they realize something like passports, notary services, or meeting spaces is offered at your library? As librarians, it is constant work to highlight all the library has to offer. Aspen Discovery does this work for you by prominently featuring library services right in the catalog.
If you offer notary services, consider utilizing Aspen Discovery web indexing to connect this service when patrons search for legal documents. If you circulate garden tools or have a seed library, you can link these items in the OPAC when someone searches for gardening books. If you lend hot spots or tablets, easily connect with patrons searching for computer materials. Have amazing meeting spaces? Connect with your patrons searching for business resources.
The City of Arcadia Library cleverly highlights their passport services by tapping into people looking for travel books.
Marketing Library Programs
Library programming is often a large commitment of precious library resources like staff time and library funding. Free and accessible programming is an amazing aspect of libraries and one that deserves to be well-advertised. Libraries can directly attract patrons to their library programs with Aspen Discovery.
Computer and career programs are often the most needed in the community and the hardest to advertise. Aspen Discovery users can set these programs to display when resume and cover letters books are searched for. Highlight cooking and nutrition programs to those searching for cookbooks in your library catalog. The possibilities are endless when it comes to displaying your special programs and tying in other community events.
The Uintah County Library promotes their bi-monthly quilting program by displaying the program with the catalog search results for "quilting".
Aspen also has Events integrations with LibCal and Library Market. Learn More.
Marketing Digital Resources
Aspen Discovery can also be used as a powerful tool to highlight special collections, photo archives, and underused digital resources right in the library catalog. A search for "Spanish" can display a variety of results from your special arts collection, your tutoring classes, a community partnership or your language database. Do you always have a large hold lists for test-prep materials? The photo below from the Uintah County Library Aspen Discovery OPAC shows how the search for "SAT" immediately turns up their testing database, Learning Express Library.
Other Ways to Promote Library Resources
Interested in adding Aspen Discovery to your library? Contact us to set-up a demo.
Read more by Kalleen Marquise