Awarded to Aston University Library

Effectively promoting

library services to

engage new students

Like Your Library

Induction Programme

Clare Langman &

Lydia Matheson

Aston University

Library Services

Aston University Facts

► Where are we? Located in Birmingham, West Midlands, UK

► Size? Single campus in the city centre with 10,000 students

► What subjects do we cover? 4 Academic Schools –

►Aston Business School

►School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

►School of Languages and Social Sciences

►School of Life and Health Sciences

► What are our strengths?

►Employability (8th in the UK for graduate employment)

►Overall student satisfaction levels are 89% (2014 National

Student Survey)

Aston University Facts

► Typical first year students

►Diverse student population

(over 130 countries)

►Large cohort of local

students from widening

participation backgrounds

►30% of our students are

international

Our mission is to be the UK’s leading University for business,

enterprise and the professions, where original research has a

positive impact on the world around us

Previous Library Induction Themes

► LIS – regeneration – linking with Dr Who

► Information Heroes

► The Library’s Extra Factors

► Lost?

Promotional objectives

► Positively promote the Library

► Create a re-usable campaign theme

► Introduce students to the Library’s social media presence

► See as many new students as possible

► Alert all students to the temporary inconvenience caused by

the Library refurbishment

► Discourage students from using the Library as a place to

study during the first 3 weeks of term

► Ensure all induction resources were also made available to

students online and promoted to students, particularly videos

etc. to facilitate independent / self-guided learning

Glued Limited

► Drew together a theme to engage students with the Library

services in a more informal, fun approach.

► Launch of Facebook Like Your Library Live

► Glued produced copyright compliant images.

► The aim was to encourage students to ‘Like’ their Library – the

building, the staff, the services, the facilities, the online

presence and to attend the sessions.

Publicity and promotion for 2013

Goody bags

Contents:

• Like Your Library Notepad

• Learning Development Centre

highlighter pen

• Postcards

• Pen or pencil

E-marketing template

Increasing recruitment of PG business

school students

► A separate e-marketing email was sent to Aston Business

School postgraduate MSc students on 4th October 2013

► In 2012 only 73 students attended sessions

► 81% of recipients opened the email on the 1st day it was sent

out

► 148 students followed the link to their Like Your Library Live

timetable

► In 2013, 346 students attended the sessions

Extending the theme for 2014 - posters

Extending the theme for 2014 - posters

Extending the theme for 2014 - posters

Branded

Notepads

Pencils

Posters

Signs

Floor signs / stickers

Emarketing emails

Publicity - pull-up banners

Library Facebook page / incentives

https://www.facebook.com/AstonUniversityLIS

Like Your Library Live Content

► Like Your Library Welcome (25 minutes)

►Prezi presentation welcoming students to the Library:

overview of services including study spaces available and

videos e.g. finding a book on the shelf

► Demos of:

►Learning Development Centre staff highlight specific support

available to students e.g. maths support for School of

Engineering students

Like Your Library Live Content

► Print and Scan (5 mins)

►Staff available to demonstrate

scanning, printing and crediting accounts

►Students can practice for themselves

► In the Library: Help Yourself (10 mins)

►Demonstrations of everything that students can do

for themselves

►Issue, return, renew, pay fines

►Loan periods and renewals

►Reserving a book and collecting reservations

New for 2014 – content on a memory stick for

students who ask questions during sessions

Attendance

Attendance by

Undergraduates

(2012) 2013

Attendance by

Postgraduates

(2012) 2013

Life and Health Sciences (492) 572 (40) 61

Engineering and Applied

Sciences

(369) 473 (52) 72

Languages and Social

Sciences

(141) 231 (38) 43

Aston Business School (321) 389 (73) 346

Initial evaluation – 2272 students (85%)

“The presentation on the facilities was great”

Business, PG

“Great floor signs led me straight to G8”

Business, UG

“Everything looks modern and up to date and

very simple to use” Engineering, UG

“It has got me to come to the Library and find

out more” Engineering, UG

“It is really important to create awareness and

that has been done effectively” Engineering,

UG

“Everything is amazing, especially for a

student from abroad” Life & Health Sciences,

PG

“I think that everything is very well done,

especially that you are available on social

media” Languages, UG

Feedback after 6 months

Posters and publicity in

main building and

seeing people walking

over with signs did

publicise the sessions.

Footprints were

quite clever – I

thought ‘what’s

this Like Your

Library Live?’

Focus Group with students May 2014

Students could:

• Say what had been covered in

sessions / what they had learnt

• List the ‘Freebies’ they had been given

• Tell us about the Like Your Library Live

footprints, banners, posters, signs

What is important to them:

• To know what session will include – i.e.

‘it’s not just an induction’

• Would like to watch selection of videos

on screen before the start

• Liked that their attendance had been

recorded – made session seem more

important

Any questions?