Raking Up the Reviews

Our Fall Reading program has been going on for almost two months now and it's a busy program!

Library staff members from across the country are reading books, watching movies, and reviewing materials using our Summer Reader software. Just like any reading program, there are great prizes available to those participating!

You can see their book reviews by clicking on the RSS feed in the right hand column of this blog. We're talking no-holds barred book reviews - these participants don't spare a book or author if they don't like what they read! PERFECT for deciding what you should get in the next books and materials order!

There are 238 reviews written as of this moment, so you won't be short of reading material!

The Whole Enchilada

When an Evanced customer buys all of our products at once, or buys additional products to add to their current products, I often remark "Whoa, they got the whole enchilada!"

We try to make our software easy to use and easy to set up. We've had small libraries report that they've set up an instance of Summer Reader in less than a half day. But when you take on all three of our products at once, it can get a bit overwhelming - where do you begin? What's the best start point? What is the highest priority? Who should take on the tasks?

Enchiladas are great but if you eat too many, you might get heartburn. That's also true with getting new software. If you try to tackle too much new software at once, you might not feel great. No software should cause you heartburn and we have a lot of tools and resources to help you!

Here is a short primer in helping you tackle your new software subscriptions - especially when you get The Whole Enchilada.

Keep in mind that the following information will help your library if you subscribe to one module, or all of them.

1 - Use our Implementation Checklist - you can pick up a copy here: http://drop.io/implementationchecklist

2 - Create a timeline, figure out priorities. If you have Summer Reader, Events and Room Reserve, it may be in your best interest to determine what your next big priority is. If you have a bit of time until Summer Reading starts, then set up an in-house reading program for staff. That way they can get a feel for the software on the patron side, and summer reading administrators can get an idea for the product on their side. While that program runs, you can set up Events and Room Reserve.

3 - Divide and Conquer. Create committees, lean on staff. If you have an overwhelmed IT department, they don't necessarily have to set up the software. With a bit of understanding on how websites work and with a copy of the user manual, any staff member can create a complete events, room reservation, or summer reading module. And if they get stuck they can...

4 - Call us. Pass out our phone number and email to staff. You can reach us at support@evancedsolutions.com or by calling 888-519-5770.

5 - Talk to the Evanced Community. Visit our support center and discussion boards at http://evanced.support.info

6 - Take the webinars. They're free. They're live. Larry, the head of training, is great - he's funny and he moves sessions along quickly but doesn't rush the learning process either. And we won't try to sell you more stuff. No, seriously. We just want you to learn how to use the software well.

7 - Enjoy - and dare to think outside the "box". You can call us to get ideas on how to use the software to the max and get maximum value from it. We have a library that uses Room Reserve to manage their car pool. Never would of that of thought on my own, what about you? Email me (Christine) for ideas and help at cayar@evancedsolutions.com

So, enjoy the Whole Enchilada!

Christine Ayar

Coordinator of Customer Experience

Evanced Solutions

Teen Read Week Logo

We're cutting it a bit close, but if you're interested in that .sponsor image for the heading on your Summer Reader software for Teen Read Week, here it is:

YALSA has many great resources for you to use for Teen Read Week that can be seen at:
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/teenreading/trw/trw2009/home.cfm

To receive the above graphic in a larger size, email Christine at cayar at evancedsolutions dot com or email Support at support at evancedsolutions dot com.

Happy Teen Read Week!