1. EBOOK TRAINING:
How to Get Started
Presented By:
Julie Raynor
Readers’ Services Supervisor and OverDrive Specialist
for High Point Public Library
julie.raynor@highpointnc.gov
February 27, 2013

2. WHAT WE WILL COVER TODAY:
 Background of our EBook Service—How
it evolved over time
 General and In-Depth Staff Training
 Purchase of Devices for Staff Use
 Selecting and Training the Staff Digital
Library “Experts”
 Creating Handouts and Establishing
Presence on Library’s Webpage
 Designing and Offering Public Programs
 Communicating with Staff
 Lessons Learned
Q&A

3. MY BACKGROUND
 Readers’ Services Supervisor at High
Point Public Library
 Manage HPPL’s Digital Library Programs
and Services since Jan. 2010
 OverDrive Specialist for the Library
Role Model:
How to transform yourself into… a
SUPERLIBRARIAN!

4. MY INSPIRATION…
“SIMPLE CAN BE HARDER THAN COMPLEX: YOU HAVE TO WORK
HARD TO GET YOUR THINKING CLEAN TO MAKE IT SIMPLE.”
― STEVE JOBS

5. DIGITAL LIBRARY BACKGROUND…
 Founding Member Library of the North Carolina
Digital Library, 2005
 No significant interest in the HPPL collection
until 2010
 Annual circ. in 2011 was 125% over 2010 circ.
 Get organized so we could meet the needs of
users of the digital library
 Form a committee and develop an “Action Plan”
to direct our next steps

6. EARLY SUMMER 2011
 Created the “Action Plan”
 Established the NCDL Interest Group
 Priority item
 Provide basic instruction on how to use NCDL for all
staff who work at a public service desk
We knew one of our hurdles would be…

7. I don’t DO technology!

8. GENERAL STAFF TRAINING, SUMMER 2011
 All staff were given short tutorials on NCDL
 30 minutes long, Groups of 4-5
 Given with consideration for each person’s comfort with
technology
 General handouts made available
 Encouraged to try NCDL on their own
 Ultimate Goal:
Staff Buy-In!
To minimize the…

9. New Media?! Change, Again?
Attitude

10. IN-DEPTH STAFF TRAINING, SUMMER 2011
 Readers’ Services and Research Services Staff
 45 minutes, Groups of 2-3
 Each staff member (especially in Readers’ Services)
would be able to walk a person through the NCDL
website and answer basic questions
 Made this fun—provided incentives for learning
 Will purchase devices for staff to use

11. DEVICE PURCHASING, FALL 2011
 Readers’ Services and Research Services Divisions
purchased devices for staff training
 Readers’ Services purchased:
 Basic Kindle, Kindle Keyboard, Kindle Fire, Nook Simple Touch,
and iPad (added the Nook Color later)
 Research Services purchased:
 Nook Color, Kindle Fire and iPad (purchased additional iPads for
staff use later)
 System for staff to “borrow” and explore the devices
they purchased

12. DEVICE PURCHASING, FALL 2011
 Goals:
 Make sure all staff were comfortable in assisting people
with the basics
 Provide tools for future use (use iPads for roving reference
and weeding, etc.)
 Results were very positive
 Staff loved being able to try out the devices (especially the iPad)
and were enthusiastic about helping library users
Take the leap!

13. Don’t Panic! Now We’re Ready for the
Post-Holiday Gadget Rush!

14. Now…To Assemble the EXPERT
TEAM…

15. TRAINING STAFF EXPERTS, LATE SUMMER 2011
 Staff members were chosen based on
 high level of customer service
 patience shown working one-on-one with library users
 advanced knowledge of technology
 Individually trained
 Patron Assistance training and other training resources from
OverDrive
 Included in the NCDL Interest Group

