NOVEMBER 9, 2012
test post for facebook2
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JULY 17, 2012
Author Alerts Now Available for Sirsi/Dynix Enterprise, Polaris, AquaBrowser and Bibliocommons
We've been hard at work making Author Alerts available on even more online catalogs. Already compatible are eLibrary and Horizon Information Portal, both from Sirsi/Dynix. What are Author Alerts, you ask?
Delight your patrons by alerting them when new titles are ordered by their favorite authors! How does it work? Your patrons compile a list of their favorite authors or performers. When a new title is ordered by your library, Author Alerts sends the patron an email or text message alert. It's that simple. No effort is required of your IT staff. Your active readers are going to love this new service! Visit
http://authoralerts.org for details and to start offering this service to your patrons.
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JULY 17, 2012
Print registration list now shows photo release status
If you are using the photo release feature to gain permission from patrons for publicity purposes, you will appreciate that the sign-in printout now indicates each patron's photo release status. Thanks to Rob Smithson at Monona Library for the suggestion.
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MAY 20, 2012
Author Alerts Now Available for Horizon and eLibrary
Delight your patrons by alerting them when new titles are added to the library catalog by their favorite authors/performers! The new Author Alerts service is now available in general release for members using the Sirsi/Dynix Horizon or eLibrary catalogs. Thanks to the libraries that have been assisting with beta testing, now completed. Visit
http://authoralerts.org for more details, to view a live demo or to start using the service at your library. Patrons love Author Alerts!
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MAY 20, 2012
Events Listings Now Mobile-friendly
Your event listings now display appropriately on mobile devices. No new links need to be added to your website -- the page automatically detects the mobile device and re-formats the page to accommodate to the reduced width of the mobile screen.
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MARCH 11, 2012
New Author Alerts in Beta Testing
Do you like to be on the leading edge of new technology offerings? I'm excited to announce that EngagedPatrons has begun beta testing of the new Author Alerts service. We invite libraries using the Horizon ILS to contact us for more details. Delight your patrons by alerting them when new titles are ordered by their favorite authors! How does it work? Your patrons compile a list of their favorite authors or performers. When a new title is ordered by the library, the patron receives an email or text message alert. The email includes a link directly to your library catalog to view more details and place a request. Your active readers are going to love this new service!
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MARCH 11, 2012
Search for Registrations by Patron Name
Have patrons asked you for a list of events for which they are registered? Now you can use the easy patron search feature on the Registration page to retrieve a printable list of events. Looking for all events for a family? Just enter the last name and a list will appear containing all family members. Select the family member from the list to display their current registrations. Thanks to Mike Schinn of Ridgewood (NJ) Public Library for suggesting this new feature!
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MARCH 11, 2012
Visit EngagedPatrons at PLA 2012
Heading to the City of Brotherly Love this week for the Public Library Association 2012 conference? While visiting the exhibits area, please stop by booth T6 (straight ahead to the back of the hall) and say Hi! Take a look at the new reading program "Engaged Readers" and get a preview of the upcoming Author Alerts service.
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JANUARY 2, 2012
New Reader's Alert (teaser)
Would your patrons be delighted to learn when new titles of interest to them are added to your Library's collection? (Of course they would!) I'm working on a reader's alert service that will initially be available for libraries that use the Horizon integrated library system. Look for more details in an upcoming post.
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JANUARY 2, 2012
Brief Listings Widget
You may already be aware that you can add a calendar widget to your home page (or any other page on your site) to lead your patrons to your events listings. New is a listings widget -- same idea but this widget shows the next few upcoming events at the library in a list format. You will find the HTML code needed to add this widget to your website in the Client Center -- look in the center column below the calendar widget. Like the calendar widget, the listings widget can be customized to meet your needs.
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JANUARY 2, 2012
Photo Release for Events
Now available for the Library Events service, you can choose on an event-by-event basis if you want to prompt patrons to agree to a photo release. You decide how to phrase the release. If you are interested in adding this feature, just drop me a note – support at engagedpatrons.org.
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JULY 6, 2011
Events Service Milestones
This month two milestones were reached by members using the Events service. Member libraries have entered over 500,000 events and registered over 100,000 patrons since 2006. That's a lot of activity! The ease and convenience of online registration certainly contributes to the success of library programming for patrons of all ages.
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JUNE 15, 2011
Self-Cancellation for Events Reservation
Patrons can now cancel their own event registrations! After registering, patrons will be presented with a URL they can use to cancel their registration. The URL will also be included in email confirmations. Self-cancellation
will be blocked if there is a waiting list for the event -- patrons will be directed to contact the library.
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MARCH 29, 2011
We're on Facebook
EngagedPatrons now has
a page on Facebook (like most of the Western world). Postings will include the kinds of news included in this update, plus other tidbits that may or may not be of interest. You can follow us by clicking on the FB logo on the EngagedPatrons home page.
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MARCH 29, 2011
EngagedPatrons and Boopsie
By now you have likely heard that web developers at Boopsie are creating smartphone apps for libraries. The apps are a bit pricey, but very cool. If your library is considering an app from Boopsie your events listings can easily be integrated into the product. They use RSS for events listings so you can show listings by location, age group or custom event type, if you use those in your calendar.
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MARCH 29, 2011
Tell My Library Story at Port Townsend PL
Port Townsend (WA) Public Library is featuring EP's
Tell My Library Story service on their website and getting some absolutely wonderful responses from their patrons. Definately "show to your stakeholders" material and a great morale booster for library staff to see how much their work is appreciated. If you could use a boost, take a look at
http://engagedpatrons.org/TellMyLibraryStory.cfm?SiteID=6359 and click on Show All Stories.
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MARCH 24, 2011
New! Engaged Readers (beta)
Introducing
Engaged Readers, the first online reading program for public libraries with fully-integrated social networking features.
Keep your readers engaged in their reading by letting them interact with other readers and library staff as they create and share book lists, reviews, comments, follow fellow readers and more.
Engaged Readers can be implemented as the online facet of your summer or winter reading program or offered year-around. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination!
This service is currently in beta testing at: <a href="http://engagedpatrons.org/beta">http://engagedpatrons.org/beta</a>. Watch this space for an announcement that the service is ready to go or leave your email on the beta page to get notified.
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DECEMBER 7, 2010
Burlington (IA) Genealogy database
EngagedPatrons has been working with Lois Blythe at Burlington (IA) Public Library to put their local genealogy index on the web. You can see the result
here. Do you have a local database you would like to make searchable on the web? Contact us for more details.
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DECEMBER 7, 2010
Using EngagedPatrons RSS with Yahoo! Pipes
The July/August 2010 issue of
Computers in Libraries includes an article describing how EngagedPatrons RSS feeds and Yahoo! Pipes can be combined to create a dynamic list of library events that can be embedded in the library's website. The article was written by Melissa Widner at
Jasper County Public Library. See the library's home page to see the Pipes widget in action and read the article for all the details.
Category: Events
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AUGUST 22, 2010
PayPal Integration for Event Registrations
Libraries that charge admission to some events can now accept credit card payments online via PayPal. The payment is credited to the library's PayPal account and the registration list is automatically updated to show that payment has been received for that patron. There is a one-time setup fee of $100 to add this capability to your account. Contact
support@engagedpatrons.org for details.
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AUGUST 22, 2010
Event Registrations De-Duped
Have an occasional problem with patrons signing up twice for the same event? Now the registration program checks for duplicate registrations and blocks patrons who are signing up twice for the same event. Thanks to Alaina Dowd at Sayreville (NJ) Public Library for suggesting and testing this new feature.
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