December 16th, 2009 evanced
Information about “going green” and taking steps to help the environment is everywhere right now. More and more, we’ve seen and heard from our customers that using Events, Room Reserve and Summer Reader helps to reduce the amount of paper used in libraries. Over time, minimizing paper usage saves time, money, and people power.
So, why go paperless and how can Evanced help?
In the case of libraries, going paperless can reduce confusion. How many of you have or have had “the binder”. It’s that big binder that you use to manage your meeting rooms, your events sign up lists or your summer reading forms. Have you ever LOST that binder? It creates sheer chaos – people run around as if the building is on fire!
Customers have reported that Evanced’s Events software has helped to manage program registration, but also assists with the administration of wait lists and reminder notifications. And when the program is completed, instead of worrying about a paper attendance sheet, attendance can be tracked online.
Room Reserve reduces the amount of forms that library staff members must keep track of and reduces the documentation that the public must fill out in order to request a room. Paper-based room reservation processes often involve making several copies for library users, staff members, and management. If the original or copies are lost, it can create frustration and confusion, not to mention that a valued library user may accidentally lose the reservation they wanted! Room Reserve manages all documentation and makes it available online, allowing for easy access for staff from virtually anywhere.
Henderson (NV) Public Libraries noticed a reduction in the quantity of paper they used after switching to Events, Room Reserve and Summer Reader. The change helped make their processes more efficient, benefiting their staff, the public and the environment. You can read more on our blog, which featured the Henderson Public Library in September 2009.
Summer Reading, the Paperless Way
The transition to a web-based summer reading program can not only reduce paper usage, but also improve the opportunities of busy library users to participate in summer reading.
- Be proactive about encouraging library users that have Internet access at home, work or school to use the Summer Reader program. Team up with area schools to have a Summer Reader sign up day, using media center computers and computer labs. Constant accessibility, access to great book reviews and the ability to build a reading list are just a few of the benefits.
- For those without computer access, encourage them to create a paper log. Use teen volunteers to help input the logs into Summer Reader, thus helping teens keep busy but also allowing anyone to participate in your program.
- If possible, have a “Summer Reader Log Only” station at your library – make that computer a quick stop for library users who may choose to stop by to log in their reading hours daily or weekly.
- Teens tend to adapt quickly to Summer Reader and love the ability to interact with their peers. Children love physical confirmation of their reading goal – certificates, stickers, small prizes and more. Use our certificate feature to build certificates that children and their families can instantly print when they reach a particular reading goal.
- The many prize management options available in Summer Reader make it easy to carefully manage prize distribution. Staff members can track, view, and distribute prizes without using any paper. Summer Reader manages prizes across branches, making it difficult for less scrupulous library users to visit multiple branches to collect multiple prizes if they are not deserved.
If you’d like to learn more about using Evanced Solutions’ products to reduce paper usage, contact our Coordinator of Customer Experience, Christine Ayar at cayar@evancedsolutions.com
December 15th, 2009 evanced
Evanced Solutions would like to congratulate the Novi Public Library in Novi, Michigan on their new library! The building is set to open in June 2010.
The bigger building features recycled materials, green-tinted reflective glass in windows, water-efficient fixtures, and energy efficient light fixtures among many other “green” offerings. Other highlights include landscaping that helps to conserve water and landscaping featuring local plants that thrive in Michigan’s climate.
Novi Public Library uses Events, Room Reserve and Summer Reader. As their library grows, their ability to manage their new building using the products will grow and change as well. The library currently uses Events to manage five meeting rooms. The new library will have eight meeting rooms and spaces that will be managed in Events, in addition to many unmediated study areas.
If your library is set to expand and you’d like more information on ensuring your Evanced software helps you manage your new spaces, contact our Coordinator of Customer Experience at cayar@evancedsolutions.com.”
December 15th, 2009 evanced
Increasingly we’re seeing emails that begin with “We’re a Drupal shop and want to use Evanced products too…” Here at Evanced we’re excited by the potential of Drupal and what libraries are doing with it.
The Worthington Libraries (Ohio) has integrated their Events calendar with their website which uses Drupal as its content management system. You can view their calendar at http://www.worthingtonlibraries.org/calendar. What you’ll see might surprise you. The front end is powered by Drupal, but the back end is Evanced Solutions’ Events product and uses all of the filtering, registration, and management features available.
For Kara Reuter, Digital Library Manager at Worthington Libraries, the choice to use both Drupal and Events was an easy one. “We chose Drupal because it’s a really powerful content management system and can be extended in almost any way you can imagine. Lots of other libraries are using Drupal these days, so there’s a good community we can turn to for ideas and support.”
Worthington Libraries wanted to keep the look and feel of their website, while taking advantage of the functionality Events has to offer. As Ms. Reuter explained, “We chose Events because every time we looked at a library’s online calendar that offered all the features we wanted, it was Events. And the ability to integrate Evanced Solutions’ Room Reservation [software] is essential for our library.”
The development team at Evanced is excited by the possibilities Drupal offers and is working closely with the Worthington Libraries. For Kara Reuter, this collaboration made the switch to a Drupal-driven website even easier. “We love that Evanced has been so open to our ideas and supportive of our efforts to create our Drupal+Events mashup.”
Worthington staff and patrons have given positive feedback on the calendar, which created a look and feel that was constant across both the website and calendar. “Our staff and patrons have definitely commented on the calendar. They’ve given us positive feedback about the pull down menus that allow you to specify just what kind of event you’re looking for,” she explained. “What I love is that the calendar is perfectly integrated in to our Web site in terms of look and feel – I think visual consistency is really important in terms of user experience. Plus, the power of Drupal allows us to create the “Today at the Library” block on the homepage – it’s completely dynamic and as the day progresses the events drop off so that you’re only seeing what’s coming up. We can also pull in event lists on other pages, such as on our Book sale page: http://www.worthingtonlibraries.org/visit/services/booksales (see right sidebar).”
Are you an Events customer that is using Drupal or considering Drupal? Worthington Libraries is seeking partner libraries to help them to prepare their Evanced Events Importer module for release at drupal.org. To learn more contact Kara Reuter at Worthington Libraries, kreuter@worthingtonlibraries.org.