16. TRAINING STAFF EXPERTS, LATE SUMMER 2011
 Their input was solicited on programs and handouts
 Informal brainstorming among the library “experts” was
an additional benefit
 This has continued and expanded as the experts are gaining experience
working with the public
 Additional training for Readers’ Services Division
 Serving as the “front line” initially in answering NCDL
questions

17. ULTIMATE GOAL
Move staff from this…

18. ULTIMATE GOAL
…to this!

19. Introducing digital formats to a print-
centered community…

20. MARKETING TO THE PUBLIC
 Create handouts
 Cover the basics on how to get started
 Much harder than I expected
 Continuous revision based on
 Feedback from staff and library users
 Updates to NCDL
 New devices produced

21. MARKETING TO THE PUBLIC
 Presence on the webpage and Facebook
 Created a general Digital Downloads page and specific
pages for NCDL and other digital resources
 Basic information, including informational videos and
printable handouts
 Regularly add information about NCDL and programs to
Facebook page

22. EBOOK TRAINING: THE PROGRAMS
 Personal Librarian sessions
 Program throughout the library—set up appointments to
work one-on-one with people on special projects
 Use this to assist people with NCDL one-on-one
 Can be scheduled in the evenings, with prior notice
 Late Summer-Early Fall 2011 Program Topics
 What type of eReader should I buy?
 One of the most commonly asked questions
 How to Use NCDL

23. EBOOK TRAINING: THE PROGRAMS
 Fall 2011: Introduction of E-info Sessions
 Flexible, drop-in sessions for anyone with questions about
NCDL (or any device)
 Dec. 2011: held once a week near the public service
desks
 Jan. & Feb. 2012: held twice a week--moved to larger
classroom due to demand

24. Culminating
in…the “BIG
TOP”
Experiment!

25. EBOOK EXTRAVAGANZA 2012
 All-Day EBook Assistance
 Modeled after similar event held at the West Linn Public
Library in West Linn, Oregon
 Provide assistance by Device
 Tables for Kindle, Nook, Tablet/iPad
 Trained staff members were available all day to help people as they
came by, 11-7 (8 people, rotating shifts)
 Positive feedback from attendees
 Nook at Night
 At end of EBook Extravaganza Day
 Local Barnes & Noble staff demonstrated the current
Nook models
 New community partnership opportunity
 Plan to have similar events in the future

26. ONGOING PROGRAMMING
 Spring & Summer 2012
 Personal Librarian sessions and brief assistance provided at
public service desks, as time allowed
 National Library Week program
 Fall 2012: Started with E-Info sessions (Nov. and Dec.)
 Offered three “classroom-style” programs:
 NCDL for Nooks
 NCDL for Tablets/Kindles
 Free EBooks outside of NCDL

27. ONGOING PROGRAMMING
 Early 2013
 2nd All-Day Ebook Assistance event (Jan. 2013)
 Partnering again with Barnes & Noble to present Nook at Night
 Much smaller attendance than previous year
 Plan to continue with two E-Info sessions per month and
Personal Librarians sessions as requested
 Evaluate programs in Summer to plan offerings for Fall

28. LESSONS LEARNED
 E-Info sessions and Personal Librarian
appointments were the most effective
 Informal brainstorming among the
library “experts” was an additional
benefit
 This has continued and expanded as the experts
are gaining experience working with the public
 Staff Buy-In was Achieved
 Introducing Staff to NCDL led to many of
them purchasing and using eReaders
(especially Fall 2012-Early 2013)

29. LESSONS LEARNED
 Getting the word out…
 Best publicity is word-of-mouth (which I
encouraged)
 Taking it “On the Road” to retirement communities
 Residents were very interested in the service, for many
reasons
 Once I went to one location, I was invited to come to
others

30. QUESTIONS?

31. THANKS FOR COMING!
 Look for more presentations from the Technology
and Trends (TNT) Roundtable this Spring and at
the NCLA Conference in October
 Also, if you haven’t joined TNT, it’s easy and
inexpensive to do so!
http://www.nclaonline.org/technology-
trends