Information Scotland The Journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland ISSN 1743-5471 Issue contents | Journal contents | About the online edition of the journal December 2005 Volume 3 (6)

Focus on: Communities of Practice

E-merging services

More than 80 delegates attended the fifth annual e-books seminar, travelling from across the UK, representing various information and library backgrounds, as did the speakers. The event was chaired by Catherine Nicholson, Head of Learning Resources, Glasgow School of Art, and attracted exhibitors from Dawson Books, Ebrary, Oxford University Press, ProQuest Information and Learning, and Thomson Gale.

Opening speaker Peter Reid, Senior Lecturer at Robert Gordon University, commented that while the Internet had revolutionised information gathering and provided easier access, there was doubt over whether users were benefiting from this electronic revolution. He discussed the vastness of digital resources, the inability of users to always make effective use of them,the “cult of Google” and the lazy, inefficient searching that this sometimes causes. The importance of marketing e-resources to educate library users on what is available and how it will benefit them was also stressed. Peter finished by saying that information literacy has always been important but never more so than now with the wide range of new resources available.

Mike Thornton, Account Manager for OCLC Pica, spoke about the types of digital material available via WorldCat and presented statistics that demonstrated its growth. He touched on the debate about whether e-books are viable or not and, in their defence, showed figures that demonstrated the large increase in usage from 2002-2004: 3,796 unique users in 2002 rising to 14,350 in 2004. Mike added that he felt the e-book should be able to co-exist with printed material and also highlighted the rise in e-journal subscriptions and the subsequent decrease in print ones.

Rachel Nagel, Strategic Marketing Manager, ProQuest Information and Learning, concentrated on e-resource marketing. She outlined key aims: making invisible e-resources visible to users, encouraging their continued use and ensuring staff are confident and knowledgeable about resources. She described good promotional practice: posters on display, producing support materials such as user guides and providing desktop links from PCs in libraries. The importance of library staff working with providers who can assist with staff training and providing support materials was emphasised. She spoke about current developments in e-provision with libraries developing dedicated information teams with staff responsible for managing and promoting e-resources, training sessions for staff and users, e-newsletters and use of library websites and intranets to promote resources. She finished by discussing other developments such as federated search engines allowing e-resources to be searched collectively.

After lunch, Margaret Leyland, Information Team Co-ordinator for London Borough of Hillingdon, gave an enthusiastic account of how marketing of e-resources works in the public library environment at Hillingdon. After describing the range of e-resources they provide, she reiterated the importance of working with the supplier and being a “demanding customer”. The supplier can help with marketing by being present at promotions, helping with design and artwork for printed publicity, banners and plasma screen advertisements. As well as pursuing the marketing strategies Rachel Nagel outlined, Margaret speaks to community groups to raise awareness of e-resources. E-services are constantly evaluated enabling them to justify continuing their usage and identify which services require more training and marketing. The effectiveness of their marketing strategy is underlined by statistics that demonstrate the substantial increase in e-resource usage in recent years.

Finally, Ewan McCubbin, Assistant Librarian at Dundee University, gave an entertaining account about a re-branding process which he helped to implement at his library. A new logo was developed and anything relating to the multi-site library was branded with it, including free pens, torches, bookmarks and toothbrushes. These items have proved especially popular during recent Freshers’ weeks, where the library has had a greatly increased presence. The website was redesigned in 2004 and usage statistics for e-books have increased as the catalogue is now more user-friendly, and the library has set up e-marketing lists providing information on new services and products. Statistics show that library usage has increased since the new marketing strategy was put in place and the importance of marketing has been recognised: it is now one of eight functional groups within library management. Ewan closed by saying that making libraries visible is important and posed the question, “can we as librarians afford not to market ourselves?”

Judging by feedback from the delegates, it was a very successful event.

Written by: Veronica Denholm, Enquiries & Reference Services Assistant, National Library of Scotland; and Angus Wark, Scottish Union Catalogue Assistant, National Library of Scotland.

Information
The annual e-books seminars are organised by the Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL), the Scottish Library Information Council (SLIC) and Multimedia, Information and Technology Group Scotland (MMITS). The fifth event took place on 14 October in the Causewayside Building of the National Library of Scotland (NLS). Further details of the papers.

Two NLS CILIP Chartership candidates were invited to assist in planning the seminar to enable them to gain experience in event organisation. This entailed setting up the venue, liaising with delegates, etc.

Information Scotland issue details if required

Information Scotland is delivered online by the SAPIENS electronic publishing service based at the Centre for Digital Library Research. SLAINTE (Scottish libraries across the Internet) offers further information about librarianship and information management in Scotland.