Best Practices for Link Placement

Increase the usage of your virtual reference service by following  QuestionPoint ‘s Best Practices for Link Placement. This eight page guide illustrates successful strategies used by QuestionPoint members to increase visibility and heighten awareness of virtual reference services.

Use QR Codes and the Qwidget to Promote Your Service 

Jaclyn McKewan, the Virtual Services & Training Librarian for the Ask Us 24/7 service (Western New York Library Resources Council), has made a video on youtube on how the Qwidget is used on mobile devices.  She also shows how to make a QR code for your Qwidget URL, so mobile devices with cameras can capture the code.  You can then post the code in various locations around the library (or even around town!) to offer immediate access to your service.  Watch her video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZJFUVXcKIw

Webinar Promoting Virtual Reference

The recording of the November 15, 2007 webinar on Promoting Virtual Reference Services: Beyond Bookmarks, featuring Beth Cackowski of QandANJ.org and Diana Sachs-Silveira of Florida’s Ask a Librarian service, is available until December 16, 2007.

Beth highlights the QandANJ.org ad on MTV, and Diana highlights Florida’s contest on YouTube (for Florida high school students to design the next Ask A Librarian commercial), but both speakers also discuss other promotional activities as well as their respective MySpace pages.  Read about the webinar in more detail at the QuestionPoint blog.

Bill Pardue, of Arlington Heights Memorial Library in Illinois, found that 70% of his library's virtual reference sessions originated from places other than the library home page and catalog!

At ALA annual 2007, in Washington, DC, Bill discussed tips for promoting their virtual reference service. See his presentation at http://questionpoint.blogs.com/questionpoint_247_referen/2007/06/ala-2007-best-p.html. He focused on how libraries can place a link to their ask-a service to increase usage - he calls it "tripping over reference".   Bill's tips include: 

§         Place the link to your service on the library home page, but be sure it is above the fold (to check that, use 800X600 resolution). 

§         Be sure and brand the service so people know what it is (e.g., “Ask a Question Live Online” or “Get Live Online Help”).

§         If possible, make sure that link is part of the basic page template, so that wherever the user is on the library website, the Ask link will be there too.

Don't stop with the library web page!  Bill discussed how he has placed links to his Ask Away service in the catalog and database pages (he demonstrated the link he has in his Gale databases).  He also described how to surface your service through Worldcat.org.   

Bill also recommended other places for the service link:  the city’s home page, the Chamber of Commerce, social service agencies, social sites or blogs in your community, etc.

MD AskUsNow.PPS 

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