~Everything you need to know to make sure your library is prepared for that huge library holiday rush~

By: Melissa Marin, OverDrive Marketing Specialist

Traditionally, we see a jump in digital usage in December and January, as people have extra free time for the holidays and many will unwrap shiny new tablets, phones or eReaders and want to fill them up with free content. Are you prepared? Here are some tips on how to get ready:

Provide an easy way to point people to your digital titles
Check your library website and look at it through the eyes of a first time visitor. Is it clear that you have eBooks? A visible link to your OverDrive collection should be easily accessible for anyone browsing your site and catalog. Regularly post reminders about your digital collection on social media throughout the season. One of the most popular messages is that even though your physical branches may be closed for the holidays or due to inclement weather, your OverDrive collection is always open.

library holiday rushCheck out our newly refreshed holiday marketing kit in the Resource Center for a variety of digital graphics, print materials, event ideas and more.

Make sure your collection is stocked & ready to circulate
Looking to spend some end of year budget? Instead of burying your Technical Services Department with a flood of print books just as they’d like to be taking vacation, consider spending that money on your digital collection. It’s easy and you’ll increase circulation within a few hours without impacting another department.

One guaranteed way to increase circulation is to fill your holds. This not only ensures immediate checkouts, but will make it more likely that those with new users won’t be disappointed. Make sure they can use those new devices at your library!

We also encourage pre-orders so you are ready for the hottest books of early 2017. (Check out the “Hottest Books of January 2017/February 2017/March 2017” lists in New Recommended Lists in the Resource Center for suggestions.)

Highlight the books you want to get circulating by creating a curated collection. Click the Curate tab in Marketplace to get started.

Ensure that staff are familiar with OverDrive
Review our tools to help users with common OverDrive questions so that your staff are trained and able to answer questions from new OverDrive users. Our first recommendation is to browse our Staff Training on-demand and special live webcast offerings in the Resource Center. It’s always a good idea to bookmark OverDrive Help to access videos and articles to assist with troubleshooting. Use the easy search bar to track down error messages or compatibility questions that come your way.

Consider year-end server maintenance & technical needs
If your library is planning server maintenance that will affect authentication over the holidays, please let us know. OverDrive’s Support Services team is here to help with integration/authentication issues and technical support. If at any time you need to escalate issues to our Support Services team for assistance or you need to alert OverDrive about maintenance, please complete the Technical Support web form in the Support tab in OverDrive Marketplace.

Happy Holidays!