Marketing Library Poster Services via a USB Flash Drive
Catherine Soehner, Associate Dean for Research and Learning Services, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah
ABSTRACT
RESULTS
RESULTS
Introduction: Because the Library recently purchased a large
format printer, which would be useful for students in courses that
required poster creation, 500 USB Flash drives were purchased and
distributed to students and faculty. The inside of each flash drive
was preloaded with four useful files, had 2GB storage space, and
cost $6.15 each plus $25 shipping ($3,100 total).
Method: A print survey was created and placed at the service desk
where users would request poster printing and they received 10%
off their poster printing after filling out the survey.
Results: Of the 194 surveys received, 52 of those had a Library
flash drive. Of of those 52, nine were graduate students and 43
were undergraduate students.
Conclusion: Results indicate that once a flash drive was in hand,
people found the contents to be useful. Additional studies should
focus on the overall use of the large format printer and flash drive
distribution should be improved to specifically target programs and
courses that require poster creation.
Of the 194 responses, 52 indicated receiving a Library flash drive.
What Figure 1 is unable to show is that 15 responses indicated the
flash drive was used for storage only without using any other
features of the flash drive. However, a majority of those 15 still
found the flash drive made it easier to do their work, answering
“Agree” or “Strongly Agree” to that question. Beyond basic storage,
two features of the flash drive were used consistently: the poster
templates and the Create a Poster guide.
I used my Library flash drive for... Mark all that
apply.
45
Number of Responses
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
The Poster Template
Storage
Figure 1: Use of the Library flash drive.
To learn more about
Library Services
The "Create a Poster"
guide
The flash drive made it easier to do my work.
45
When asked what we should remove from the flash drive, there
were a few interesting responses:
“Nothing.”
“I appreciate the info being easy to access.”
“Nothing. Everything there could be useful to someone.”
“Poster template larger than what you can print.”
This last comment prompted the immediate purchase of wider
paper to allow for printing at a larger size.
CONCLUSIONS
OBJECTIVES
Number of responses
40
Results were too small to clearly indicate a cost effective use of this
marketing tool. A more thorough survey that kept track of
distribution sites along with any peaks in use of the large format
printer should be pursued to determine cost effectiveness.
Considering the use of the poster template and the Create a Poster
guide, the flash drive proved to have value beyond typical
marketing pieces such as pencils, pens, or sticky note pads.
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
• Determine how Library flash drives are used.
• Determine whether the contents are useful.
• Determine if the flash drives were a successful marketing tool for
the large format printer.
METHODS
Librarians and staff distributed the flash drives when they taught
Library research classes and met with faculty and students. A
survey was created by the Principle Investigator (PI) with the
assistance of six other librarians and staff. The PI applied for and
received an Institutional Review Board (IRB) exemption for this
research. This paper-only survey was presented to people at the
large format printer service desk at the Marriott Library. If they
completed the survey, they received 10% off the price of printing.
The survey was conducted between January 7 and May 2, 2013.
0
Agree or Strongly Agree
Neutral
Disagree or Strongly Disagree
Figure 2: Impact of the flash drive.
Of the 43 undergraduate surveys with flash drives, 28, or 65%, were
participants in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program.
College/School Affiliations for UROP Students,
Fall 2012
2%
Engineering
15%
15%
Science & Earth Science
Of the 43 undergraduate surveys with flash drives, 28 indicated
theit poster was intended to meet requirements for the
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). The
distribution method can be improved by targeting UROP and other
research programs that require poster printing.
The size of the flash drive should be increased due to the reliance
on storage as one of the most useful features. We could include
even more information about Library tools and services on the flash
drive since surveys indicated some use of this information and no
indication that any of it should be removed.
Medicine, Health, Nursing
18%
23%
Humanities, Art, Architecture
Social & Behavioral Science
27%
Undergraduate Studies
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: My deep appreciation to all my Marriott Library colleagues
who assisted me with this project, especially Devin Donaldson, TJ Ferrill, Parker
Dougherty, and Jeff Davis.