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School: Epsom Girls’ Grammar
Date: September 21, 2016
Epsom Girls’ Grammar School Librarians are witnessing a rapid rise in eBook borrowing statistics. The change in numbers is no fluke – the growing popularity can be largely attributed to simple yet clever marketing and strategic purchasing decisions.
Picking out the popular books.
Buying the “right” eBooks has been a key part of the success of the School’s ePlatform. Michele Coombridge Director of Library Services at Epsom Girls explains: “Last year I made a decision to purchase our top 20 most-borrowed books in eBooks as well as print.”
She points out that although some items required more outlay than others, “They were worth their weight in gold for drawing our students to the world of eBooks.” In fact she says, “I have since purchased multiple copies of many of these favourites and they continue to be ‘out’ and on reservation lists.”
Making an impact with marketing
According to Michele, promotion has been key in getting students on board. “Sometimes after buying new ‘in demand’ titles I will do a poster by the library entrance to show students the new eBooks.” Michele adds that this has, “Sparked a lot of interest and students found their own way to the platform and began borrowing straight away.”
Librarian Debbie Horrocks has also been instrumental in advertising the ePlatform. Says, Michele, “Debbie has done a lot of work promoting the ePlatform to our Yr9 and10 classes.” Michele jokes that in doing so, “Debbie has become a tiny bit addicted to checking the daily borrowing stats which are revealing that our eBook issues have doubled from this time last year and are continuing to climb.” Stats are now remaining steady, averaging above 170 issues per month.
Key reasons for success:
• The School has built a rich and appealing eBook collection of 848 titles which has resulted in 2172 loans.
• eBooks have been carefully selected – by choosing to purchase the top twenty most issued titles, the school has enjoyed greater numbers of students borrowing eBooks.
• Spreading the word in various ways like posters and face-to-face discussions has helped to raise the profile of ePlatform and the eBooks available. (In fact, students are now taking ownership of the platform themselves.)
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