Carol Marshall, Stock Manager eBook Drop-ins in Hampshire not only Customer support Promotion but also…. Carol Marshall, Stock Manager

Not only….but also…. High demand / limited availability = neither the need or incentive to promote eBooks Main motivation was the desire to support new & existing customers Added benefits: draw ‘remote’ customers into our branches opportunity to get branch staff to engage with the service tie in with programme ‘learning in libraries’

Pilot eBook events 6 eBook surgeries Aim Open ‘Drop-in’ sessions identify what worked & assess demand develop a toolkit for our branches to use at future events Winchester Discovery Centre, (largest, busiest branch)

Getting started…. Purchased a range of eReaders Staff training / familiarisation Hand-outs for use at the sessions: Introduction to Hampshire eBooks Service FAQs Getting started with your…. Purchased related books

Advance publicity…. Website Social media Brochures, posters, hand-outs in the branch Posters, leaflets in local shops

The eBook Surgery 2 hour ‘drop in’ sessions, café Winchester DC 4 - 5 staff available at each session Display of eReaders, hand-outs, related books 10 - 25 ‘enquiries’ per session People wanting to try out eReaders Existing customers wanting help and advice New users wanting their devices set up +ve feedback from customers, staff enthused, increased bookings on related in-house courses

Lessons learned The Concept Publicity Clear idea of what you are offering, the target audience and what you hope to achieve Publicity Traditional: posters, leaflets in the library Library website, social media Press releases Think outside the box eg local shops, railway stations

Location Visible: High profile site, passing traffic, have a ‘presence’, eg pop-up banners Accessible: Space for the display, for browsing, a seating area, (tables and chairs for 121s) Staff Welcoming Good overview of the service Working knowledge of at least 2 devices Training skills

The Future An identified demand for this type of ‘event’ Created a toolkit to support branches who want to run eBook drop-ins Three styles of event: Informal drop-in, ‘petting zoo’ sessions Structured drop-in sessions featuring a rolling programme of short demonstrations by staff or commercial partners 121 sessions, (half hour bookable slots) Biggest challenge is keeping up-to-date