The document discusses the use of a Blackboard Community by a university library. It describes how the library uses the community to: 1) Market library resources, services, and events to students through announcements, featured content, and librarian profiles. 2) Communicate updates on library hours, resources, and services through sections like announcements and library info. 3) Assess usage of the community through statistics to improve outreach strategies.

1. What is a Blackboard Community?
 Similar to a Blackboard
Course
 Designed for non-academic
use
 Access based on
membership
 Listed on Community Tab

2. Creating and Populating a Community
 IT created community shell
for Library
 Library added content
 Batch enrolled everyone at
MSU
 Batch enrollment occurs
twice a year

3. Mission of Library Community
 Marketing tool for Library
 Primarily geared to students
 One of the few channels for
communicating with students

4. Announcements
 First section displayed upon
entering community
 Highlights new resources,
services, events, changes in
library hours, etc.
 New announcements appear
on main Blackboard page and
in community

5. Library Info
 Provides quick information
that students need
 Typical items include library
hours and popular services
like laptop loan
 Updated every semester in
response to changing library
hours and services

6. Featured E-Resource
 Publicizes an electronic
resource
 Focuses on underutilized or
little known resource

7. Librarian Spotlight
 Personalizes Library
Community
 Familiarizes students with
individual librarians (includes
interests, subject strengths,
and professional pursuits)
 Includes photo

8. Newsroom
 Venue for posting information
on key internet resources
 Highlights education-related
websites, online reference
tools/databases, digital
collections, etc.

9. Library Trivia
 Adds fun and entertaining
side to Library Community
 Little known facts about
Sprague Library and the
Library world
 Examples include size of our
collection, oldest existing
library, meaning of
“loremipsum”, etc.

10. Discussion Board
 Provides forum for
asynchronous discussion
 Ideal for discussion related to
using eResources in a
particular subject area

11. Mobile Blackboard and Rave/Cell Phone
 Mobile Blackboard users can
receive community
announcements
 Announcements can be sent
as text messages or emails
 Users register for Mobile
Blackboard on the MSU
Phone Apps website
 Added 3,052 users since
Nov 2010 (27.7% increase)

12. Mobile Blackboard and Rave/Cell Phone

13. Usage Statistics
 Assessment is critical to any
marketing strategy
 Usage statistics indicate if
you’re achieving goals
 Difficult to generate statistics
in Blackboard (size of
membership)
 Ran multiple reports by
alphabetical grouping
 Initial statistics were
encouraging (3,208 hits)

14. Benefit of Technology to Library Users
 Easy to find information on library resources, services,
policies, programs, etc.
 View announcements from Blackboard main page
 Announcements can be received as text messages or
emails using Mobile Blackboard
 Become more familiarized with Library Staff
 Creates comfortable environment for interfacing with
the Library

15. Benefit of Technology
to Information Community
 Venue for marketing services/resources and informing
the campus about professional activities
 Provides effective reach into student body and faculty
 Modest commitment of time to manage

16. Impact of Technology on Librarians and
Library Operations
 Library more integrated into students’ electronic
classroom experience
 Library has greater visibility
 New channel of communications for library which has
assumed a major role
 Personalized the library’s presence online

17. Impact of Technology on Perception of
Librarians and Library
 Librarians seen as full participants in electronic
classroom environment
 Librarians seen as technologically informed
 Librarians’ skills more valued and seen as colleagues