{ The  Right  Txt

Derek  Malone,  MLIS,  ILL  &  DE Ohio  University  Libraries

Ñ  If  you  have  any  questions,  or  would  like  some  help  implementing  text  messaging,  please  don’t  hesitate  to  contact  me  at  maloned@ohio.edu,  or  740-­‐‑593-­‐‑2691

Ñ  We’re  hosted  (Atlas)  –  since  July  2012 Ñ  ILLiad  8.3.5 Ñ  Serve  students,  faculty,  staff,  Friends Ñ  Around  40,000  transactions  annually Ñ  A  LOT  OF  EMAILS!!! Ñ  Started  texting  Summer  2012

Background

Ñ  75%  of  teenagers  text Ñ  “I  don’t  check  my  email” Ñ  Most  common  form  of  communication Ñ  That’s  over

Ó  Phone Ó  Social  Networking         Ó  Face-­‐‑to-­‐‑face

Why?

hfp://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Teens-­‐‑and-­‐‑Tech.aspx

PewResearch:  Teens  and  Technology  2013  

78%  of  teens  now  have  a  cell  phone,  and  almost  half  (47%)  of  them  own  smartphones

137  /  20

Windows  3.1

Contact  me?

Ñ  Smartphone  or  not,  we  can  send  SMS  messages.

Why?

Duz  any1  currently  offer  txt  msgN  notifications?

hfp://transl8it.com/

Setup  

Ñ User  purge  coming  up  –  Summer  2013 Ñ We’d  like  to  get  as  many  through  this  process  (get  them  via  email)  as  we  can

Ñ Signups  checked  daily  as  part  of  workflow Ñ Slow  at  first Ñ Now  1-­‐‑4  daily

,

Text  address  first,  followed  by  email

,

   #

#  signifies  texting  patron

Ñ Only  borrowing  &  document  express Ñ Notifications  –  lefing  users  know  content  is  available,  or  a  request  has  been  granted/denied

Ñ Overdues,  Delivery  Notifications,  Renewals  (y/n/date),  etc.

Ñ Only  a  minor  changes  in  cancellations,  things  that  need  a  deep  explanation

Ñ Simplified  use  of  files  (elecdel  for  all  e-­‐‑delivery) Ñ Not  pursuing  this  in  lending Ñ Work  in  progress

What  we’ve  changed

Ñ  Good  starting  point Ñ  Notification  sent  to  every  loan  that  applies Ñ  Again,  we  only  notify  via  email  and  text

Overdues

Generic/Old  Overdue

Ñ  Your  phone  number  is:  

New  Overdue  1  Notice

Ñ  Important  notes 1.  We  only  email  notifications 2.  We  deliver  articles  electronically 3.  We  have  1  pickup  point  for  loans  *

Delivery

Ñ  First  bit  of  praise  came  concerning  the  email  notification,  and  continues  to  do  so.

Ñ  Patrons  like  the  simplified,  to-­‐‑the-­‐‑point  message.

Ñ  Text  has  also  been  well  received. Ñ  Cleaning  up  for  the  purpose  of  text  messaging  helps  us  look  befer  in  a  mobile  email  environment

What  we  heard/learned  -­‐‑  Notifications

Ñ  Sent  through  borrowing Ñ  We  do  not  communication  via  text  for  loan

Renewals  &  Recalls

Renewed

Old  Renewal  Denied  Email

Recall

Doesn’t  work  every  time

Cancellations  

Ñ  Cancellations  notices  require  too  much  explanation  (our  opinion-­‐‑explanation  we  want  to  give),  so  they’re  still  long

Ñ  Occasional  dead  links  (Verizon) Ñ  Delivery  on  article  takes  a  couple  extra  steps,  but  we  believe  it’s  worth  it.

Negatives

Ñ  Know  your  customers  view:

Key  Points

Let  your  web  and  physical  location  speak

Make  140  Count

thx  so  much  4  yor  tym.  R  ther  NE  questions?