Increase Discovery and Engagement with Staff Picks
Your library’s collection undoubtedly includes some resources that are overlooked. Why not use “Staff Picks” to help patrons discover and use them? Staff Picks offer suggestions based on your staff members’ preferences, knowledge of the collection, and expertise. Staff Picks can introduce your patrons to books, databases, movies, etc. that they may not have considered otherwise.
Specific Topics or Themes
Staff can highlight materials about specific topics or themes, such as Local History, Gardening, Best of the New Arrivals, etc. Staff Picks not only help users find materials in the library, but also to build confidence that the staff will give good recommendations. Staff also get the chance to use their expertise and creativity to boost patron interest and engagement with the collection and the staff.
Staff Picks can be used to highlight resources about diverse social and cultural interests. Holidays and events, materials for different age groups, or material types such as graphic novels can attract users who might not otherwise visit the library. You can use Staff Picks to help create a welcoming environment by promoting materials related to diverse interests and needs.
Tools in your ILS
Learn what functions your ILS has and how to use them to identify and promote materials that staff choose. For example, a widget that lists the materials in a virtual display or a list of items can put your staff picks front and center so visitors to your online catalog can easily find them. This can even take the form of a button that patrons click to see a saved list of resources a particular library worker recommends. Be sure to update recommendations and topics regularly so your patrons will keep coming back to see what’s new.
Ratings and reviews give users the opportunity to voice their opinions about the resources that your staff select. These can be used by other patrons to evaluate items and decide what to check out. Staff can also use them to get a sense of how their picks are perceived and what might need to be done differently or what is working well.
Other tools you can use to evaluate how Staff Picks are being used by the patrons are circulation statistics and public catalog analytics. If your ILS gives you the ability to collect statistics on what items are being viewed in your online catalog, you can compare those to the circulation statistics and see which items are attracting attention and which are being used.
For more ideas and to learn how to use your Surpass Cloud online catalog to highlight Staff Picks, see the Surpass Cloud’s YouTube channel’s OPAC playlist.
Conclusion
Staff Picks can increase visibility of your materials, encourage increased staff/patron interaction, and boost circulation statistics by attracting users. Putting the spotlight on your staff’s expertise and on your collection helps patrons find what they need and to discover materials that they might have overlooked otherwise.
About Surpass Software
Surpass is the easy-to-use, cloud-based library management system for libraries of all types and sizes. Whether you’re a school, church, museum, business, or any other organization with resources to lend, Surpass is likely a good fit for you. We pride ourselves on being affordable and flexible, with an expert support team ready to help you at a moment’s notice.
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