6 Ways to Promote Your Library: Digital Resources Edition
Term-time is always hectic, especially towards the start of the academic year: new students, library inductions, new colleagues – the list goes on. Amidst this, a pivotal part of your library often gets overshadowed: your digital resources. So we’ve put together this guide on how to promote your library – specifically digital.
Why you need different tactics to promote your digital library
Digital resources, though packed with educational value and potential, don’t enjoy the luxury of a physical presence on our library shelves. But you still want to make sure you get that crucial return on investment – after all, you’ve invested not just funds, but faith in these resources.
So how can you make sure that every penny translates into students benefiting from the content?
We have thousands of librarians in our JCS subscriber community worldwide, so who better to offer insights on promoting your digital library? Listen to the tips they’ve offered throughout the years:
Direct outreach: Reaching out to teachers and staff directly should always one of your first ports of call. Email them, letting them know how the library’s e-resource collection can help with the teaching and learning of their subject itself.
Classroom visits: Show, don’t just tell! A great way to promote your digital library is to offer to visit classrooms, giving students and teachers a firsthand look at all of the relevant resources available to them.
Sessions for new staff: Whenever there is staff turnover, knowledge about your resource collection may not be passed on. Reach out to any new staff that join and offer to run library sessions with them. In these, you can show them where to find and how to access your school’s digital resources.
Student sessions (resource-specific): Run specific inductions on certain resources to teach students how to use them. For example, many librarians run JSTOR induction sessions for older students, including Sixth Formers (Years 12-13) and those doing the IB? Diploma Programme. These sessions are incredible beneficial for both.
Leverage their 24/7 availability: One of the key benefits of digital resources is their round-the-clock availability, so make sure that staff and students know this! This makes them perfect for homework, projects like the Extended Essays and EPQ, and those inevitable last-minute study and lesson planning? sessions.
Use publisher materials: Share the promotional and open access teaching materials made available by the publishers. Great examples include Drama Online’s Learning Resources, plus JSTOR’s promotional materials and librarian success guide.
You can also find below a range of best practice materials to help you with your promotion efforts, from a handy presentation, through to talks and blogs from your librarian colleagues.
We wish you luck in continuing to promote your digital library!