What Libraries Are Saying About BookLetters
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"We already had a clear idea of our web site goals. BookLetters let us build what we wanted. It was like completing three years of development in three weeks. We added BookLetters lists throughout our site, added an online book discussion group, and created a base to add other interactive features over time."
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Jeff Winkle, Assistant Director
Findlay-Hancock County Public Library
Findlay, Ohio
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"I am both the Director and the Webmaster, so I don't have time to waste. We have limited resources like most libraries, and I want my staff focused on patron services. I believe the Internet has a role to play in delivering readers' advisory services that we could never afford to provide across the desk. I see BookLetters as a great integration tool to our existing web services."
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Bruce Flanders, Director
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence, Kansas
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"Liberating... The usual technical complications just didn't materialize. I was able to do most of the work myself, and tie into our consortium OPAC without even telling them. With BookLetters we were able to take action the minute we made our decision."
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Detlev Pansch, Administrative Librarian
Frankfort Public Library District
Frankfort, Illinois
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"Supporting the community of readers is one of our strategic directions, so readers' advisory service is important to our library. BookLetters has allowed us to reach new readers, and to offer our current patrons a new way to get information on books and reading. BookLetters is a good complement to our library-developed content, and the e-newsletters allow us to disseminate the content efficiently."
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Barry Trott, Adult Services Director
Williamsburg Regional Library
Williamsburg, Virginia
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"I can't imagine a better web approach for a library our size. The ideas that are shared in the monthly BookLetters Users Group newsletter are great."
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Dot Ogburn, Director
Pulaski County Public Library
Pulaski, Virginia
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"We are a small library whose only web presence prior to BookLetters was a home page that wasn't being maintained. Our Friends Organization financed BookLetters, feeling if we are going to be on the Internet, we should do it right. Two days later we had a web site that is as good as any in our state. BookLetters even built our site for us."
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Anne Mosley, Director
Cherokee County Public Library
Gaffney, South Carolina
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"This is a very elegant product that is simple to use. It allows us to create our own web-viewable, e-mailable booklists and maintain subject area listservs with reviews and images simply by selecting materials and inputting ISBN numbers. The BookLetters selections are totally appropriate for public libraries. Each title links to our catalog and even our events can be plugged into the e-newsletter format, so patrons can make reservations and sign up right from the newsletters."
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Pam Reese, Community Affairs Administrator
Nashville Public Library
Nashville, Tennessee
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"BookLetters let us build up our Internet services while reducing the amount of time we spend on it. We were impressed with how fast and easy we were able to tie into BookLetters, there were no hidden costs for add-ons or extra time demands for training."
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Wanda Edwards, Programming Director
Chattahoochee Valley Regional Library System
Columbus, Georgia
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"We added BookLetters to help build patron awareness of our online Reader's Corner services. We see BookLetters as reducing some of the workload on our Webmaster, while providing a platform that continually keeps our services in front of our cardholders and fresh in their minds. What we like best about BookLetters is the two way communication channel that allows us to reach out to our readers and for them to easily respond back."
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Mary Killian, Head, Adult Services
West Bloomfield Township Library
West Bloomfield, Michigan
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"BookLetters has turned what used to be a chore into fun. Our librarians can now update our web site and e-newsletters without having to become web designers. We gave librarians their own pages to manage and they just insert the ISBNs of the items they are recommending. With the Tool Kit, they spend a couple of minutes deciding which books to feature, instead of days figuring out how to show them on web pages. The newsletters just happen automatically and link directly into our Dynix catalog."
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Sol Hirsch, Assistant Director
St. Johns County Public Library System
St. Augustine, Florida
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"This is great. I only wish it was around two years ago before we spent all the time and money on our Alerts system development. BookLetters is a huge time saver that we are inserting into our system as fast as we can."
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Lisa Hill, Web Services Librarian
King County Library System
King County, Washington
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"BookLetters has made it possible to stretch our dwindling dollars. We send catalog links and program information to our customers instead of making them hunt us down. Even though we may not have more e-resources to offer, our new presentation sure makes it look that way. We are getting more bang for the buck."
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Trish Ebbatson, Director
Delaware County District Library
Delaware, Ohio
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"We have been looking a long time to find just the right product to enhance our web page. BookLetters does that with newsletters to boot. The automated link to our Sirsi catalog is amazing. We were excited to learn we could afford it and our staff could work with it without additional programming or training."
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Laurel Best, Director
Linebaugh Public Library
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
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"For years we have had plans to build a web approach that reached out to our patrons, but didn't have the time or money to implement it. BookLetters gave us the tools to quickly build in those capabilities and easily administer that approach."
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Anne Prusha, Marketing and Communication Officer
Geauga County Public Library
Chardon, Ohio
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"We just recently updated our web site and BookLetters fit into the new design almost as if it were custom built. We were interested in the newsletter feature but ended up using the content to add a whole new dimension to our web presentation as a bonus. The automatic link into our Polaris® catalog tied everything together."
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Christine Lind Hage, Director
Clinton-Macomb Public Library
Clinton Township, Michigan
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"This service gives patrons something of value, presents us as relevant and contemporary, and is very flexible. It's user-friendly, and affordable."
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Joanne Hinkel, Community Relations Director
Boise Public Library
Boise, Idaho
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