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User Stories

Lean Library Case Study: Salford University

Bringing patrons to library collections

Product: Lean Library Futures

Bringing patrons to library collections

The Challenge

The library puts in a considerable amount of time and effort to develop its collections and provide support for users. But are patrons always gaining easy access to these resources?

"We understand that users don’t necessarily go via library systems to access our resources and can then struggle to access the online resources we subscribe to. It can also be difficult to provide effective support to off-campus users when they have problems accessing resources."

“It can be difficult to provide effective support to off-campus users.”

The Solution

Lean Library, a powerful browser plug-in, solves access issues and provides patrons with content as and when they need it, all while protecting their privacy and promoting your library’s brand.

"Library staff are finding it useful in supporting off-campus users to access resources. The Library Assist feature is also useful for providing extra support when accessing resources – we plan to investigate using this across the library. Uptake has been good with nearly 4,000 engaged users each month and we’re pleased with the amount."

 

Matching Expectations

Lean Library strives to deliver a product that continues to bring value to the library.

“The functionality delivers what was promised, it continues to be developed, it is easy for users to install and from the statistics we can see it is being used and helping users access resources.”

Promoting Lean Library

Lean Library requires users to download the plug-in. So, how do you get patrons to download it?

“We started with a soft launch over the summer with announcements on the library’s social media and did a full launch in October. We promoted it via social media, flyers on library service points, screensavers, a web page and information on library staff email signatures. We’re continuing to promote it particularly to coincide with new intakes of students. We are finding the statistics useful to be able to monitor usage and see where users’ research has been supported with the plug-in.”

User Feedback

At the end of the day, users need to see the value, and their feedback is important.

“We’ve had positive feedback from users via Twitter and also from our Academic Support Librarians. We’ll be focusing on gathering more qualitative feedback from users going forward.”

 

University of Salford, Manchester

 

  • Public Research University
  • Total Enrolment: 25,000
  • Staff: 7,000 over 100 sites
  • Salford has a rich heritage and international reputation for working closely with both industry and the public sector in enterprise and research.

 

Find out more about Lean Library.

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